Shaoyang, in the southwest of central China's Hunan province, is an almost forgotten city despite past glories in a history spanning more than 25 centuries, dating back to the Spring and Autumn period.
It is the province's most populous city, home to around eight million people, but often ranks last among Hunan's 14 main cities in terms of per capita economic performance.
To outsiders, it is best known for a slew of high-profile scandals in recent years. Last year alone, authorities were accused of covering up a ferry disaster and were embroiled in another scandal over local cadres' involvement in child trafficking.
In September, state media reported, at least 12 students on their way home for the Mid-Autumn Festival were killed when their overcrowded ferry sank in a river in Shaoyang. But in reports citing witnesses and the families of victims, more liberal media, including The Beijing News, said at least 30 people had died.
A subsequent local government investigation denied any cover-up of the death toll and the 'unauthorised' reports were purged by censors.
Shaoyang also earned worldwide notoriety last year when an investigation by Caixin Century magazine revealed that family planning officials in the suburban county of Longhui had snatched at least 16 'illegally born' babies and sold them for overseas adoption since 2005.
Shaoyang is the hometown of many historical figures, including revolutionary leaders, warlords and Kuomintang generals, such as Cai E, but the city and neighbouring areas are also hotbeds of political dissent.