Hefei () is the capital of Anhui Province of China. Population: 1,200,000. Area: 120 km².

Administration

Hefei is a prefecture-level city. It has direct juridiction over 4 districts and 3 counties:

• east urban district
• central urban district
• west urban district
• suburban district
• Feidong County
• Feixi County
• Changfeng County

History

The city was known as Luzhou (庐州; pinyin Lúzhōu) during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

A famous Three Kingdoms battle was fought at what is currently Xiaoyao Jin (逍遥津; pinyin Xiāoyáo Jīn) in Hefei. General Zhang Liao of the Kingdom of Wei commanding 7,000 picked cavalry defeated the 100,000-men army of the Kingdom of Wu.

Geography

Hefei is located 130 km west of Nanjing.

Hefei's annual average temperature is about 15.7°C. Its annual precipitation is about 1000 mm. It snows regularly in the winter.

Chaohu Lake , a lake 15 km southeast of the city, is one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. However, the lake has unfortuneatly been polluted with nitrogen and phosphorus in recent decades.

Economy

The GDP per capita was ¥ 17770 (ca. € 1800, US$ 2150) in 2003, ranked no. 91 among 659 Chinese cities.

Before the Chinese civil war Hefei was a town whose main industry was agriculture. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic, the capital of Anhui was moved from Anqing to Hefei. To assist the development of the city, many talented people were sent from other parts of the country. Modern day Hefei has machinery, electronics, chemistry, steel, textile, and cigarette industries, among others.

Demographics

The majority of the population in Hefei is Han Chinese. There is a small minority of Hui Chinese living in the city.

Sites of Interest

• Xiaoyao Jin was the site of the battle mentioned above. The location is currently a public park
• The Temple of Lord Bao is located near the city centre. It was built in 1066 close to the tomb of Lord Bao.

Colleges and Universities

National

• University of Science and Technology of China (中国科学技术大学)
• Hefei University of Technology (合肥工业大学)

Public

• Anhui Medical University (安徽医科大学) (founded 1926)
• Anhui University (安徽大学)
• Anhui Agricultural University (安徽农业大学)
• Anhui College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (安徽中医学院)
• Anhui Institute of Architecture & Industry (安徽建筑工业学院)

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

External link

• Hefei Government English Website