Yuelu District occupies the west bank of the Xiang River, centred on Hunan University and Yuelu Mountain. The character here is very different from the east bank: greener, quieter, university-shaped, with cafes and bookshops serving students and faculty mixed with temples and mountain trails serving older visitors. The area around the Yuelu Academy and the university campus is one of the more pleasant parts of Changsha for aimless walking.
The district connects the three main west-bank attractions — the Academy, Lushan Temple, and the mountain summit — in a natural sequence. Start at the Academy in the morning, hike up through Lushan Temple to the summit viewpoints, and return via the cable car in the afternoon. The student restaurant area near the university's south gate has cheap, good food — the university canteens are technically for students but vendors outside the gates serve everyone. The district is accessible from Orange Island by bridge or from the east bank by the main bridges.