Hefei Travel Guide

History

Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, is a city with a history of more than 2000 years. It is the political, economic, cultural and financial center of Anhui Province.

Geography & Climate

Hefei is located in the central plains of China between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. The city covers an area of 7,266 sq km with a population of 4.11 million. The area enjoys a mild, subtropical humid climate with four distinct seasons and adequate precipitation. Springtime is mostly dry, with most of the rain falling summer. Autumn has crisp cool days and fine weather. The average temperature is 15.7C (60F).

Tourism

Hefei enjoys an excellent environment. It has long been known as a "green city," with well-developed tree planting and gardening programs and air protection. It is the tourism center of central Anhui Province with abundant scenic and historic spots. Dashu Mountain is a beautiful scenic area west of the city. To the south of the city is one of China’s five biggest freshwater lakes-Chaohu Lake, around which there are many tourist attractions. Zhongdu City site in Fengyang, Dragon-head Temple, Emperor’s Tombs from the Ming Dynasty, Jingting Hill and five big reservoirs such as Foziling, Moaitan and Meishan lie north of the city. In the city itself one can visit Xiaoyaojin Park, the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao, the crossbow training terrace and Mingjiao Temple.

Education

Hefei serves as an important scientific and educational base in China. There are more than 30 universities and colleges, 47 professional high schools and 190 research institutes in the city, including China University of Science and Technology, one of China's best universities, and Hefei Branch of the Academy of Sciences of China.

Sister cities

Hefei is a sister city of the following cities:
Kurume, Japan (since May 20, 1980)
Freetown, Sierra Leone (March 20, 1984)
Bujumbura, Burundi (July 7, 1986)
Columbus, USA (November 17, 1988)
Aalborg, Denmark (April 22, 1989)
Lerida, Spain (April 4, 1998) Wonju,
South Korea (June 20, 2002) Darebin,
Australia (October 29, 2003) Belfast,
UK (December 26, 2003)

Notable people

Bao Zheng (999-1062), Northern Song Dynasty bureaucrat and judge whose name has become synonymous with judicial wisdom and uprightness

Li Hongzhang (1823-1901), prominent late Qing Dynasty bureaucrat and diplomat

Chen Ning Yang, (b. 1922), 1957 Nobel Physics Prize laureate