Anhui

The old town of Sanhe, Feixi County

Anhui Province was established in the sixth year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty (1667); before that, there was no coherent concept of "Anhui". The province also has another name, "Wan", because, during the Spring and Autumn Period (722–481 B.C.), a small country named "Wan" was here and a mountain called "Wanshan" (aka Mount Tianzhu) is in the province.

Before Anhui was established, this land had a long history. 20,000 years ago, human beings inhabited this area, proven by some findings in Fanchang County. Archaeologists have identified the cultural domains of Yangshao and Longshan, dated to the Neolithic Age (between 4,000 and 10,000 years ago). In relation to these cultures, archeologists have discovered through excavation a 4500-year-old city called the Nanchengzi Ruins in Guzhen County, after they discovered a Neolithic city wall and a moat that was part of a much larger and integrated city in the region during their 2013 disinterment.[8]

Anhui in 1936

There are many historic sites found in the province from the period of the Xia dynasty (2070 B.C.) to the Warring Kingdoms (475–221 B.C.). After the Qin dynasty unified China, this area belonged to different prefectures such as the Jiujiang, Zhang, Tang and Sishui Prefectures. Anhui became parts of Yang, Yu, and Xu prefectures during Han dynasties. In the period of the Three Kingdoms (222–280 A.D.), Anhui was separately dominated by the Wu State and Wei State. During the Jin dynasty, Northern and Southern dynasties and the Sui dynasty, Anhui was part of Yang, Xu and Yu prefectures, respectively. Later on, the Hui area flourished quickly and the economy and culture of Hui Prefecture created great influence during the Song Dynasty. During the Yuan dynasty, ruled by the Mongolian emperor, Anhui area was a part of Henan province. During the Ming dynasty, the area was directly managed by the administration of the Capital of Nanjing. Shortly after the Qing dynasty was established, this area and Jiangsu province were merged as one province until the sixth year (1666 or 1667) of the Kangxi Emperor's reign in the Qing dynasty.

Later during the Qing dynasty, Anhui played an important role in the Self-Strengthening Movement led by Li Hongzhang, an important Prime Minister during the later Qing Dynasty. At this time, many western weapons, factories and modern government concepts were introduced into China. Over the next 50 years, Anhui became one of the most aggressive areas with liberal thought. Within this environment, many ideologists appeared in Anhui. Several of them impacted the future of China including, Hu Shih, a Chinese philosopher, essayist and diplomat, and Chen Duxiu, founder of the Chinese Communist Party and the first General Secretary of the CCP.

In 1938, the north and central areas of the province were heavily damaged because Chiang Kai-shek, the then-President of the Republic of China, broke the dam of Yellow River, hoping this strategy could slow down the invasion by the Imperial Japanese Army. Within only ten days of the dam breaking, the water and sands drowned all of north and middle area of this province, 500,000 to 900,000 Chinese people died, along with an unknown number of Japanese soldiers. The flood prevented the Japanese Army from taking Zhengzhou.

Following the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, the capital city of Anhui province moved to what was then a small town, Hefei. At the same time, the provincial government made significant investments to develop this new capital city, which has become a China Top 25 city (of 660 cities over all of China) in the 2010s. After 1949, the government also launched many Water Projects to repair damage from World War II. In addition, many other areas of China supported Anhui's development.

Anhui developed significantly through the Third Front campaign to build basic industry and national defense industry in protected locations in case of invasion by the Soviet Union or the United States.[9]^{: xiii–xv} The centerpiece of the Shanghai Small Third Front was the "rear base" in Anhui which served as "a multi-function manufacturing base for anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry.[10]^: xvi

In the later 1990s, Anhui became one of the fastest growing provinces in China. In the 2010s, the province became a part of China Yangtze River Delta Economic Area which is the most developed area of China. And the capital city, Hefei, is set as the sub-central city of this Economic Area, only after Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou.

In terms of culture, Northern Anhui was firmly a part of the North China Plain together with modern-day Henan province, northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong provinces. Central Anhui was densely populated and constituted mostly of fertile land from the Huai River watershed. In contrast, the culture of Southern Anhui, bordered mostly along the Yangtze, was closer to Jiangxi and southern Jiangsu provinces. The hills of southeastern Anhui formed a unique and distinct cultural sphere of its own.

Government building in Fuyang City

Anhui is topographically diverse. The north is part of the North China Plain while the north-central areas are part of the Huai River watershed. Both regions are 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, between which is the Yangtze River. 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 situated in the center of the province, with an area of about 800 km² (310 sq mi). The southeastern part of the province near the Yangtze River has many lakes as well.

As with topography, the province differs in climate from north to south. The north is more temperate with more distinct seasons. January temperatures average at around −1 to 2 °C north of the Huai River, and 0 to 3 °C south of the Huai River; in July temperatures average 27 °C or above. Plum rains occur in June and July and may cause flooding.

Anhui has 16 cities. Economically, top 3 cities are, Hefei, Wuhu and Anqing.

The Anhui elm, Ulmus gaussenii W. C. Cheng, is a medium size deciduous tree whose natural range is restricted to the valleys of the Langya limestone mountains of Chu Xian.[11] The tree was most commonly found on the flood plains, indicating a tolerance of periodic inundation. U. gaussenii is now the world's rarest and most endangered elm species, with only approximately 30 trees known to survive in the wild in 2009.[12]

The province is also home to the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis, simplified Chinese: 扬子鳄; traditional Chinese: 揚子鱷; pinyin: yángzǐ'è), also known as the Yangtze alligator,[13] China alligator,[14] or historically the muddy dragon,[15] a critically endangered crocodilian.

Anhui is divided into sixteen prefecture-level divisions: all prefecture-level cities:

Administrative divisions of Anhui
Hefei Wuhu Bengbu Huainan Ma'anshan Huaibei Tongling Anqing Huangshan Chuzhou Fuyang Suzhou Lu'an Bozhou Chizhou Xuancheng
Division code[16]	Division	Area in km2[17]	Population 2020[18]	Seat	Divisions[19]
					Districts	Counties	CL cities
340000	Anhui Province	139600.00	61,027,171	Hefei city	45	50	9
340100	Hefei city	11,445.06	9,369,881	Shushan District	4	4	1
340200	Wuhu city	6,004.97	3,644,420	Jiujiang District	5	1	1
340300	Bengbu city	5,950.72	3,296,408	Bengshan District	4	3
340400	Huainan city	5532.30	3,033,528	Tianjia'an District	5	2
340500	Ma'anshan city	4,049.13	2,159,930	Yushan District	3	3
340600	Huaibei city	2,740.91	1,970,265	Xiangshan District	3	1
340700	Tongling city	2,937.83	1,311,726	Tongguan District	3	1
340800	Anqing city	13,525.03	4,165,284	Yingjiang District	3	5	2
341000	Huangshan city	9,678.39	1,330,565	Tunxi District	3	4
341100	Chuzhou city	13,515.99	3,987,054	Langya District	2	4	2
341200	Fuyang city	10,118.17	8,200,264	Yingzhou District	3	4	1
341300	Suzhou city	9,938.77	5,324,476	Yongqiao District	1	4
341500	Lu'an city	15,450.82	4,393,699	Jin'an District	3	4
341600	Bozhou city	8,521.23	4,996,844	Qiaocheng District	1	3
341700	Chizhou city	8,364.81	1,342,764	Guichi District	1	3
341800	Xuancheng city	12,312.55	2,500,063	Xuanzhou District	1	4	2

These 16 prefecture-level cities are in turn subdivided into 104 county-level divisions (45 districts, 9 county-level cities, and 50 counties). Those are in turn divided into 1,512 township-level divisions (997 towns, 230 townships, 9 ethnic townships, and 276 subdistricts).

Urban areas

Population by urban areas of prefecture & county cities
#	City	Urban area[20]	District area[20]	City proper[20]	Census date
1	Hefei[lower-alpha 1]	3,098,727	3,310,268	7,457,027	2010-11-01
2	Huainan[lower-alpha 2]	1,238,488	1,666,826	3,342,012	2010-11-01
3	Wuhu[lower-alpha 1]	1,108,087	2,487,111	2,263,123	2010-11-01
4	Huaibei	854,696	1,113,321	2,114,276	2010-11-01
5	Bengbu	793,866	972,784	3,164,467	2010-11-01
6	Fuyang	780,522	1,768,947	7,599,913	2010-11-01
7	Suzhou	742,685	1,647,642	5,352,924	2010-11-01
8	Lu'an[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 2]	661,217	1,644,344	4,603,585	2010-11-01
(8)	Lu'an (new district)[lower-alpha 3]	134,239	134,239	see Lu'an	2010-11-01
9	Ma'anshan[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 1]	657,847	741,531	2,304,774	2010-11-01
(9)	Ma'anshan (new district)[lower-alpha 4]	169,888	169,888	see Ma'anshan	2010-11-01
10	Anqing[lower-alpha 5]	570,538	780,514	4,472,667	2010-11-01
11	Bozhou	474,318	1,409,436	4,850,657	2010-11-01
12	Tongling[lower-alpha 5]	438,981	474,363	1,562,670	2010-11-01
(13)	Chaohu[lower-alpha 1]	404,789	780,711	see Hefei	2010-11-01
14	Chuzhou	392,461	562,321	3,937,868	2010-11-01
15	Tianchang	324,625	602,840	see Chuzhou	2010-11-01
16	Xuancheng	315,058	772,490	2,532,938	2010-11-01
17	Chizhou	289,122	595,268	1,402,518	2010-11-01
18	Huangshan	287,576	460,786	1,358,980	2010-11-01
19	Tongcheng	269,346	664,455	see Anqing	2010-11-01
20	Ningguo	231,090	376,857	see Xuancheng	2010-11-01
21	Jieshou	214,776	561,956	see Fuyang	2010-11-01
22	Mingguang	204,323	532,732	see Chuzhou	2010-11-01
(23)	Qianshan[lower-alpha 6]	165,779	500,292	see Anqing	2010-11-01

1. Chaohu PLC is currently no longer exist after census it was split among Hefei (Juchao & Lujiang), Wuhu (Wuwei), & Ma'anshan (Hexian & Hanshan); Juchao District is currently known as Chaohu CLC. Chaohu PLC city proper count is reflected among the three PLCs.
2. Shouxian County was transferred from Lu'an PLC to Huainan PLC's jurisdiction after census; the City proper count is reflected onto Huainan PLC not Lu'an PLC.
3. New district established after census: Yeji by splitting from parts of Huoqiu County. The new district not included in the urban area & district area count of the pre-expanded city.
4. New district established after census: Bowang by splitting from parts of Dangtu County. The new district not included in the urban area & district area count of the pre-expanded city.
5. Zongyang County was transferred from Anqing PLC to Tongling PLC's jurisdiction after census; the City proper count is reflected onto Tongling PLC not Anqing PLC.
6. Qianshan County is currently known as Qianshan CLC after census.

Most populous cities in Anhui Source: China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2018 Urban Population and Urban Temporary Population[21]
	Rank		Pop.	Rank		Pop.
Hefei Wuhu	1	Hefei	4,292,400	11	Tongling	535,300	Huainan Bengbu
	2	Wuhu	1,536,700	12	Chuzhou	507,600
	3	Huainan	1,178,200	13	Huangshan	406,100
	4	Bengbu	961,100	14	Bozhou	365,000
	5	Fuyang	907,400	15	Xuancheng	357,700
	6	Huaibei	762,500	16	Chaohu	357,000
	7	Ma'anshan	752,500	17	Chizhou	310,100
	8	Anqing	631,500	18	Tianchang	196,600
	9	Lu'an	607,500	19	Jieshou	188,600
	10	Suzhou	578,600	20	Mingguang	186,000

The Politics of Anhui Province is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Anhui (安徽省省长) is the highest-ranking official in the Anhui Provincial People's Government. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Anhui Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary (安徽省委书记), colloquially termed the "Anhui Party Chief".

Most provincial government departments and the Governor office are located at No.1 Zhongshan Road, moved from old downtown of Hefei since 2016. Provincial government is responsible to manage 16 prefecture-level cities, 105 counties, 1845 townships and different departments in Anhui. The Anhui Provincial People's Congress is just located near provincial government. The Provincial Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is located at No.317, Suzhou Road. The Provincial Higher People's Court is located at no. 472 Changjiang Rd.

Typically, annual provincial congress meeting is held in the first quarter of each year shortly before national congress meeting and the annual meeting of CPPCC is held in the first quarter or the fourth quarter of each year.

Anhui products treemap, 2020

Agriculture in Anhui varies according to the climate zones. To the north of the Huai River, wheat and sweet potatoes are grown, while to the south it is rice and wheat instead. As of 2022, Anhui's nominal GDP was US$670 billion (CN¥ 4.51 trilion), about 3.72% of the country's GDP and ranked 10th among province-level administrative units; the province's primary, secondary and tertiary industries were worth CN¥351.37 billion (US$52.24 billion), CN¥1.8588 trillion (US$276.36 billion) and CN¥2.29433 trillion (US$341.1 billion) respectively. Its nominal GDP per capita was US$10,943 (CN¥73,603) and ranked the 14th in the country.[3]

Natural resources of Anhui include iron in Ma'anshan, coal in Huainan, and copper in Tongling. There are industries related to these natural resources (e.g. steel industry at Ma'anshan). One of the famous Anhui-based corporations is the automobile company Chery, which is based in Wuhu.

Farmlands of Anhui

Compared to its more prosperous neighbours to the east, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, Anhui has lagged markedly behind in economic development, with a GDP per capita around half of those two provinces in 2017 rapidly improved from 1/3 of those two provinces in 2010. However, the provincial GDP per capita is based on the population registered in the province (that is, with local Hukou), but not necessarily residing there. There is significant regional disparity, where much of the wealth is concentrated in industrial regions close to the Yangtze River, such as Hefei, Wuhu, and Ma'anshan. The province is home to a large cluster of white goods manufacture such as Haier, Hisense, Whirlpool, Gree, Royalstar, and Meling.

A high-speed train in Hefei railway station

Hefei South Railway Station

a metro entrance in Hefei

Historically, Anhui's transport network was hampered 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.

Han Chinese make up the vast majority of the population. The Hui and She are the two largest minorities.

Anhui has a highly unbalanced gender ratio. According to a 2009 study published in the British Medical Journal, in the 1–4 age group, there are 138 boys for every 100 girls, making it among the most unbalanced of provinces in China.[36]

Religion

Religion in Anhui[37][note 1]

  Islam (0.58%)

  Chinese ancestral religion (4.64%)

  Christianity (5.30%)

  Other religions or not religious people[note 2] (89.48%)

The predominant religions in Anhui are Chinese folk religions, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 4.64% of the population believes and is involved in ancestor veneration, while 5.30% of the population identifies as Christian.[37] According to a 2010 survey, Muslims constitute 0.58% of the population of Anhui.[38]

The reports didn't give figures for other types of religion; 89.48% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and folk religious sects.

Avalokitesvara of One Thousand Arms at the Guanyin Nunnery.

Langya Buddhist Temple in Chuzhou, Anhui

The Qingyun Street Mosque in Fuyang, Anhui

Courtyard of a Buddhist temple in Qingyang County, Anhui

Xiyan Temple

Anhui spans many geographical and cultural regions. The northern, flatter parts of the province, along the Huai River and further north, are most akin to neighboring provinces like Henan, Shandong and northern Jiangsu. In contrast, the southern, hilly parts of the province are more similar in culture and dialect to other southern, hilly provinces, like Zhejiang and Jiangxi.

Mandarin dialects are spoken over the northern and central parts of the province, north of the Yangtze river. Dialects to the north (e.g. Bengbu dialect) are classified as Zhongyuan Mandarin, together with dialects in provinces such as Henan and Shandong; dialects in the central parts (e.g. Hefei dialect) are classified as Jianghuai Mandarin, together with dialects in the central parts of neighboring Jiangsu province. Non-Mandarin dialects are spoken to the south of the Yangzi: dialects of Wu are spoken in Xuancheng prefecture-level city, though these are rapidly being replaced by Jianghuai Mandarin; dialects of Gan are spoken in a few counties in the southwest bordering Jiangxi province;[39] and the Huizhou dialects are spoken in about ten counties in the far south, a small but highly diverse and unique group of Chinese dialects.

Huangmeixi, which originated in the environs of Anqing in southwestern Anhui, is a form of traditional Chinese opera popular across China. Huiju, a form of traditional opera originating in the Huizhou-speaking areas of southern Anhui, is one of the major precursors of Beijing Opera; in the 1950s, Huiju (which had disappeared) was revived. Luju is a type of traditional opera found across central Anhui, from east to west.

Anhui cuisine is one of the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine. Combining elements of cooking from northern Anhui, south-central Anhui, and the Huizhou-speaking areas of southern Anhui, Anhui cuisine is known for its use of wild game and herbs, both land and sea, and comparatively simple methods of preparation.

Anhui has a high concentration of traditional products related to calligraphy: Xuanzhou (today Xuancheng) and Huizhou (today Huangshan City) are revered for producing Xuan Paper and Hui Ink, respectively, which are traditionally considered the best types of paper and ink for Chinese calligraphy. She County is famous for the She Inkstone, one of the most preferred types of inkstones (a required tool in traditional calligraphy).

University of Science and Technology of China

Main Campus of Hefei University of Technology

East Campus of University of Science and Technology of China

Anhui has some good universities. Most universities in Anhui are located in Hefei, Wuhu, Bengbu, Maanshan, some of them are pretty well known. Specifically, Hefei is one of the most important research central cities in China with leading basic scientific research capability.

Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun.

Anhui's principal tourism sites include the following:

• Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun (World Heritage Site).
• Chao Lake
• Jing Ting Mountain
• Mount Huangshan (World Heritage Site)
• 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.
• Zuiweng Pavilion, named after the poet Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072 AD).

• Xia Jun, economist, telecom researcher and university professor
• Qiu Jianliang, professional kickboxer
• Fang Bian, sanshou fighter and professional kickboxer

• Major national historical and cultural sites in Anhui

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Anhui.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 安徽.

• Anhui Government website Archived 2015-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
• Anhui Provincial Tourism Administration Official Site
• Economic profile for Anhui Province at HKTDC
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ngan-hui" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.