Traditionally, Ch’ang-sha is famous for several handicrafts: coloured silk embroidery pictures, oiled paper umbrellas, grasscloth linen, brush pens and bamboo carvings, while the main basic industries were rice hulling, saw milling, boatbuilding and the smelting of antimony, manganese, lead and zinc—all for out-shipment.
Aside from the Turfan depression in Hsin-chiang (Sinkiang) province, the hottest part of China lies in the middle and lower Yangtze Valley. Maximum temperatures of 43°-44°C (110°-112°F) have been recorded in Ch'ang-sha and Nan-ching.
To implement the triple revolutionary strategies of propaganda, insurrection, and assassination, members of the association one after another departed for home to start revolutionary movements in their native districts. Huang Hsing returned to Ch'ang-sha; Ch'in Yü-liu went first to Shanghai and thence to Ch'ang-sha at Huang Hsing's invitation.
His dislike for Hankow made him miss Ch'ang-sha all the more, and he longed for some word of conditions in the province from clerk J. S. Pan who had remained behind to watch over American interests. A few weeks after his arrival, he received his first bit of news from Ch'ang-sha, but it did little to brighten his spirits. "Ch'ang-sha has been under the control of the Communist Party since April 8th," Pan wrote Vincent.
Far from the center of Shang civilization, Wu-ch'eng is located well south of the Yangtze at approximately the same latitude as Ch'ang-sha in the west and Wen-chou in the east.