Anhui Overview
Basic Information
- Chinese Name: Anhui
- Location: Southeast China
- Provincial Capital: Hefei
- Area: About 139,600 square kilometers
- Population: An approximate population of 70.27 million
Administrative Division
Anhui consists of 16 prefecture-level, 62 counties, 43 county-level cities, 105 counties and 1845 townships.
- 16 Prefecture-level Cties: Hefei（合肥市） Wuhu（芜湖市）Bengbu（蚌埠市） Huainan（淮南市） Maansan（马鞍山市）Huaibei（淮北市） Tongling（铜陵市） Anqing（安庆市）Huangshan（黄山市） Chuzhou（滁州市） Fuyang（阜阳市） Suzhou（宿州市） Luan（六安市） Bozhou（亳州市）Chizhou（池州市） Xuancheng（宣城市)
- 43 county-level cities
Geography
Located in the eastern region of China, Anhui is the 22nd largest by area and the 12th most densely populated region of all 34 China provincial regions. Hefei is the provincial capital and the largest city. Across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a short section in the north.
The north of the province is part of the North China Plain while the north-central areas are part of the Huai River watershed. Both of these regions are very flat and densely populated. The land becomes more uneven further south, with the Dabie Mountains occupying much of southwestern Anhui and a series of hills and ranges cutting through southeastern Anhui. The Yangtze River finds its way through south Anhui in between these two mountainous regions. The highest peak in Anhui is Lotus Peak, part of Huangshan in southeastern Anhui. It has an altitude of 1873 m.
Major rivers include the Huai River in the north and the Yangtze in the south. The largest lake is Lake Chaohu located in the center of the province, with an area of about 800 km2.
Climate
Anhui province lies in the monsoonal area of East China. The demarcation line of the Qinling Mountain Range-Huaihe River runs through the northern part of Anhui. As a result, the area north of the line has a warm-temperate, semi-humid monsoonal climate while the area south of it has a sub-tropical, humid monsoonal climate.
The average annual temperature of Anhui is between 14 and 17 degrees centigrade. The annual temperature average is below 15 degrees centigrade in the area north of the Huaihe River and the Dabie Mountain area, and only 7.8 degrees centigrade on the top of Huangshan Mountain. Meanwhile, the average annual temperature of the area along the Yangtze River and in South Anhui is higher than 16 degrees centigrade. The rest of the province is between 15 and 16 degrees centigrade. It has only two degrees centigrade difference between the north and south.
Compared with the climate in other parts of China, Anhui is characterized by rain concentrating in the hot season and a remarkable continental monsoonal climate. In addition, Anhui has a mild climate, abundant sunshine, distinctive seasons (warm spring, hot summer, cool fall and cold winter) and an obvious monsoon due to its geographical position.
Best Time To Go
Annual average temperature is between 14-17 degrees. The best time to visit is in autumn(September, October, and November) and spring(April, May and June). But it is worthy of saying that the snow scenery of Huangshan is absolutely fascinating so if you enjoy the snow, it's best to come during the winter.
Things to Do
Anhui Province, located in eastern China, crosses the basins of the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers. It covers an area of nearly 140,000 square kilometers and has a population of 68 million people. Among the many tourist areas in the province, we have selected the top 10 most famous and popular ones for travelers.
Transportation
Historically, Anhui's transport network was limited by the lack of bridges across the Yangtze River, which divides the province into northern and southern regions. The first bridge across the Yangtze in Anhui, the Tongling Yangtze River Bridge was completed in 1995. As of October 2014, Anhui had four bridges across the Yangtze, at Ma'anshan, Wuhu, Tongling, and Anqing. Hefeinan Railway Station (Hefei South Railway Station 合肥火车南站) is a hub of most high-speed trains. China government has set Hefei as National leading railway hub position in 2016. In addition, According to China central government plan, Anhui will set at least 5 sub-central railway hubs in the next 5 years. And several cities of Anhui have become the "crossroads" of China highway system. It is worthy of saying that the province has 5 major commercial airports and another 4 major airports are under construction.
Natural Resources
Mineral resources
Anhui is a large province of mineral resources, with great varieties and abundant reserves. There are 160 kinds of minerals which have been already found, and 124 kinds have been verified the reserves. Among them, 38 kinds rank the top 10 in the whole country, and coal, iron, copper, sulphur, and alunite are regarded as the five superior minerals.
Resources of the animals and plants
The area of forest in the whole province totaled 3,958.5 thousand hectares in 2016. There are abundant varieties of plants including more than 300 kinds of woody plants, and more than 2,100 kinds of herb. There are also more than 500 species of animal, including 54 kinds of national key-protected animals, such as the most precious Chinese alligator and white fin globefish.
History and Culture
Anhui Culture’s another name is Hui (short for Anthui) culture,which is one of China’s three regional cultures ( Tibetology, Dunhuangology and the culture of Huizhou), which covers philosophy, economics, history, medicine, science and art.
There is a ancient saying to describe Ancient Huizhou "the mountain is not remote, there are many intellectuals even the area is not big,”At the wartimes of Central Plains, there has become a the place to gather various types of talent. And it is not only a paradise to cultivate moral character, but also a cradle of famous people. For example, Bi Sheng, the founder of movable type printing, Zhu Xi, the master of the Song dynasty, Wang Daokun, the famous dramatist, Jiang Jian, the founder of the Xin'an School of Art, philosopher Dai Zhen, Wang Maoyin, the Financier(the only Chinese mentioned in Marx's Capital Theory)and others.
At the same time, the Hui merchants flourished and formed a unique genre of cultural schools such as Xin'an Science, Xin'an Medicine, Xin'an School of Painting, Huizhou bonsai, Huizhou Inkstone, Huizhou Architecture, Huizhou, Huiqian, Anhui Opera and Anhui Cuisine. Until today, Anhui still have ancient bridge, ancient tower, ancient pavilion, ancient shrine, ancient arch, which is like a natural history museum.
Economy
The economic development of Anhui is relatively early. Historically, agriculture in Anhui varies according to the climate zones that the province crosses. To the north of the Huai River, wheat and sweet potatoes are grown, while to the south of the Huai River it is rice and wheat instead. Now the economic aggregate of Anhui province is one of the highest in the country and the first in the east, it plays an important role in the national economic development.
Hefei Economic and Technological Development Zone is an important economic zone of China. Wuhu Economic and Technological Development Zone and Wuhu Export Processing Zone are also make Anhui province walk into modernized province, which includes electronics assembly, manufacturing, heavy industry, instruments & industrial equipment production, shipping, warehousing, logistics and trade distribution.
Festival
Anhui is a splendid land with plenty of many interesting and fascinating folk festivals, such as the Dragon Boat Race, Chongyang Temple Fair, Hui Yun and China Huangshan International Tourism Festival . More about Anhui Festival.
Tourism
Anhui’s natural and humanistic landscape make it as one of the most popular destination in China attracts many tourists every year. There are 2 World Heritage Sites in Anhui, namely Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui -Xidi and Hongcun Villages and Huangshan Scenic Area. What’s more, Anhui's Chao Lake, Jing Ting Mountain, Mount Jiuhua, Mount Langya, Mount Qiyun, Mount, Tianzhu, Old Town of Tunxi, Taiji Cave, the longest karst cave in East China, Zhenfeng Pagoda, a Ming Dynasty pagoda in Anqing City and Zuiweng Pavilion, named after the poet Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072 AD) are also worthy of visiting.
Anhui Cuisine
The Cuisine of Anhui Province are often called Hui Cuisine, which is one of the eight major cuisines of China. Generally Hui Cuisine is slightly spicy, and normally salty. A large amount of ingredients used in Anhui Cuisine comes from Huangshan Mountain. The features of Anhui Cuisine are elaborate choice of ingredients and different cooking styles. The taste, color, and appearance of each dish is worthy taking attention. The local people think that the appearance of dishes is equally as important as taste.
