The Meixi Lake International Culture and Art Centre is a lakeside arts complex in the western suburbs of Changsha, designed by the Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid Associates as one of her signature fluid-form projects. The complex includes a Changsha Culture Museum, a convention centre, and arts performance spaces arranged around a constructed lake, with the characteristic swooping concrete curves that have made Hadid's work recognisable globally.
The building is worth visiting for the architecture alone — the interiors are particularly striking, with the curved walls and skylights creating spaces quite unlike conventional museum design. The Changsha Culture Museum inside covers the city's history from Chu-culture bronzes through the Republican period and the Communist revolution, providing a useful overview of the Changsha narrative. The lakeside setting makes for good evening walking. Entry to the grounds is free; museum admission costs around ¥30.