Anhui—“Hometown of Chinese Tea”

Anhui, also known as Wan for short, is located in southeast China, on the lower reaches of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. It touches six provinces, including Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, and Henan, with the Changjiang and Huaihe Rivers running through. Anhui has an area of 139,000 square kilometers, and a population of 60 million. Hefei is the capital.
     The topography in Anhui is high in the southwest and low in the northeast. Mountains and hills make up two thirds of the total area. The climate belongs to semi-humid monsoon of warm temperate and subtropical humid monsoon.
     Anhui has abundant tourist resources with beautiful landscape, many places of historic interest, and rich folk customs. Anhui is propitious for giving birth to great men. The long history has left behind a great number of historical sites, such as Xuguo Stone Arch and Tangyue archways in Shexian, the ancient residences in Yixian, and the opera theaters in Bozhou. Moreover, Anhui is famous for arts and crafts, four treasures of the study, iron pictures, and bronze wares.

Tourist Attractions

- Yellow Mountain: Yellow Mountain, also named Huangshan, lies in the eastern part of China, is famous for its marvelous and beautiful scenery. It is one of the most popular tourist resorts in China. The landform of Yellow Mountain is a kind of typical granite mountains and forests. It was the result of several movements of lithosphere as well as the work of nature during the long geological age. 77 peaks are more than 1,000 metres above sea level. Granite limestone towers and oddly-shaped rocks spread all over the scenic area. The legendary pines, oddly-shaped rocks, phantasmagoric sea of clouds, hot springs and winter snows have own Yellow Mountain the world famous reputation of the five unique views. Yellow Mountain has brought together all the strong points other mountains have: grand, strange, baffling, arduous, steep, flourishing, quiet and spacious.
- Chaohu Lake: Chaohu Lake is located at the juncture of Chaohu and Hefei cities, and is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. It is famous for beautiful scenery and abundant materials. Along the lakeside, small islands stand one next to another. The beautiful natural landscape and many places of interest make the lake a good holiday resort. Tourist attractions include Mt. Laoshan, Zhongmiao Temple, Mt. Yinping, and the Immortal's Cave. Its silver fish, small shrimps, and crabs are taken as the Three Treasures.
- Memorial Temple of Load Bao: Lord Bao (999-1062), named Bao Zheng, was a renowned officer in the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127). He is well respected because of his excellent personality, fair-minded judgments and strict family education. In commemoration, many memorial temples were built after his death. Among them the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao is the most famous one. This temple lies in Baohe Park in the southeastern part of his hometown, Hefei City. The current appearance of the temple is the result of reconstruction in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). There is an inscription stone in the temple which was found in the tomb of Bao Zheng in Daxingji County, Hefei City in April, 1973. This inscription stone records detailed information of Bao's whole life that is helpful for a further understanding of him.

Local Culture and Art

- Dialect: 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 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 Hui dialects are spoken in about ten counties in the far south, a small but highly diverse and unique group of Chinese dialects.
- Huangmei opera or Huangmei tone: originated as a form of rural folksong and dance that has been in existence for the last 200 years and possibly longer. The music is performed with a pitch that hits high and stays high for the duration of the song. It is unique in the sense that it does not sound like the typical rhythmic Chinese opera. In the 1960s Hong Kong counted the style as much as an opera as it was a music genre. Today it is more of a traditional performance art with efforts of revival in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Food

Anhui cuisine is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Huangshan Mountains region in China and similar to Jiangsu cuisine. Combining elements of cooking from northern Anhui, south-central Anhui, and the Hui-speaking areas of southern Anhui, Anhui cuisine is known for its use of wild game and herbs, both land and sea, and comparatively unelaborated methods of preparation. Chefs pay more attention to temperature in their cooking and are good at braising and stewing. Frying and stir-fry methods are used much less frequently in Anhui cuisine than in other Chinese culinary traditions. Anhui cuisine is consisted of three styles: Yangtze River region, Huai River region, and southern Anhui region. Anhui consists of vast green land and un-harmed natural forests, and therefore its use of wild herbs are easily stocked.

Shopping

After visiting some scenic areas in Hefei, you will find some local souvenirs that you can buy for your friends and your family. Here, some special local products are recommended to you for your shopping guidance.
- Four Treasure of Study: which is famous in China refers to the four tools of Chinese calligraphy including brush, ink-stick, paper and ink-stone. In Hefei, certain counties are renowned for producing some of these treasures: Jin County is renowned for producing Xuan Paper and Xuan Pen; She County is renowned for producing Hui Ink and She Inkstone. These are all available to you for your special use in Chinese calligraphy.
- Chinese Tea: Anhui, renowned for its tea production, is the essence of Chinese tea culture. The most famous tea in Anhui is most certainly, Huangshan Maofeng which is considered one of the top ten green teas in China and, is also well-known overseas. Anhui Qihong Tea, Anhui Tun Green Tea and Anhui Houkui Tea are three other categories from which you may choose.

Transportation

- Taxi: At present, the fare for a taxi in Hefei is CNY 6 for the first 2.5 kilometers. Subsequent kilometers differ in price according to the different styles of taxi: Santana is CNY 1.2 for subsequent kilometers and Xiali is CNY 1. If the taxi drives more than 10 kilometers, it will normally add 50 percent of the general fee to the cost.
- City Bus: Currently there are around 100 bus lines in Hefei City. They usually operate from early morning (06:00) till evening (20:00, or as late as 23:00). The bus fare is usually CNY 1. You cannot get change on the bus, so you need to plan ahead to have the correct amount.