Lying between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, Hefei is the capital city of Anhui Province and is ranked as one of the fifty strongest cities in China. Close to the coastal area, Hefei plays an important part in connecting the eastern and western areas of China while also linking the south and the north. Covering an area of 7,266 square kilometers (about 2,805 square miles), Hefei is known as the central tourist city of the whole province.

History

Hefei, well known both at home and abroad as "a historic site famous from the Three Kingdoms Period and the hometown of Lord Bao", is a city with a history of more than 2000 years. As early as 206 B.C. or so, between Qin and Han Dynasties, Hefei County was established. During the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it was under the jurisdiction of Luzhou with Hefei as the seat of the government. Therefore, Luzhou is another name of Hefei. Now Hefei has become the political, economic, cultural and financial center of Anhui Province and also a major science and education base, and a future hub of railway transportation.

Geography & Climate

Hefei is the capital city of Anhui Province. It is located in the central plains of China between Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, near Chaohu Lake. The city covers an area of 7,266 sq km with a population of 4.11 million.
Hefei enjoys a subtropical humid monsoon climate characterized by mild climate with obvious distinctions among four seasons and appropriate precipitation. During spring, there is some rainfall and the weather may vary sometimes; in summer, it rains much while autumn has crisp air and fine weather. The average temperature is 15.7?, and the sunshine-time accounts for as long as 2100 hours every year.

Tourism Resources

Hefei enjoys an excellent ecological environment. It has long been reputed as a "green city" well-developed in tree plantation, gardening and air protection. It is the tourism center in central Anhui Province with abundant scenic spots and historic interests.
Dashu Mountain is a beautiful scenery area in the west of the city. To the south of the city there is the one of the 5 biggest freshwater Lakes-Chaohu Lake, around which there are still so many tourist attractions. To the north there are Zhongdu City Site in Fengyang, Dragon-head Temple, Emperor Tomb from Ming Dynasty, Jingting Hill and five big reservoirs such as Foziling, Moaitan and Meishan.
Hefei is the hometown of Lord Bao Zheng, an upright and honest official in the Song Dynasty. In the city there are such historical remains and sites as Xiaoyaojin Park, Memorial Temple of Lord Bao, Crossbower Training Terrace and Mingjiao Temple. 

Chaohu Lake

Chaohu Lake takes the shape of a bird¡¯s nest. In Chinese, birds¡¯ nest is called ¡°Chao¡±, and that¡¯s why Chaohu Lake got its name.
Stretching about 800 square km, Chaohu Lake is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. It absorbs water from rivers in the near, including Tuogao River, Nanfei River, Fengle River, Hangbu River and Zhao River, etc.
As one of national-level tourist attractions in the central province, Chaohu Lake has exquisite scenery, characterized by the atmosphere of mystery and tranquility, with mists and waves stretching far into the horizon.
In the middle of the lake lies Mt. Mushan, floating on the water like a coach. To the south stands Silver Screen Mountain, well-known for the wonderful white peonies that grow on the mountain.
Besides the graceful scenery, there are quite a few historical landscapes around Chaohu Lake. Among the attractions are the Dragon Cave Site of Hexian, Xiangyu Temple in Wujiang River, where Xiangyu, an ancient self-proclaimed king, committed suicide with a sword, Zhou Yu Tomb, where Zhou Yu, the famous general in the period of the Three Kindoms was buried, Temple of Lord Mi which was built in honor of the great calligrapher Mi Fu in the Song Dynasty, and Shabby House of Liu Yuxi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, etc.

Mingjiao Temple

Mingjiao Temple is located in the east part of Hefei City within the ancient moat system. Built in the Tang dynasty, it is one of China¡¯s important Buddhist complexes.

The temple is well-known for the fact that during the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao of the Wei Dynasty trained his soldiers here. In ancient times, numerous wars were fought over this strategic location. The Archery Training Terrace is right the place where Emperor Caocao trained his troops to use crossbows. Besides, on the frequent windy days here, the bells in the eaves peal, and that the halls here house over 30 Buddhist statues stably.

Leisure Ford Park

Unlike its name, Leisure Ford Park is not a place for people to relax themselves in ancient times. Actually, it is well-known in modern China as a famous battlefield.

In the last years of the Eastern Han dynasty, a general called Sun Quan, later to become king of the Wu Kingdom, led a troop of 100,000 soldiers towards Hefei to take the city. The city general, a subordinate of the famous Cao Cao, named Zhang Liao, had only 7,000 troops under his command. Soldiers were fearful and worried awaiting the battle that would certainly result in sacking of the city. Seeing this, Zhang thought he would try to even up the odds.

Gethering almost all of his troops, Zhang initiated a night blitz upon the unprepared Sun barracks and finally drove Sun¡¯s troops away.

Now the park has been turned into a park covering a total area of 31.3 hectares.

Baohe Park

Baohe Park is one of the parks that surrounded the ancient walls of Hefei City. It consists of the Xinghua Park, Hei Pond, and the Leisure Ford Park.
The park is named after a famous Northern Song dynasty official, Bao Zheng, who was well-known for his incorruptible and honest character. Bao worked as an official in Kaifeng and did a lot of things to defend local people¡¯s rights.
Most of the park is covered by a graceful lake. In the middle of the park is a statue of Lord Bao, the powerful and wise administrator, behind which stands the tools of his highest authority, 3 fixed hay cutters (Zhadao). Each cutter is marked differently, one dragon headed, one tiger headed and one dog headed, indicating the condemned mans social status. The statues face is painted black, a color that in opera tradition is the symbol of honesty.
There are also some other sights of interest. The hexagonal pavilion, the garden houses, in typical Anhui architectural style, that Bao and his progeny used to live in, etc.

Mt. Jiuhua

Mt. Jiuhua is situated in the southwest of Qingyang County, with the Yangtze River in the north and Mt. Huangshan in the south. The Mountain covers an area of 334 square km with many peaks and temples. It is one of the 4 famous holy mountains for Buddhism in China. As early as 5th century, Buddhism was introduced to Jiuhua Mountain. During the reign of Kaiyuan of the Tang dynasty, Jin Qiaojue from South Korea came to China, and stayed for 70 years. He died in 794 m Mt. Jiuhua. There are more than 80 temples of different sizes in the mountain, among which 9 are major temples under council protection. Every year, on the July 30th on lunar calendar, grand temple fairs would be held and last for several days.
Moreover, Mt. Jiuhua is also a famous scenic spot. The mountain peaks and hills are covered by ancient cypresses, waterfalls and springs. One can enjoy a beautiful view of the suburb area of Hefei.