Huangshan City dates back to 2,200 years ago when it was known as Xin'an. It was officially named in 1987, replacing the former Huizhou Prefecture. Currently, under its jurisdiction are three districts (Tunxi, Huangshan, and Huizhou) and four counties (Shexian, Xiuning, Yixian, and Qimen). The total area is 9,807 km2 and the population is 1.32 million.

General Information

Located in the southern part of AnhuiProvince, Huangshan City borders Zhejiang Province on the east and JiangxiProvince on the south, serving as a "transport hub" for the threeprovinces. It is one of the planned central cities for economic development andtransportation in Anhui Province. Currently, highways to Hangzhou, Hefei,Quzhou, Wuyuan, and Jixi have been put into use, and the highway to Jingdezhenwill be completed shortly. The total highways add up to 358 kms. The 4D-gradeHuangshan Airport has direct flights to Seoul, Busan, and Taipei as well as 20domestic flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Ithandles over 600,000 passengers annually. The high-speed railway of Beijing-Fuzhouis in full speed of construction. The preliminary work for the high-speedrailway of Huangshan-Hangzhou and the capacity development of the existingWan-Gang railway are progressing well. When they are finished in due time,Huangshan will be connected to more cities in 1 to 5 hours ride. Its favorabletransportation advantages will be better appreciated.

Excellent Ecological Environment

Huangshan City enjoys a wonderful climate.With clear seasonal divisions in temperature and rainfall, it has abundantvegetation varieties and excellent ecological environment. It serves as animportant nature reserve in eastern China. The average forest coverage in77.4%, 3.8 times higher than the national average (20.36%); the surface waterquality is 100% good, 42.7% higher than that of the national average (57.3%);the average share of water resources per capita is 6,750 m3,  3.1 times more than that of the nationalaverage; the acceptance rate of air quality is 100%, topping the 113 citieslisted for key environment protection; especially in the Huangshan Mountains,the amount of the negative oxygen ions in every cubic centimeters counts above20,000. The PM2.5 counts only at 5, far below the national level for Category Iarea where the PM2.5 allows 35, and only one-fifth of the UNWTO's"safety" level value of 25. It is well worthy of the name of"natural oxygen bar".

Wonderful Natural Landscapes

Huangshan City boasts of great naturallandscapes. It has 11 national level scenic areas, nature reserves, forestparks, and Geoparks, 54 A-rated scenic spots (including 3 AAAAA scenic spotsand 22 AAAA scenic spots). The number of tourism resources is 40 times morethan the national average. As an outstanding representative for Chinesemountainous scenery, Mt. Huangshan is noted for its "five wonders" inthe world, namely, the pine trees, rock formations, sea of clouds, hot springs,and winter snow scenery. It is listed as world cultural and natural heritagesite as well as a member of the Global Geopark. Xin'an River, reputed for itspicturesque riverside landscapes, measures 359 kms (242.3 kms of the river liesin Huangshan City). It flows into Qiangdaohu Lake and joins Fuchunjiang Riverand Qiantangjiang River in Zhejiang Province. It functions as a strategic watersources for eastern China. Taiping Lake, also called the "lover of Mt.Huangshan", averages 40 meters deep. It measures 88.6 km2 witha storage capacity of 2.4 billion m3. In addition, the QiyunshanMountain, one of the four sacred Taoist mountains in China, the GuniujiangNational Geopark, and the Mysterious Grottoes at Huashan are also found in thisarea, making it a wonderful picturesque landscape of mountains and rivers.

Splendid Cultures

Huangshan City is the hometown of the Huizhou Merchants and the birthplace of the Huizhou Culture. The Huizhou Merchants dominated the trading businesses for over 300 years in Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties. They created the legend that "in every township there would be businessmen from Huizhou". The Huizhou Cuture upholds Confucianism as its core. It covers as many subjects as philosophy, economy, history, medicine, science, and arts. The Huizhou Culture, the Tibetan Culture, and the Dunhuang Culture are known as the three regional cultures in China. The Xin'an Paintins School, Xin'an Medicine, Huizhou Architecture, the Four Styles of Huizhou Carvings, and Huizhou Bonsai still have their great influence in today's life. The Huizhou Opera is believed to have contributed to the birth of the present Peking Opera. Furthermore, Huizhou Cuisine is known as one of the top eight cuisines in China. In Huangshan City, there are 31 cultural relics sites under state protection, 16 national level intangible cultural heritages, and 16 sites protected as national level historical cities, streets, towns, or villages. Huizhou has also given birth to many celebrities, Such as Zhu Xi, Dai Zhen, Hu Xueyan, Huang Binghong, Tao Xingzhi, and Hu Shi, just to name a few. The only Chinese mentioned in Das Capital by Carl Mark was called Wang Maoyin, and he was from Huizhou. In 2008, Huizhou Cultural Ecology Protection Project was approved by the State Council, the second of its kind in the country. In 2009, Huangshan City inaugurated "One Hundred Old Villages and One Thousand Ancient Houses" project to protect and utilize these precious resources.