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
Anhui
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
7 days
Add Tangyue Memorial Arches, Qiyun Mountain (Daoist), Mukeng bamboo forest from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Hefei's STEM museums.
Dishes of Anhui
- Beggar's Chicken叫花鸡
A whole chicken stuffed with aromatics, wrapped in lotus leaves and clay, then slow-baked until the meat steams in its own juices.
- Drunken Chicken醉鸡
Chicken steamed and marinated in Shaoxing rice wine, served chilled. A Shanghai banquet starter.
- Eight-Treasure Rice八宝饭
A steamed dome of glutinous rice layered with red bean paste and decorated with eight types of preserved fruits and nuts.
- Hairy Crab大闸蟹
Yangcheng Lake mitten crab — the autumn delicacy of the Yangtze Delta. Eaten steamed with vinegar dip.
- Hairy Crab with Rice Cake年糕炒大闸蟹
Autumn hairy crab stir-fried with chewy Shanghai rice cake slices in a savoury-sweet ginger sauce.
- Lion's Head Meatballs狮子头
Large pork meatballs (the size of a lion's head) braised in clear broth with cabbage. A Yangzhou banquet centrepiece.
Itineraries touching Anhui
- Four Buddhist Mountains Circuit, 10 days
10d · China's four sacred Buddhist mountains in sequence: Wutai (Shanxi), Jiuhua (Anhui), Emei (Sichuan), and Putuo (Zhejiang) — each dedicated to a different bodhisattva.
- Buddhist pilgrimage — Putuoshan, Wutaishan, Emei and Jiuhua, 10 days
10d · Ten days visiting the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China — Putuo (Guanyin), Wutai (Manjushri), Emei (Samantabhadra) and Jiuhua (Ksitigarbha) — each with its own character and monastic tradition.
- Hiking China's national parks — Zhangjiajie, Huangshan and Jiuzhaigou, 14 days
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.
- Off the beaten path — two weeks (Pingyao, Datong, Hongcun)
14d · Walled towns, cliff temples, southern villages — China away from the tour-bus routes.
Other East China regions
Verified May 2026
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