Hefei Travel Guide

 Facts
Phone Code: 0551
Postal Code: 230000
Area: 7,029.48 Sq km (2,714.1 Sq miles)
Population: 5,702,466 (in 2010)
Nationalities: Han, Manchu, Hui
Neighboring Areas: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Henan and Shandong Provinces
Location: Having the advantaged of a unique geographic position, Hefei City is located in the central part of Anhui Province, on the northern bank of the Chaohu Lake, and between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River. It plays an important role in linking the east and west and connecting south and north.

 Physical Features: Located in the hill terrain between the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, Hefei has three sorts of landforms in its territory, namely, low hill lands, low hills composed of residues Hill and low alluvial plains. In the west is the Dabieshan Mountain, in the east and southeast are the hills along the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers and in the south are  the low hill groups surrounding the Chaohu Lake. Although there are no linked hills in the north, there are some scattered ones. 

Hefei Maps

 History: Famed as the 'Site of Three Kingdoms', the 'Hometown of Bao Zheng' and the 'Cradle of the Huai Army', it has enjoyed a history of over 2,200 years since the establishment of the Hefei County in the Qin Dynasty (221 - 207BC). In the Warring State Period  (476 - 221BC), Zhang Liao, a general of the Wei State, had ever defeated 100 thousand troops of the Wu State here, and this has  become  known as the Xiaoyaojin Campaign. In the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127), it became the battlefront against the Jin State. At the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Li Yucheng of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864) and Zeng Guopan of the Qing Dynasty joined a battle here, known as the Sanhezhen Victory. Large and small battles prove its important strategic position in China.

 Attractions: Being the birth and burial place of Bao Zheng (known as Bao Gong, which is a symbol of justice and integrity), Hefei has built a Memorial Temple of Lord Bao, located located in Baohe Park, southwest of the city center. As the cradle of the Huai Army of the Qing Dynasty, there are also historical sites of the major generals, such as the Former Residence of Li Hongzhang and the Former Residence of Liu Mingchuan. Other famous historical and cultural sites are Xiaoyaojin, Site Park of the Three Kingdoms, Anhui Provincial Museum and Sanhe Old Town.

Present Hefei is reputed as a 'National Health City', 'National Garden City' and 'China`s Outstanding Tourist City'. Thus, it also boasts with many natural and man-made tourist attractions, including Zipengshan Forest Park, Chaohu Lake, Huiyuan Garden, Western Suburb Scenic Area, City Wall Park, Botanical Garden and Wildlife Park.

 Transportation
 Air: Hefei Luogang International Airport has opened more than 60 national and international air routes to most of the major Chinese cities, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau and foreign cities of North Korea, South Korea and Singapore.
 Train: Huainan Railway goes through the city from north to south, connecting Jinghu and Longhai railways at Bangfu in the north, and joining up Wangan, Ningwu and Xuanhang railways at Wuhu in the south. Besides, Hejiu and Ningxi railways also pass by the city. There are two main railway stations in the city, Hefei Railway Station and West Railway Station. There are trains to Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hankou, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Shangqiu, Shenzhen and the cities within Anhui Province, sch as Bangfu, Huaibei, Bozhou and Huangshan daily. There are also bullet trains to Shanghai and Nanjing.

 Ferry: Located at the bank of the Nanfei River, Hefei Port is one of 28 inland ports of China. After the completion of the 1st phase of Hefei New Port, there will be direct ferries to Wuhan, Yichang, Chongqing and the ports of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.
 Bus: There are three major bus stations in th city now. Hefei Bus Station, near to Hefei Railway Station, operates buses to the counties in western and eastern parts of the city. Hefei Long-distance Bus Station located on Mingguang Road, operates buses to the towns, counties and cities within Anhui Province, and buses to Nanning, Shanghai and other cities outside Anhui. Tourism Bus Station situated in Zhanqian Road mainly operates buses to Huangshan Mountain, Jiuhuashan Mountain and other famous scenic spots in Anhui. The city has a well developed bus transport system, with over 100 bus routes covering all of the streets, shopping centers and scenic spots. As well, it started using BRT in 2007, which mainly runs along the Changjiang Road and Huizhou Avenue.
 Taxi: Taxi fares depend on the types of car. The starting fare for a Xiali car is CNY6 for the first 2.5 km (1.6 miles), and additional CNY1 per km for the rest way. For Santana and Fukang, the flag-fall is CNY8 and additional CNY1.2 per km after 2.5 km.

 Weather: It has short springs and autumns but long summers and winters, with around a one-month main rain period from June to July. Relatively speaking, the best traveling time is April to October.

 Dining and Shopping
Hefei is, of course, the ideal place to taste the authentic Anhui Cuisine that is one of the Eight Cuisines in China. Representative dishes are Caocao Chicken, Baogong Fish, Luzhou Roasted Duck, Deep-fried Sauteed Shrimps and Li Hongzhang Medley. Local snacks are also tasty and popula, such as Sesame Cake, Baked Cake, Sesame Cookie, White Sesame Slices, Steamed Bread Stuffed with Meat and Vegetables, Sanhe rice dumplings and Mushroom Chicken dumplings. The best dining places are Huangshan Restaurant on Bangfu Road, Huaishang Restaurant on Changjiang Middle Road and Lvyangcun Restaurant on Huaihe Road. For local snacks, Renmin Lane, Longxia Street on Ningguo Road and the Food Street on Funan Road are good choices.
As the capital city of Anhui Province, it is the gathering place of all the local specialties and handicrafts throughout the province, including feather fans, bamboo carvings and burning paintings of Hefei, Xuan paper and Xuan pens of Jing County, Hui ink and She inkstone of She County, Maofeng Tea of Huangshan, and many others. To buy these products, Huaihe Road Pedestrain Street, starting from Huancheng Road in the east and ending at Suzhou Road in the west, is your first choice. Other shopping areas are City God Commodities Market, Changjiang Wholesale Market, Orient Shopping Mall, Hefei Department Store and Drum Tower Shopping Mall.