Anhui
From ChinaTravelGuide
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[edit] Overview
Anhui is located at the northwest side of East China (华东). Both the Yangtze River (长江) and Huaihe River (淮河) run across it. From north to south, Anhui is divided into Huaibei Plain (淮北平原), the hilly area of Jianghuai (江淮丘陵), Dabieshan (大别山) mountains, Wanzhong Plain (皖中平原), and southern Anhui mountains. Huangshan (黄山) and Jiuhua Mountain (九华山) are the top attractions in Anhui province.
Anhui has distinctive four seasons. The area along the Huaihe River has a moist and warm subtropical monsoon climate. January is the coldest month with average temperature of 2 ℃ and lows around -8 ℃. July is the hottest month with average temperature around 28 ℃ and high of 38 ℃.
[edit] History
The province of Anhui was formed in the seventeenth century. Before then, there was no coherent concept of "Anhui". Northern Anhui was firmly a part of the North China Plain in terms of culture, together with modern-day Henan province. Central Anhui constituted most of the fertile and densely-populated Huai He River watershed. Southern Anhui, along the Yangtze, was closer to Hubei and southern Jiangsu provinces in culture. Finally, the hills of southeastern Anhui formed a unique and distinct cultural sphere of its own. The creation of the province of Anhui has not eroded these distinctions.
During the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth to eleventh century BC) most of Anhui was populated by non-Sinitic peoples known collectively as the Dongyi. King Tang of Shang, the legendary founder of the Shang Dynasty, was said to have put his capital at Bo (亳), in the vicinities of Bozhou in modern northern Anhui.
During the Warring States Period, Shouchun (modern Shou County) in central Anhui became a refugee capital for the state of Chu after its heartlands in modern Hubei province was overrun by the powerful state of Qin in the west, in 278 BC. Qin nevertheless managed to conquer all of China in 221 BC, creating the Qin Dynasty.
Anhui was administered under several different commanderies during the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. Near the end of the Han Dynasty Shouchun became the base for the warlord Yuan Shu, who declared himself emperor at one point, but soon succumbed to illness, allowing his small realm to come under the powerful warlord Cao Cao, founder of the Wei Kingdom, one of the Three Kingdoms.
The 4th century saw the influx of nomadic tribes from Central Asia into North China. This began several centuries of political division of northern and southern China. Being at the juncture of north and south, the lands comprising modern Anhui changed hands frequently and was usually bisected through the middle politically. The Battle of Feishui, between the Former Qin of the north and the Eastern Jin Dynasty of the south, took place in 383 AD in modern Anhui.
The Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the Tang Dynasty (618-907) oversaw several centuries of relative peace and unity in China. During this period Anhui was once again ruled under several different jurisdictions.
During the division of China between the Jin Dynasty in the north and the Southern Song Dynasty in the south, Anhui was once again bisected, this time along the Huai He River. This lasted until Mongol reunification of China in 1279.
The Ming Dynasty drove out the Mongols in 1368. Due to a short stint as the capital of China by the city of Nanjing in nearby Jiangsu province, the entirety of Jiangsu and Anhui kept their special status as territory-governed directly by the central government, and were called Nanzhili (南直隸 "Southern directly-governed"). A major street in the city of Huainan, northern Anhui.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty, which conquered China in 1644, changed this situation by establishing Nanzhili as Jiangnan province; in 1666 Jiangsu and Anhui were split apart as separate provinces. This was the beginning of the contemporary Anhui province, which has since kept almost the same borders as today. The one significant change that occurred was the move of the provincial capital from Anqing to Hefei in 1946.
When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Anhui was briefly split into two separate administrative regions: Wanbei (North Anhui) and Wannan (South Anhui). They were merged into a province in 1952.
In the 2007 book China Road, author Rob Gifford stated that the Chinese refer to Anhui as nongye dasheng ("big agricultural province"). According to Gifford this is a euphemism for a "very poor" area and that people have referred to Anhui as the "Appalachia of China."
--from wikipedia.org
[edit] Geography
Anhui is quite diverse topographically. The north of the province is part of the North China Plain while the north-central areas are part of the Huai He 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 the Huangshan Mountains in southeastern Anhui. It has an altitude of 1873 m.
Major rivers include the Huai He in the north and the Yangtze in the south. The largest lake is Lake Chaohu in the center of the province, with an area of about 800 km². 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 and has more clearcut seasons. January temperatures average at around -1 to 2°C north of the Huai He, and 0 to 3°C south of the Huai He; in July temperatures average 27°C or above. Plum rains occur in June and July and may cause flooding.
--from wikipedia.org
[edit] Cities
[edit] Other Places
[edit] Video
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[edit] Attractions
- Huangshan (黄山)
- Ming and Qing Dynasty houses. Spread around in Shexian (歙县) and Yixian (黟县), these houses come with delicate wood, stone and brick carvings, and are one of the few remaining masterpieces of residential structures from Ming and Qing Dynasty.
[edit] Culture
Anhui is rich in cultural heritage. Shexian (歙县), Shouxian (寿县) and Bozhou (亳州) are the three historical cities in Anhui. Shexian is the birthplace of Anhui Carving, Anhui Opera (徽剧), Anhui Cuisine (徽菜), and Anhui Gardens (徽派园林建筑).
[edit] Language
Mandarin dialects are spoken over the northern and central parts of the province. 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 classfied as Jianghuai Mandarin, together with dialects in the central parts of neighbouring Jiangsu province. Non-Mandarin dialects are spoken in the south: 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; 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.
--from wikipedia.org
[edit] Cuisine
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 unelaborate methods of preparation.
--from wikipedia.org
[edit] Music
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.
--from wikipedia.org
[edit] Notables
[edit] Ethnic Groups
[edit] Colleges and Universities
[edit] Area and Postal Codes
| City | Area Code | Postal Code | City | Area Code | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hefei (合肥) | 551 | 230000 | Wuhu (芜湖) | 553 | 241000 | |
| Bengbu (蚌埠) | 552 | 233000 | Huainan (淮南) | 554 | 232000 | |
| Ma'anshan (马鞍山) | 555 | 243000 | Huaibei (淮北) | 561 | 235000 | |
| Tongling (铜陵) | 562 | 244000 | Anqing (安庆) | 556 | 246000 | |
| Huangshan (黄山) | 559 | 245000 | Chuzhou (滁州) | 550 | 239000 | |
| Fuyang (阜阳) | 558 | 236000 | Suzhou (宿州) | 557 | 234000 | |
| Chaohu (巢湖) | 565 | 238000 | Liuan (六安) | 564 | 237000 | |
| Haozhou (亳州) | 558 | 236000 | Chizhou (池州) | 566 | 247100 | |
| Xuancheng (宣城) | 563 | 242000 |
