The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao Zedong, President Liu Shaoqi, and Marshal Peng Dehuai, are in Xiangtan's administration, as well as the hometowns of Qing dynasty and republic era painter Qi Baishi, scholar-general Zeng Guofan, and tennis player Peng Shuai.

In any case, "Xiang" (湘) refers to the Xiang River, while "Tan" (潭) is a Chinese term that means "deep pool", specifically one produced by a moving current or waterfall; "Tan" in rivers generally are places where the current eddies.

In 749, the Tang dynasty organized the area as Xiangtan County, centered at modern Yisu River (易俗河).

By the time of the Northern Song dynasty, Xiangtan's good access to both land and water trade routes had established it as the major commercial center of the region.

Prior to the Second Opium War, Xiangtan was a central transfer point for import and export goods going to and from ports in Canton, Shanghai, and Wuhan, supported by approximately 200,000 inhabitants.

[5] Xiangtan has a humid subtropical climate with long, hot summers, and cool to cold, cloudy, damp winters with occasional snow flurries.

Within its administrative area, the annual mean temperature is 17.4 °C (63.3 °F), with the coolest month being January, which averages 5.1 °C (41.2 °F), and the hottest July, at 29.1 °C (84.4 °F).

The history of consuming areca nut dates back to 400 years ago, when people chewed it for pandemic prevention.