Huainan  (huái nán shì 淮南市), located in the south-east of China and the middle reaches of the Huaihe River  (huái hé 淮河), is a new energy city and an important industrial city of Anhui Province as it is is one of the five largest coalfields in China. It is bounded on the east by Chuzhou  (chú zhōu shì 滁州市) and shares boundary with Hefei  (hé féi shì 合肥市), the capital of Anhui Province  (ān huī shěng 安徽省) in the south. Boasting sites of rich natural and cultural resources, it is making great efforts to open new tourist attractions. 

Overview

Huainan, noted for its energy resources in Anhui Province, is one of the large-scale energy base of China, lying in the south-east of China, middle reaches of Huaihe River where the temperature is very moderate and comfortable. There are many beautiful mountains and rivers around Huainan, such as Bagong Mountain  (bā gōng shān 八公山), Wolong Mountain  (wò lóng shān 卧龙山), and Wolong Lake  (wò lóng hú 卧龙湖). Bagong Mountain combines natural scenery with man-made sights, is famous for the site of the Battle of Feishui  (féi shuǐ zhī zhàn 淝水之战) in ancient times. Huainan boasts of excellent natural environment. The tourism development projects began in August 1999. It is planned that the ecological sightseeing area, cultural area and tourist area of the ancient battlefield will be constructed in the shining future. Other famous sites are Cemetery of Lord Chunshen  (chūn shēn jūn líng yuán 春申君陵园), Pass of Mt. Xia  (xiá shān kǒu 硖山口), Garden of Mt. Dong  (dòng shān yóu yuán 洞山游园), Datong Killing Field Education Center  (dà tōng wàn rén kēng jiào yù guǎn 大通万人坑教育馆) and Shouzhou Kiln  (shòu zhōu yáo yí zhǐ 寿州窑遗址), one of the seven famous kilns in Tang Dynasty  (táng cháo 唐朝). Through seeking for the traditional fire crafts which have been lost for thousand years, the modern products from Shouzhou Kiln have already been a new favourite for collectors. Besides, bean curd, popular in China and abroad, is just originated in Huainan where the Chinese Bean Curd Culture Festival  (zhōng guó dòu fu wén huà jié 中国豆腐文化节) has been held for 12 years running.

History

Huainan has a long history. Since ancient times, it has been the cultural exchange center of south and north of China. As early as 5000 years, there were primitive humankind existing and living here. During Xia  (xià cháo 夏朝) and Shang Dynasty  (shāng cháo 商朝), a group of people constituted a tribe here. In Warring States period  (zhàn guó shí qī 战国时期), it belonged to the Chu State  (chǔ guó 楚国). Later, in Han Dynasty  (hàn cháo 汉朝), the name Huainan first came into existence when Liu Bang  (liú bāng 刘邦) bestowed upon Ying Bu  (yīng bù 英布), one of his most trusted generals, the title of the King of Huainan. In 122 BC，Liu An  (liú ān 刘安), the emperor of Huainan in West Han dynasty  (xī hàn 西汉), recruited many intelligent and capable scholars to edit the historical book of "Huainanzi  (huái nán zǐ 淮南子)" whose original purpose deriving from the time's thoughts and the thrive of the kingdom's culture in early Han Dynasty was to investicate the rules of the society, to find out the root of life's happiness or woe in order to set up a systemic theory, in Bagong Mountain where he created a common delicious food—bean curd. "Huainanzi" was classed as Zajia  (zá jiā 杂家) in "Hanshu"  (hàn shū 汉书, a history book of Han Dynasty) for it was not only the up-bring of scholarship from pre-Ch'in, but also the result of the mixing in early Han Dynasty. As an ancient encyclopaedia of China, "Huainanzi" is a collection of essays on the basis of ideas of Taoism  (dào jiā xué shuō 道家学说) while combining the essence of other classical Chinese theories such as Confucianism  (rú jiā xué shuō 儒家学说), Mohism  (mò jiā xué shuō 墨家学说), Legalism  (fǎ jiā xué shuō 法家学说) and the theory of Yin-Yang  (yīn yáng xué shuō 阴阳学说). In addition, there are many Chinese famous historical figures in Huainan buried here, such as Huang Xie  (huáng xiē 黄歇), Lord of Chunshen  (chūn shēn jūn 春申君) of the Warring States, Lian Po  (lián pō 廉颇), senior general of Zhao State  (zhào guó 赵国), Liu An, Huainan King, etc. In 1978, the extinct organism fossil discovered here has proved that the primal life origins less than 600 million years put forward in Darwin’s work "The Origin of Species" should be shifted to over 200 million years ahead.

Climate

Blessed with an outstanding geographical position, Huainan enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate with relatively moderate weather and abundant sunshine. The average temperature of the city is a bit lower than any other cities in Anhui Province. In summer it rains the most and the plum rain period usually lasts about 20 days. Spring and Autumn are two most beautiful seasons in this city.

Attractions

Shangyao National Forest Park

Shangyao National Forest Park  (shàng yáo guó jiā sēn lín gōng yuán 上窑国家森林公园) is mainly made of thick forest where the scenery is beautiful and the environment is elegant. It is a park that harmoniously combines the forest resources and the tourism resources together. There are mainly four sites in the park—Dongshanhuai  (dòng xiān huái 洞山怀), a natural and cultural landscape surrounded by mountains inside which there is Dongshan Temple  (dòng shān sì 洞山寺), built in Ming Dynasty  (míng cháo 明朝); Fairy Peach Garden  (xiān táo yuán 仙桃园), Morning-Glory Lane  (qiān niú xiàng 牵牛巷) and the Traces of the Queen of Heaven  (wáng mǔ yí zōng 王母遗踪); Shouzou Kiln, set up in Nan Dynasty  (nán cháo 南朝), popular in Sui Dynasty  (suí cháo 隋朝) and Tang Dynasty and falling down in Five Dynasties  (wǔ dài 五代), which is a provincial-level key unit to be protected; Shangyao Old Town  (shàng yáo gǔ zhèn 上窑古镇), facing the water and mountain at the back, with a history of more than 2000 years on the south of which lies Luoshui  (luò shuǐ 洛水), one of the ruins of Battle of Feishui.

Admission Fee: CNY 5
Opening Hours: 24 hours a day
Location: in the northeast of Huainan

Bagong Mountain

Bagong Mountain is situated in Bagongshan District  (bā gōng qū 八公区) of Huainan. It has been listed as a national forest park and a national 4A scenic area. It is also the old battlefield of the wellknown Battle of Feishui in ancient China. The scenic spot has developed many sceneries according to its unique historic culture and natural scenery. The major tourist attractions are: the Palace of Huainan King  (huái nán wáng gōng 淮南王宫), a famous thinker, literati of the Western Han Dynasty and the Platform for the King to ascend to Heaven  (shēng xiān tái 升仙台), Qinglanggan Park  (qīng láng gān guǎn 青琅玕馆), White Pagoda Temple  (bái tǎ sì 白塔寺) and Wangqing Valley  (wàng qíng gǔ 忘情谷). Above all, it is a nice place for leisure, holiday, religious pilgrim, sightseeing and the study of geology and landforms.

Admission Fee: CNY 10 for adults, CNY 5 for Children, CNY 30 during statutory holidays, free for Children under 1.1m and seniors older than 70.
Opening Hours: 8：00—20：00
Transportation: take bus No. 34, 45, 67 to Bagong Mountain Station

Jiaogang Lake

The water of Jiaogang Lake  (jiāo gāng hú 焦岗湖) is collected directly from 18 rivers and streams from other cities. The wetland plants is lush with mighty reed marshes and lotus creek. It is of great values of landscape viewing. Because of the excellent geographic feature, there are various kinds of birds and fishes in this area setting diversity, rarity, originality of one. It is also one of the green food base in China. Those flying wild geese are no doubt the most beautiful scenes around the lake.

Dragon Lake Park

Dragon Lake Park  (lóng hú gōng yuán 龙湖公园), built up in 1957 and opened to the public in 1980, is the only municipal comprehensive park and one of the largest parks in the city. It is regarded as the "Green Pearl" in the east of Anhui Province. There are many scenic spots in the park in beautiful surroundings, with complete facilities. According to the water, the lake is divided into two parts—the north lake and the south lake. The south lake is mainly for boating where 4 islands are lying on the lake. On the south of the middle island is a zigzag bridge connecting the south island and on the north there is a rainbow-shaped bridge connecting the bank. A mid-lake pavilion is standing on the island which is in lush green trees and colourful flowers.

Admission Fee: CNY 20 for adults, CNY 10 for Children
Tel: 0554－5335966
Address: 160 Renmin North Road  (rén mín běi lù 人民北路), Huainan
Transportation: take bus No. 8 to Congtai District  (cóng tái qū 丛台区)

Maoxian Cave

Maoxian Cave  (máo xiān dòng 茅仙洞), built 2100 years ago, is one of the earliest Buddhism and Taoism temple inChina. It is located in the west of Huainan. It is said that three brothers with the surname of Mao (máo 茅) practiced in the cave and later became immortals, hence the name Maoxian Cave. This area is surrounded by water on three sides. The main attractions include the ancient Maoxian Cave, Xiangshan Temple  (xiāng shān sì 香山寺), Shoutang Pass  (shòu táng guān 寿唐关), First Valley of the Huaihe River  (huái hé dì yī xiá 淮河第一峡), Black Dragon Pool  (hēi lóng tán 黑龙潭), the ancient Feishui Battlefield  (féi shuǐ zhī zhàn zhī gǔ zhàn chǎng 淝水之战古战场), and the ruins of Biandan City  (biǎn dàn chéng yí zhǐ 扁担城遗址) in the Spring and Autumn Period  (chūn qiū shí qī 春秋时期). The natural landscapes and human landscapes are adding radiance and beauty to this area.

Admission Fee: CNY 1 for adults, free for Children

Food

Bagongshan Bean Curd

In Huainan, the most famous food is bean curd which has brought the fashion to eat bean curd everyday throughout the world. Among those delicious cuisines made of bean curd, Bagongshan Bean Curd  (bā gōng shān dòu fu 八公山豆腐) is best known, which is also called Four Seansons' Bean Cird  (sì jì dòu fu 四季豆腐) because this can be cooked at any time of the year. It is also a treasure if the vegetable dishes, originated from Shou County  (shòu xiàn 寿县). Made of bean curd, bamboo shoots and the water from Bagong Mountain, the dish features golden color, crisp outside, tender inside and delicious taste.

Transportation

Air
The Hefei Luogang International Airport  (hé feí luò gāng guó jì jī chǎng 合肥骆岗国际机场) Terminal is in operation. The "Airport Express" will provide total package service including booking tickets for customers, shuttle bus service and check-in.

Railway
Since Huainan is abundant with coals, the railway network of the city is well-developed. Shang  (shāng qiū 商丘)-Hang  (háng zhōu 杭州) line under planning will pass through Huainan South Station and Huainan East Station is also under construction for passenger special line from Hefei to Bengbu  (bèng bù 蚌埠) and Beijing  (běi jīng 北京)-Fuzhou  (fú zhōu 福州) fast track.

Location: Shungeng Middle Road  (shùn gēng zhōng lù 舜耕中路), Tianjia'an District  (tián jiā ān qū 田家庵区), Huainan
Transportation: Take bus No. 6, 26, 122, 9, 110, 24 to Railway Station.

Bus
There are many highways and national roads passing through this city and the condition of the highway is good. The new long distance bus passenger station is one of the Level-1 stations in China where there are 146 bus lines both within and without the city through the station. Passengers can take bus No. 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 24, 26, 30, 110, 121 and 210 to arrive at the station.

The bus system inner the city is quite convenient. Most of the buses are usually operated from 6:00 to 19:30 and others will be running later than 21:00.

Taxi
There are more than 3200 taxis in Huainan. It starts at CNY 5 for first 2.5 kilometers and after that it will be CNY 1.2 for each kilometer. Form 23:00 to 5:00 it starts at CNY 6 and CNY 1.4 for each kilometer afterwards. Passengers also have to pay the waiting fee as well as the toll.