3 days
Day 1: HSR to Tunxi, evening Old Street. Day 2: Hongcun village + Xidi village. Day 3: Huangshan summit (overnight at top recommended).
Province · East China
安徽省 · Ānhuī Shěng — capital Hefei, anhui (mountain herbs, stinky mandarin fish, hairy tofu, slow-cooked stews).
History & character
Anhui is geographically split — the northern flat agricultural plain feels and sounds like Henan, while the southern Huizhou region is mountainous, culturally distinct, and has produced some of the finest preserved Ming–Qing villages anywhere in China. Hongcun and Xidi are UNESCO listed; Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) is one of the most painted landscapes in Chinese art and the most visited single peak in the country.
Huizhou merchant culture in the 16th to 19th centuries built the white-walled, dark-tiled architectural style now associated with classical southern China generally. Huizhou cuisine, ink production, and the "scholar's four treasures" all originated in this region.
The northern half of the province has a heavier agricultural and industrial character. Hefei, the capital, has reinvented itself as a science-research hub — the University of Science and Technology of China is one of the country's strongest STEM institutions, and BOE's display-panel works employ hundreds of thousands.
When to visit
April–early May for the Huangshan rhododendron and the Xidi/Hongcun mustard-flower fields. October–November for autumn foliage on the mountain. Avoid Spring Festival and National Day weeks on Huangshan — gridlock.
How to get there
Hefei Xinqiao (HFE) and Huangshan Tunxi (TXN) are the main airports. HSR from Shanghai to Hefei 2h, to Huangshan 3h. Tunxi is the gateway town for the mountain and the Huizhou villages.
Key attractions
All attractions →More cities in Anhui
Sample itineraries
Day 1: HSR to Tunxi, evening Old Street. Day 2: Hongcun village + Xidi village. Day 3: Huangshan summit (overnight at top recommended).
Add Tangyue Memorial Arches, Qiyun Mountain (Daoist), Mukeng bamboo forest from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Hefei's STEM museums.
Dishes of Anhui
A whole chicken stuffed with aromatics, wrapped in lotus leaves and clay, then slow-baked until the meat steams in its own juices.
A Jiangsu-province variation of clay-baked chicken with a lotus-leaf wrap and a mushroom and pork stuffing.
China's most celebrated green tea — pan-fired flat leaves from Hangzhou's West Lake district with a sweet, chestnut flavour.
Chicken steamed and marinated in Shaoxing rice wine, served chilled. A Shanghai banquet starter.
A steamed dome of glutinous rice layered with red bean paste and decorated with eight types of preserved fruits and nuts.
Yangcheng Lake mitten crab — the autumn delicacy of the Yangtze Delta. Eaten steamed with vinegar dip.
Itineraries touching Anhui
14d · Fourteen days across three of China's most dramatic mountain and forest parks — the sandstone columns of Zhangjiajie, the granite peaks and sea of cloud at Huangshan, and the turquoise lakes of Jiuzhaigou.
14d · Walled towns, cliff temples, southern villages — China away from the tour-bus routes.
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