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Hefei City
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Lying between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, Hefei is the capital city of Anhui Province and is ranked as one of the fifty strongest cities in China. Close to the coastal area, Hefei plays an important part in connecting the eastern and western areas of China while also linking the south and the north. Covering an area of 7,266 square kilometers (about 2,805 square miles), Hefei is known as the central tourist city of the whole province.The ancient Hefei City, with a long history of over 2,000 years, was also nicknamed ¡®Luzhou¡® or ¡®Luyang¡® because it was under the governance of Luzhou prefecture in the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties. Hefei is the political, economic and cultural center of Anhui Province and has played an important role in commercial transactions since ancient times. Due to its good surroundings and long history, many natural and cultural places of interests can be found in Hefei. The most famous one is undoubtedly the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao.Hefei is a beautiful city with good surroundings - the Huaihe River flows to its north, to its south is Yangtze River, and to its south- east lies the Chaohu Lake with its expansive blue waters. It exemplifies the good climate to be found in the area having a mild climate with clearly defined seasons and moderate rainfall. The average annual temperature is 15.7 C (60.26F). As is known, every city in China has a city tree and a city flower and, in the case of Hefei, the Yulan tree is its city tree and the sweet-scented osmanthus, pomegranate flower is its city flower.To better understanding the ingrained culture of Hefei, you have to watch the performances of the Lu Opera. Lu Opera is a popular local opera which originated in Hefei. It became an independent style of opera in the era of Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty and evolved from many artistic forms such as folk songs and folk dances. The arias are rich and various, and the performance is vivid. ¡®Natural and simple¡® is what makes Lu Opera a popular drama appreciated by all. It is really a highlight you should never miss when visiting Hefei.If you are one of those people who regard food as their prime requirement, you should try the local delicious food and special cuisine which is on offer, whenever you pay a visit. Luzhou Roast Duck is the first recommended delicacy in Hefei and it tastes very good. Other special, high quality products will also satisfy your appetite such as Mabing (sesame cake), Honggao (baked cake), Cunjin (sesame cookie) and Baiqie (white sesame slices). Also, dumpling-making in Hefei is a delicate and intricate process and, there are various shapes of dumplings that will excite and satisfy your appetite.Hefei is located in the centre part of East China, and its transportation system is well-developed. With the whole city¡®s transportation system linked by airport, railway and highway, a solid transportation network is at your service. Due to its fast development in recent years, transportation within and around Hefei is very convenient, especially for tourists.Hefei is a scientific and educational city and boasts of many talents both past and present, such as the famous upright officer Lord Bao in Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) along with the Nobel Prize for Physics winner, Yang Zhenning, whose hometown is Hefei. The University of Science and Technology of China, and the Hefei Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are both located in Hefei. There is no doubt that talented people in Hefei are foremost in China.The Temple of Lord Bao and Tomb of Lord Bao (Baogong Si & Baogong Muyuan)
The Ancestral Temple of Lord Bao (Bao Zheng) is located in the Hefei¡®s Bao River Park, a river named after him.
It is the ancestral temple to honor the well-noted upright official of the Song Dynasty.
Bao Zheng (999-1062), a native of Hefei, was an honest official of the Earlier Song Dynasty (960-1127). He was reputed to be free of corruption and principled all through his official life, and has been always on the lips of the people for centuries.
The temple currently houses some valuable historic relics, including Lord Bao¡®s figure in stone cut in the Qing Dynasty, Lord Bao¡®s Genealogical Tree, Lord Bao¡®s Family Regulations and Lord Bao¡®s writing and painting.
In Lord Bao¡®s Family Regulations, there is a sermon: "Anyone of my offspring who commits corruptions should be excluded from the kindred, and should not be buried with the familial tombs. He who doesn¡®t follow my sermon is not my offspring."
Opposite the temple is the tomb Garden of Lord Bao with a solemn surrounding, where the osseous remains of Lord Bao were buried. The architectural style of the tomb garden is plain and somber. It is among luxuriant woods and green plants.
Both the Ancestral Temple of Lord Bao and Tomb Garden of Lord Bao, built in commemoration of Lord Bao, comprise the Lord Bao Memorial Park.
Leisure Ford Park (Xiaoyaojin Gongyuan)
The contradictorily named Leisure Ford Park (Xiaoyaojin Park) is well known in modern China as a famous battlefield. Although history faithful to the truth is a little hard to track down, most accounts in China now go like this.
In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), a general called Sun Quan, afterwards to become king of the Wu Kingdom, led a troop of 100,000 soldiers towards Hefei, with plans to take the city. The city general, a subordinate of the famous Cao Cao, named Zhang Liao, had but 7,000 troops under his command. Troops were fearful and restless awaiting the onslaught that was sure to result in the sacking of the city. So Zhang thought he would try to even up the odds.
Taking almost all of his troops, Zhang initiated a night blitz upon the unprepared Sun barracks and the bloody battle that ensued was to eventually result in the rout of Sun¡®s unprepared army. Sun is said to have escaped death by leaping the canal that ran beside the battlefield.
Nowadays the area has lost much of its charm. It was turned into a park this century, and now covers a total of 31.3 hectares. The park is an uninspiring thing that is probably only of interest to Chinese history lovers, botanists and sadistic zoologists. The zoo in the southeastern corner of the park is typical of China¡®s zoos, with small cages and poor facilities. The western corner has bonsai, rare Chinese plants, rockeries as well as mock versions of traditional Chinese architecture. There are also three islets on the lake, that between them hold a cenotaph of general Zhang Liao, a statue of him seated upon his horse and a bridge that is said to be the spot that Sun Quan leapt to freedom.
Anhui Provincial Museum (Anhui Sheng Bowuguan)
The Anhui Provincial Museum, situated on Anqing Road in the provincial city of Hefei Province, provides sound evidence of Anhui¡®s contributions to Chinese culture. Founded in November 1956, the Museum covers an area of 11,580 square meters.
The Museum houses more than 104,684 historical relics, including bronze, pottery, porcelain, gold and silk ware, jade, ancient coins, painting, and the Four Treasures of Study, namely the writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper. Among them, there are 10,9126 ancient books and 135 relics of the first grade.
A highlight of the exhibition is the Shang bronze unearthed in Anhui Province, such as an exceptional Shang bronze pot in the shape of an animal unearthed from the Cai Marquis Tomb of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). The ChuDing(ancient cooking bronze vessel), which is 113 cm high and weighs 400 kilograms, is the biggest and heaviest extant one of its kind since the Zhou Dynasty (11 century -256BC), only secondary to the famous SimuwuDingof the Shang Dynasty (17th century -11th century BC).
A precious celadon bowl, unearthed in 1963 from a Susong County tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), is a rare treasure. Luxie Painting (Reed and Crab Painting) by Liang Zaibang of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) is a gem of the art of iron painting.
The Museum¡®s exhibition focuses on the local history and is arranged into three basic displays: Ancient History of Anhui, Revolutionary History of Anhui and Fossils of Ancient Extinct Life in Anhui. In addition to the annual exhibitions, the museum often organizes temporary special exhibitions at home and abroad.
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