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Hefei China Travel Guide
Untitled Document
Hefei (Chinese: 合肥; pinyin: Héféi; Wade-Giles: Hofei; literally: "Junction of the (South) Fei Rivers"; former names: Ho-fei, Luzhou, Luchow) is a prefecture-level city and the provincial capital of Anhui province, China. Located in central Anhui, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Chaohu to the southeast and Lu'an to the west.
Administration
The prefecture-level city of Hefei administers 7 county-level divisions, including 4 districts and 3 counties.
Yaohai District (瑶海区)
Luyang District (庐阳区)
Shushan District (蜀山区)
Baohe District (包河区)
Changfeng County (长丰县)
Feidong County (肥东县)
Feixi County (肥西县)
History
The name Hefei was first given to a county set up under the Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC. Because of its location on a mountain saddle between northern and southern states, Hefei was frequently fought over in the 4th to 11th centuries AD.
In 3rd century AD, the famous Three Kingdoms battle, Battle of Hefei, was fought at what is currently Leisure Ford (逍遥津) in Hefei. General Zhang Liao of the Kingdom of Wei commanding 800 picked cavalry defeated the 200,000-men army of the Kingdom of Wu. Several decades of warring in Hefei between Wu and Wei followed this battle.
In 12th century AD, during the Southern Song Dynasty, Hefei was a frontier strategic town against the Jin Dynasty.
The city was known as Luzhou (庐州; pinyin Lúzhōu) during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (after 14th century to 19th century).
Hefei was the temporary capital for Anhui from 1853 to 1862. It was renamed as Hefei County in 1912. Following the Chinese victory in the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Hefei was made the capital of Anhui.
Hefei was a quiet market center until 1949, serving as a collection center for grain, beans, cotton, and hemp. Since then has become an industrial center through the development of a cotton mill, a thermal generating plant, chemical plants, an iron and steel complex, and an aluminum industry.
Geography
Hefei is located 130 km (81 mi) west of Nanjing.
Hefei's annual average temperature is about 15.7 °C (60 °F). Its annual precipitation is about 1,000 mm (39 in). It snows irregularly in the winter.
In the months of June, July, August, and often September, daily temperatures can reach highs of 37 °C (99 °F) with high humidity levels being the norm.
May and June see the air quality level in Hefei diminish. The city is blanketed by a foul-smelling smog caused by the smoke generated as farmers outside the city burn their fields in preparation for planting the next crop.
Chaohu Lake, a lake 15 km (9 mi) southeast of the city, is one of the largest fresh water lakes in China. However, the lake has unfortunately been polluted with nitrogen and phosphorus in recent decades.
Demographics
The majority of the population in Hefei is Han Chinese. There are a small number of Hui Chinese living in the city. There are over three million people in the city.
Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥13,378 (ca. US$ 1,654) in 2004.
The average monthly wage for most people in 2005 ranged from 600 RMB to 1500 RMB.
Before the Chinese civil war Hefei was a town whose main industry was agriculture. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the capital of Anhui was moved from Huaining to Hefei. To assist the development of the city, many talented people were sent in from other parts of the country. Modern-day Hefei has machinery, electronics, chemistry, steel, textile, and cigarette industries, among others.
Despite being the Provincial Capital of Anhui, Hefei still exudes an air of poverty. Migrants from all over Anhui converge on the city looking for opportunities which do not actually exist for many of them. This constant influx keeps wages low. However, new industrial development in special economic zones ringing the city has resulted in new manufacturing jobs for technical school and college graduates.
In the summer of 2005, the municipal government implemented changes designed to beautify the city by demolishing thousands of illegally built structures, and clearing away long established marketplaces in many parts of the city. Overnight, longstanding businesses housed in flimsy structures that once lined many streets were gone. The impact on the local economy could be seen immediately as hundreds, if not thousands, of low paid workers no longer had employment.
On the other hand, these actions removed many unlicensed food stalls which had contributed to the spread of diseases that struck the city in the past. These changes also removed many unlicensed buildings that posed a fire hazard in the city. While it is undeniable that some people were forced to make sacrifices for the beautification of the city, the changes ensured that all the residents in the city have a better environment.
It is also worthwhile to mention that under this project, the Fei River, which used to be known as a “sewage” river by many local people, has shown great improvement in its water quality. Residents who used to live along the bank of the river now have a much more pleasant environment to live in.
Culture
Hefei plays an important role in scientific research in China. It has three national laboratories, second only to Beijing: the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (国家同步辐射实验室), the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale (微尺度物质科学国家实验室), both of which are under the University of Science and Technology of China, and the National Laboratory for Nuclear Fusion (Tokomak) Research (磁约束核聚变国家实验室), under the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences, Institute of Plasma Physics, which itself is under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Sites of interest
Leisure Ford, a public park sitting on the ancient site of the Battle of Hefei.
Temple of Lord Bao, built in 1066 near the tomb of Lord Bao.
Hui Garden (徽园) (Opened to the public in September 2001)
Children's Welfare Institute (a.k.a. "Social Welfare Institute"), children's orphanage
Sister cities
Hefei is a sister city of the following cities around the world:
Kurume, Japan (May 20, 1980)
Freetown, Sierra Leone (March 20, 1984)
Bujumbura, Burundi (July 7, 1986)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S. (November 17, 1988)
Aalborg, Denmark (April 22, 1989)
Lerida, Spain (April 4, 1998)
Wonju, South Korea (June 20, 2002)
Darebin, Australia (October 29, 2003)
Belfast, UK (December 26, 2003)
Notable people
Bao Zheng (999 - 1062), Northern Song Dynasty bureaucrat and judge whose name has become synonymous with judicial wisdom and uprightness.
Chen Ning Yang, (b. 1922), 1957 Nobel Physics Prize laureate, one of the two earliest Chinese to receive the prize.
Li Hongzhang (1823 - 1901), prominent late Qing Dynasty bureaucrat and diplomat.
Yang Yuanqing (1964 - ), Chairman of Board of Lenovo.
Liu Mingchuan (1836 - 1896). Statesman during the late Qing dynasty, first governor of Taiwan.
Universities
University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
Hefei University of Technology (HFUT)
Anhui University (AHU)
Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (AHTCM)
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