Local Profile: Anhui Province (3)

In the Yuan Dynasty,Anhui was governed by Henan Province, Jiang and Zhe administrativeprovinces. In the Ming Dynasty, Anhui was under the direct administrationof the Capital of Nanjing, and the province was subdividedinto seven prefectures and four counties: Anqing, Huizhou,Ningguo, Chizhou, Taiping, Luzhou and Fengyang prefectures, andChu, He, Xu and Guangde counties. In the Qing Dynasty, Anhui wasset up as a province with eight prefectures and five counties: Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou Taiping Anqing, Luyang, Fengyang, Yingzhouprefectures, and Guangde, Chu, He, Lu'an counties. At the beginningof the Republic of China (1912-1949), Anhui was divided intoWuhu, Anqing, and Huaisi prefectures. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Anhui was divided into the two prefectures of Northern Anhui and Southern Anhui, with Hefei as the capitalof Northern Anhui and Wuhu the capital of Southern Anhui. In1952, North Anhui and Southern Anhui were merged to form AnhuiProvince, and Hefei was selected as the provincial capital city.

Natural Geography

Anhui Province is about 570 km from south to north and 450 km from east to west. It covers an area of 139.6 thousand square kilometers, about 1.45 percent of the total area of the country.

There are various landforms in Anhui. The Yangtze River and Huaihe River flow through the province and divide the whole province into three main natural area to the Huaihe River, the area between the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River and the south area to the Yangtze River. Some major mountains, such as Dabie Mountain, Yellow Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain and Tianzhu Mountain lie in Anhui, and the highest peak of Yellow Mountain---Lotus Peak is 1,860 meters above sea level. Among many rivers and lakes in Anhui, Chaohu Lake is one of the five great freshwater lakes in China, with an area of 800 square kilometers.