Hefei 合肥Héféi

About Hefei

Anhui's capital lies between the Yangtze and Huai rivers and takes in the whole of Chao Lake, one of China's five great freshwater lakes. It is better known today for universities, fusion research and electric cars than for old buildings, but Baogong Park honours Bao Zheng, the upright Song-dynasty official born here, and the Former Residence of Li Hongzhang, the late-Qing statesman, stands in the centre. Day trips lead to Sanhe Ancient Town, where three rivers meet, and to Mushan Island in the lake.

What to eat in Hefei

• Wushan tribute goose (吴山贡鹅)
• Sanhe rice dumplings (三河米饺)
• Li Hongzhang hotchpotch (李鸿章大杂烩)

Listed sites in Hefei

31 sites in Hefei are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.

• Sanhe Ancient Town 三河古镇 5A scenic area
  A river town where the Fengle, Hangbu and Xiaonan rivers meet near Chao Lake, scene of the Taiping army's 1858 victory over the Xiang Army at the Battle of Sanhe.
• Anhui Art Museum 安徽省美术馆 4A scenic area · on the map
  Anhui's provincial art museum, opened in May 2022 on the north shore of Chao Lake in Hefei's Binhu New District, beside the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign Memorial Museum.
• Anhui Museum 安徽博物院 4A scenic area · on the map
  Anhui's provincial museum, whose main Shushan building opened in 2011 in Hefei's government district; its collection numbers about 220,000 objects.
• Bantang Tulip Highland 半汤郁金香高地 4A scenic area · on the map
  A hillside flower park in the Chaohu Economic Development Zone near the Bantang hot springs, east of Chaohu city.
• Bao Gong Hometown Cultural Park 包公故里文化园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A culture park opened in 2023 in Baogong town, Feidong County, where Bao Zheng, the Song official remembered as Judge Bao, was born and grew up.
• Baogong Park 包公园 4A scenic area
  A park along the Bao River in central Hefei dedicated to Bao Zheng (999–1062), the upright Song-dynasty official known to generations of opera and television audiences as Judge Bao.
• Changlin Old Street 长临古街 4A scenic area · on the map
  The old street of Changlinhe, a town near the north shore of Chao Lake in Feidong County, lined with traditional houses and shops.
• Dawei Eco-Tourism Area 大圩 4A scenic area · on the map
  A farming town on the south-eastern outskirts of Hefei developed for farm tourism, where city residents come to pick seasonal fruit and vegetables and to fish.
• Former Residence of Li Hongzhang 李鸿章故居 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  Part of the family mansion of Li Hongzhang (1823–1901), the late-Qing statesman who founded the Huai Army and the Beiyang Fleet and was for decades the face of the Qing court in foreign affairs, on the Huaihe Road pedestrian street in central Hefei.
• Golden Peacock Hot Spring Resort, Tangchi 金孔雀温泉度假村 4A scenic area · on the map
  A hot-spring resort with accommodation in Tangchi, a spa town in western Lujiang County and one of the two hot-spring areas around Chao Lake.
• Guanting Forest Park 官亭林海 4A scenic area · on the map
  A large planted forest park on the Yangtze–Huai watershed at Guanting town in Feixi County, centred on Fengxiang Lake.
• Hechai 1972 Creative Park 合柴1972 4A scenic area · on the map
  A creative and leisure quarter opened in 2019 in the former Hefei Diesel Engine Factory, which started work in 1972 and whose site was later used as a prison until 2018.
• Hefei Binhu National Forest Park 合肥滨湖国家森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A 10.7 km² wetland forest park on the north shore of Chao Lake near the mouth of the Nanfei River, opened in two phases in 2012 and 2013 and made a national forest park in 2013.
• Hefei Botanical Garden 合肥植物园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A 70-hectare botanical garden on the south-eastern shore of Dongpu Reservoir in Hefei's Shushan District, established in 1987 on the site of a former horticultural farm.
• Hefei Sunac Land 合肥融创乐园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A large theme park in Hefei's Binhu New District, built as Wanda's Hefei park and now run by Sunac, with themed zones, rides and live shows.
• Hefei Wildlife Park 合肥野生动物园 4A scenic area · on the map
  Hefei's main zoo, a wildlife park on Wangjiang West Road at the foot of Dashu Mountain on the western edge of the city.
• Huiyuan Garden 徽园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A theme park of gardens opened in September 2001 in Hefei's economic development zone, with about 45 sights; pavilions and gardens represent each of Anhui's cities, such as the Hefei and Lu'an gardens.
• Mushan Island 姥山岛 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
  A wooded volcanic islet of 0.86 km² in the middle of Chao Lake, 3.5 km off Zhongmiao on the north shore.
• Sanshigang Eco-Agricultural Tourism Area 三十岗 4A scenic area · on the map
  A rural township of orchards and farmland on Hefei's north-western edge, developed for farm tourism with seasonal activities such as blossom viewing and fruit picking.
• Three Kingdoms Xincheng Site Park 三国新城遗址公园 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  The ruins of Hefei's Xincheng ('New City'), a fortress the Wei general Man Chong built in 233 west of old Hefei to hold off the state of Wu, which besieged it several times without taking it.
• Xiangyuan Flower World 祥源花世界 4A scenic area · on the map
  A modern flower-themed resort park built around Tanchong Lake at Shangpai town in Feixi County, south-west of Hefei.
• Xiaojingzhuang Village 小井庄 4A scenic area · on the map
  A small village in Shannan town, Feixi County, whose 32-household production team secretly divided its farmland among households on 5 September 1978, during a severe drought, an early case of the household contract system that spread through China's rural reforms.
• Yangtze River Crossing Campaign Memorial Museum 渡江战役纪念馆 4A scenic area
  A memorial museum opened in 2012 on the north shore of Chao Lake about the People's Liberation Army's April 1949 crossing of the Yangtze, which ended with the capture of Nanjing.
• Yaogang Headquarters of the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign 渡江战役总前委旧址 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  A group of late-Qing courtyard houses in Yaogang, Feidong County, where the Communist General Front Committee under Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi directed the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign in April 1949 before moving to Nanjing at the end of the month.
• Yefu Mountain National Forest Park 冶父山 4A scenic area · on the map
  A wooded hill north-east of Lujiang town, protected as a national forest park and named, by legend, after the swordsmith Ou Yezi, who is said to have forged swords here.
• Zipeng Mountain National Forest Park 紫蓬山 4A scenic area · on the map
  A range of low wooded hills in Feixi County south-west of Hefei, protected as a national forest park and laced with walking trails.
• Ziwei Cave 紫微洞 4A scenic area · on the map
  A limestone cave in the hills on the northern edge of Chaohu city, also called Shuangjing ('Twin Wells') Cave after its two shaft-like openings, about 3 km long with a main passage of some 1.5 km along an underground river.
• Anhui Museum Luyang Branch (Old Exhibition Building) 安徽博物院庐阳馆 National heritage site · on the map
  The original Anhui Provincial Museum on Anqing Road in central Hefei, an exhibition building of 11,580 m² begun in 1954 and completed in 1956, the year the museum was formally founded.
• Former Residence of Feng Yuxiang 冯玉祥旧居 National heritage site · on the map
  The house in Zhuke village, Xiage town, where the Republican-era general Feng Yuxiang (1882–1948), known in the West as the 'Christian General', stayed on visits to his ancestral home in 1936–37.
• Former Residence of Liu Mingchuan 刘铭传旧居 National heritage site · on the map
  The moated, fortified manor of Liu Mingchuan (1836–1896), the Huai Army general who became the first governor of Taiwan under the Qing, 2 km north of Daqian Mountain in Feixi County.
• Former Residence of Zhang Zhizhong 张治中故居 National heritage site · on the map
  The birthplace home of Zhang Zhizhong (1890–1969), a Nationalist general who in 1949 stayed on the mainland and later held senior posts in the People's Republic, at Hongjiatuan in Huanglu town on the north shore of Chao Lake.

On the map

Open Hefei on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Official website
• Wikipedia (Chinese)