Hefei  (hé féi shì 合肥市), lying between the Yangtze River  (cháng jiāng 长江) and Huaihe River  (huái hé 淮河), is located at the center of Anhui Province  (ān huī shěng 安徽省) with Huainan  (huái nán shì 淮南市) to its north, Chuzhou  (chú zhōu shì 滁州市) to its northeast, Chaohu  (cháo hú shì 巢湖市) to its southeast and Lu'an  (liù ān shì 六安市) to its west.

Overview

Located at the heart of East China, Hefei is a beautiful city with Huaihe River flowing to its north, Yangtze River to its south and to its south- east lies the Chaohu Lake  (cháo hú 巢湖). As a result, the transportation system of Hefei is well-developed.

As a capital city with a history of more than 2000 years, Hefei is the political, economic, cultural and financial center of Anhui Province. It was also known as “Luzhou  (lú zhōu 庐州)” in Ming Dynasty  (míng cháo 明朝) or “Luyang  (lú yáng 庐阳)” in Qing Dunasty  (qīng cháo 清朝). It has been always playing a significant role in commercial transactions since ancient times. Because of its convenient location and long history, there are many natural and cultural places of interests in Hefei such as Mount Shungeng  (shùn gēng shān 舜耕山), Peach Island  (táo huā dǎo 桃花岛), Hefei Botanic Gardens, Feng Le Ecological Garden  (fēng lè shēng tài yuán 丰乐生态园), Baohe Park  (bāo hé gōng yuán 包河公园), Hefei Huiyuan Pleasure Island  (hé féi huī yuán huān lè dǎo 合肥徽园欢乐岛), Hanhai  (hàn hǎi 汉海) Ocean Park, the Former Residence of Li Hongzhang  (lǐ hóng zhāng 李鸿章).

History

At the juncture of Qin Dynasty  (qín cháo 秦朝) and Han Dynasty  (hàn cháo 汉朝)  (200 BC), Heifei was set up as a county. When the crumbling Eastern Han Dynasty (dōng hàn 东汉) was at an end, Hefei, located at the top of Wu Kingdom  (wú guó 吴国) and the bottom of the Shu Kingdom  (shǔ guó 蜀国), became a very important place in terms of economy and military affairs. During Three Kingdoms Period, Caowei  (cáo wèi 曹魏) and Sunwu  (sūn wú 孙吴) fought for 30 years to capture the place. The famous bloody battle between General Zhang Liao  (zhāng liáo 张辽) on behalf of Wei Kingdom and Sun Quan  (sūn quán 孙权) from Wu Kingdom just took place at Xiaoyaojin  (xiāo yáo jīn 逍遥津, Leisure Ford) in Hefei. Now the relics have become a park — Xiaoyaojin Park.

In Northern Song Dynasty  (beǐ sòng 北宋) period, another famous historical figure named Bao Zheng  (bāo zhěng 包拯) was born in Hefei and later became known as the most conscientious and uncorrupt official in all of China. Now people from Hefei still commemorate him by displaying the tools of his trade, his execution cutters, and the area where he allegedly used to live in Memorial Temple of Lord Bao  (bāo gōng cí 包公祠) on the southeast of the city center. After 1127 it became a center of the defenses of the Southern Song Dynasty  (nán sòng 南宋) against the Jīn  (jin guó 金国) invaders.

The city was known as “Luzhou” in Ming Dynasty and “Luyang” in Qing Dunasty. From 1853 to 1862, Hefei was also regarded as the temporary capital for Anhui Province. In 1912, it was renamed as Hefei. Soon after 1949, Hefei was made the capital of Anhui Province.

Nowadays, Hefei has developed to a national scientific and technological center of many high-rank research institutes and state-run center of Science and Technology Research and Development. Hence, several famous universities of science are based in this city

Climate

The weather of Hefei is quite agreeable and mild. It has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. The annual average temperature is 16.3 °C (61.3 °F) and the mean precipitation averages 1000 millimeters a year, being heaviest from May through August. The weather of spring in Hefei is relatively pleasant but it always changes fantasticality. In summer, it is hot and humid. Normally, the hot weather will last from June to September. Autumn in Hefei is very comfortable with clear and sunny weather. In cold winter, it snows or rains irregularly but not significantly for only a few days.

Language and Local Opera

Hefei dialect is an important dialect in China. It belongs to Hongchao  (hóng cháo 洪巢) dialectal area of Jianghuai dialect  (jiāng huái guān huà 江淮官话). It features different accents. Its tone and pronunciation strength is more like northern dialect while the speech sounds are like southern dialect with many phonetics changes.

If you want to understand the culture of Hefei, you have to watch the Lu Opera  (lú jù 庐剧), the local opera in the main regions of Anhui. With a history of more than 200 years, it became an independent style of opera in Qing Dynasty. The Lu Opera evolved from popular folk songs and dances in the region and focused more on the story and the emotions of the characters. Traditionally, it can be mainly divided into three types — benxi  (běn xì 本戏) mainly about love and legal case, huaqiang  (huā qiāng 花腔) which is a kind of comedietta and zhexi  (zhé xì 折戏), the most important part taken from benxi. In general, there are 4 specific delivery styles for different roles: sheng  (shēng 生) for men, dan  (dàn 旦) for women, qingyi  (qīng yī 青衣) for decent females and chou  (chǒu 丑) for comic roles.

Attractions

Shushan District

Shushan District  (shǔ shān qū 蜀山区) is located at the southwest of Hefei. It borders Baohe River  (bāo hé 包河) on the east, Luyang District  (lú yáng qū 庐阳区) on the north, Feixi County  (féi xī xiàn 肥西县) on the south and west. There are many famous tourist attractions in this area such as Hui Garden  (huī yuán 徽园) to its south, Shushan Forest Park  (shǔ shān sēn lín gōng yuán 蜀山森林公园) and Wildlife Park to its west, Anhui Hall of Fame  (ān huī míng rén guǎn 安徽名人馆) to its north.

Hui Garden, as a Huizhou  (huī zhōu 徽州) Grand View Garden, is based on the historical and cultural attractions of Anhui province with two small streams symbolizing the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.Shushan Forest Park, located in the western suburbs of Hefei, is the best natural scenic spot in Hefei due to its adjoining mountains and clusters of man-made landscapes. Hefei Wildlife Park is situated in the Dashu Mountain  (dà shǔ shān 大蜀山). It is characterized by clear water, fresh air and thick vegetation. There are more than 2000 animals of 120 species in the garden including both domestic and foreign animals. In Anhui Hall of Fame, there are 50 vivid wax statues of outstanding figures of history from Anhui Province on show. It is a significant place for patriotic education.

Feixi County

Feixi County is one of the economically developed counties in Hefei, located at the heart of the city with Chaohu Lake  (cháo hú 巢湖) on its east and Lu’an on its west. The famous Mount Zipeng  (zǐ péng shān 紫鹏山) is just situated in this county. In Sanhe Ancient Town (sān hé gǔ zhèn 三河古镇), there are abundant rivers and lakes, combined with small bridges and local dwellings. The name of the town is derived from the Fengle River  (fēng lè hé 丰乐河), Hangbu River (háng bù hé 杭埠河) and Xiaonan River  (xiǎo nán hé 小南河) that meet here.

Feidong County


Feidong County  (féi dōng xiàn 肥东县) is regarded as the eastern gate of Hefei. It was a place that is of importance in Three Kingdoms Period and it was also the birth place of Bao Zheng. Nowadays, the industry is well developed in this county. Daishan Lake  (dài shān hú 岱山湖) Tourist Resort and Jianhua Longqi Wetland Ecological Sightseeing Garden  (jiàn huá lóng qī shēng tài guān guāng yuán 建华龙栖湿地生态观光园) are two famous sites in this county. Seven historically private palaces and ancestral halls are distributed around Daishan Lake. The legend says that it’s a habitat for dragons due to its dragon-like topography and geography.

Food

Luzhou Roast Duck

Luzhou Roast Duck  (lú zhōu kǎo yā 庐州烤鸭), the first recommended delicacy in Hefei, features golden yellow shininess with crisp skin and moderate fat and tender meat. It tastes salt and has plentiful nutrients.

Transportation

Air

Hefei Luogang International Airport  (hé feí luò gāng guó jì jī chǎng 合肥骆岗国际机场) offers more than 20 domestic airlines. It serves domestic flights to most of the cities in China with airports such as Beijing (běi jīng 北京), Shanghai (shàng haǐ 上海), Guangzhou (guǎng zhōu 广州), Shenzhen (shēn zhèn 深圳), Qingdao (qīng dǎo 青岛), etc. Passengers from Huainan  (huái nán shì 淮南市), Tongling  (tóng líng shì 铜陵市), Bengbu  (bèng bù shì 蚌埠市), Suzhou (sū zhōu shì 宿州市), Bozhou  (bó zhōu shì 亳州), Lu'an  (liù ān shì 六安市) and Chaohu  (cháo hú shì 巢湖市) can go directly to these city terminals for boarding check and airport shuttle bus, and then arrive at Hefei Airport.
Location: south of Hefei City, about 7 miles from the downtown area.
Transportation: Take No.11 bus or taxi.

Airport Ticket Booking Office
Address: No.216 Changjiang Road (cháng jiāng lù 长江路)
Transportation: Take No. 3, 9, 116, 125, 136 to arrive at Sanxiaokou Station  (sān xiào kǒu zhàn 三孝口站).

Railway

Hefei New Railway Station
The train can reach Beijing  (běi jīng 北京), Shanghai  (shàng hǎi 上海), Hangzhou  (háng zhōu 杭州), Ningbo  (níng bō 宁波), Chengdu  (chéng dū 成都), etc.
Adress: Station Road, Hefei
Transportation: No.1, 10, 11, 21, 22.

Hefei Western Railway Station
Location: in the west end of Wangjiang Road  (wàng jiāng lù 望江路)
Transportation: Take bus No.111.

Both stations can reach the neighboring cities of Anhui Province

Bus

Hefei is at the centre of the highway network of Anhui Province. There are two main highways through Hefei. One is Hefei-Nanjing (nán jīng 南京)-Shanghai expressway running east-west. The other is Hefei-Wuhu (wú hú 芜湖) expressway running north-south.

There are around 100 bus lines in Hefei. Usually they are operated from early morning (06:00) till evening (from 20:00 to 23:00). The bus fare is usually CNY 1.

Taxi

The fare for a taxi in Hefei is CNY 6 for the first 2.5 kilometers and the price for subsequent kilometers is CNY 1.2 for Santana and CNY 1 for Xiali. 50 percent of the general fee is needed if the taxi drives more than 10 kilometers. If the taxi drives at night between 23:00 and 05:00, you have to pay an additional 20 percent allowance for night-driving. The additional fare is charged differently at night: CNY 1.44 for Santana and CNY 1.2 per kilometers for Xiali.

Tips

Zip Code 230000

Useful Numbers

Fire: 119
Police: 110
Ambulance: 120
Traffic Accident: 122
Telephone Number for Consumer Complaint: 0551-2649904
Weather Forecast: 121
Telephone Number Inquiry: 114

Hospital

Capital Hospital of Anhui
Address: No.17, Lujiang Road  (lú jiāng lù 庐江路)
Tel: 0551-2283114

Hotel

There are about 150 hotels in Hefei range from star hotels to budget hotels. The most three popular hotels are:
1.Hongrui Jinling Grand Hotel
Address: 1799 Qimen Road  (qí mén lù 祁门路), Shushan Districe, Hefei
Tel: 0551-2266666
2. Hilton Hefei
Address: 198 Shengli Road  (shèng lì lù胜利路), Yaohai District  (yáo hǎi qū 瑶海区), Hefei
Tel: 0551-2808888
3. Swiss-belhotel Hualun Hefei
Address: 279 Changjing Middle Road  (cháng jiāng zhōng lù 长江中路), Luyang District, Hefei
Tel: 0551-2288688