Hefei was founded in the 2nd century BC and is now the capital and largest city of Anhui Province. It serves as the political, economic, and cultural center of the province. Hefei is also a leading city for scientific research, with a global ranking of 16th, 8th in the Asia-Pacific region, and 6th in China according to the Nature Index in 2022.
1.Anhui Museum (2km from hotel)
The Anhui Museum is situated at No. 87 Huaining Road, Hefei. The museum's exhibition building is built in the typical style of Huizhou architecture, with five directions connected and water from four directions flowing into the central hall of the yard. The Anhui Museum boasts a collection of nearly 220,000 cultural relics, encompassing a wide range of distinctive categories. These include bronze ware from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, stone reliefs from the Han Dynasty, gold and silver ware from the Song and Yuan Dynasties, four treasures of the study, calligraphy and paintings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, carvings from Huizhou, ancient books and contract documents, modern cultural relics, and works by Pan Yuliang, among others.
Entrance fees: FREE
An individual tourist can get only one ticket for himself / herself at the ticket office by the valid certification (such as ID card or passport). Group tours should be booked 24 hours in advance between 09:00 and 17:00. Reservation Tel: 0551-63736658
Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday: 9:00 – 17:00 (no admission after 16:30)
Monday Break (except legal holidays)
Recommended Time for a Visit: 3-4 hours
For more information on the Anhui Museum, please visit the website:
https://www.ahm.cn/En/Home/Index
2.Hui Garden (5km from hotel)
Hui Garden is located at No. 276, Fanhua Avenue, Shushan District, Hefei City, Anhui Province. It was established in 1999 and covers an area of 20 hectares. The northern part of the garden, known as Wanbei Garden, adopts a royal garden architectural style, while the southern part, known as Wannan Garden, takes the Anhui-style architecture of Wannan Shuikou Garden as its main concept. The central part features a modern architectural style with the Century Bridge and Century Square. The 17 cities in the province have built iconic buildings in Hui Garden representing their local cultural characteristics, which are relatively independent as individual gardens, while also complementing the adjacent gardens and the entire garden area. Hui Garden is a literary and artistic exhibition area and a representative theme park scenic tourist area in Anhui Province. It is also the shooting base of China TV Drama Production Center. It is a large-scale comprehensive commemorative sightseeing garden integrating the display of Anhui culture and sightseeing entertainment.
Entrance fees: CNY20 for adults
Opening Hours: 8:00-17:30
How to get there: Take metro line 3 to Fanhua Avenue station; bus no.64/66 to Mingzhuguangchang Bei station, and no.18 to Dahuaguojigang station.
Recommended Time for a Visit: 3-4 hours
3.Sanhe Ancient Town (43km from hotel)
Sanhe Ancient Town is located at the southern end of Feixi County in Hefei City, at the junction of Feixi, Shucheng, and Lujiang counties. It is named after the Fengle River, Hangbu River, and Xiaonan River that flows through it, and has a history of over 2,500 years. Sanhe has been a place of strategic importance throughout history. The town is famous for its ancient alleys, streets, bridges, city walls, temples, cannon platforms, ancient residences, and tea houses. The main attractions include Sancounty Bridge, Wangyue Bridge, Quezhu Gallery Bridge, Wannian Terrace, Zhongwu Pavilion, and Yingwang Mansion. Sanhe has a rich folk culture and is the birthplace of the Lu Opera, a local opera in Hefei City recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.
Entrance fees: FREE
Opening Hours: 8:00-17:30
How to get there: by taxi (taxi fare about CNY140, about 50min)
Recommended Time for a Visit: 3-4 hours
4.Mount Huangshan (260km from hotel)
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for its stunning natural scenery, including dramatic peaks, towering granite pillars, and pine trees that appear to grow straight out of the rock. Visitors can take a cable car up to the mountain and hike along the trails to see the various rock formations and views. Sunrise and sunset at Mount Huangshan are especially breathtaking. Mount Huangshan, often described as the “loveliest mountain of China”, has played an important role in the history of art and literature in China since the Tang Dynasty around the 8th century, when a legend dated from the year 747 described the mountain as the place of discovery of the long-sought elixir of immortality. This legend gave Mount Huangshan its name and assured its place in Chinese history. Mount Huangshan became a magnet for hermits, poets and landscape artists, fascinated by its dramatic mountainous landscape consisting of numerous granitic peaks, many over 1,000 m high, emerging through a perpetual sea of clouds. During the Ming Dynasty from around the 16th century, this landscape and its numerous grotesquely-shaped rocks and ancient, gnarled trees inspired the influential Shanshui (“Mountain and Water”) school of landscape painting, providing a fundamental representation of the oriental landscape in the world’s imagination and art. The property, located in the humid subtropical monsoon climate zone of China’s Anhui Province and covering an area of 16,060 ha with a buffer zone of 49,000 ha, is also of outstanding importance for its botanical richness and for the conservation of a number of local or national endemic plant species, some of which are threatened with extinction.
Entrance fees: CNY190 for adults
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday: 7:00 – 17:00
Saturday – Sunday: 6:30 – 17:30
How to get there: by high-speed railways no. G1611, G1669, G1601, G345, G1905, G3141, G45, G2397, G7415, G2553, G3127, G321, G241, G329, G323, G301, G301, G7419, G1273, G1901, G325, G303, G859, G3183, G2561, G7745 from Hefei South Railway Station to Huangshan North Railway Station, then go to the Mount Huangshan by taxi or bus (about 1.5 hours).
Recommended Time for a Visit: 1-3 days
For more information on the Mount Huangshan, please visit the website:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangshan
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/547/
5.Ancient Villages Xidi and Hongcun (300km from hotel)
These two ancient villages are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are famous for their well-preserved traditional architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Visitors can stroll through the narrow alleys and admire the intricately carved wooden houses and temples. Hongcun is also known for its beautiful reflecting ponds. Xidi and Hongcun are located in Yi County, Huangshan City in south Anhui Province, with commercial activities as their primary source of income, family and clan-based social organization, and well known for their regional culture. The overall layout, landscape, architectural form, decoration, and construction techniques all retain the original features of Anhui villages between the 14th and 20th centuries. Deeply influenced by the traditional culture of pre-modern Anhui Province, these two villages, Xidi and Hongcun, were built by successful officials or merchants returning home from official appointments and business, and gradually developed into models of conventional Chinese village construction. Xidi is surrounded by mountains and built along and between three streams running east-west, which converge at the Huiyuan Bridge to the south. Hongcun is located at the foot of a hill next to a stream which forms two pools, the Moon Pond in the center of the village and the other to the south. Characterized by rhythmic space variation and tranquil alleyways; and with water originating from a picturesque garden, the whole reflects the pursuit of coexistence, unity and the harmony of man and nature. The unique and exquisite style of Anhui buildings is conveyed in plain and elegant colors, their gables decorated with delicate and elegant carvings, their interiors filled with tasteful furnishings. The rigid patriarchal system together with gentle and sincere folk customs reflects the cultural ideas of scholar-bureaucrats in feudal society who paid special respect to Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. These surviving villages bear scientific, cultural and aesthetic values with their 600-plus-year history. They are rich sources for the study of regional histories and cultures.
Entrance fees: CNY104 for each village
How to get there: by high-speed railways no. G1611, G1669, G1601, G345, G1905, G3141, G45, G2397, G7415, G2553, G3127, G321, G241, G329, G323, G301, G301, G7419, G1273, G1901, G325, G303, G859, G3183, G2561, G7745 from Hefei South Railway Station to Huangshan North Railway Station, then go to the Mount Huangshan by taxi or bus (about 1.5 hours).
Recommended Time for a Visit: 1-2 days
For more information on Xidi and Hongcun, please visit the website:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1002