Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, located in the central region of China (Geographical coordinates: 32`N and 117`E) between Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and near Chaohu Lake. It possesses a strategically important location easily accessible from all directions of the country, and it connects the vast area of Central China.
Hefei, well known both at home and abroad as "a historic site famous from the Three Kingdoms Period and the hometown of Lord Bao", is a city with a history of more than 2000 years. Since the later Eastern Han Dynasty, it had been made governance site several times of the local government as a county or prefecture, constantly an important administration center and a crucial military stronghold in the region between Huaihe River and Yangtze River.
The name of "Hefei" first appeared in the Collected Biographies of Merchants under the Historical Records written by Sima Qian, a famous writer and historiographer in Chinese history. It goes like: Hefei, impacted economically from both north and south, was a collection and distribution center for furs, leather, aquatic products and timber. Between Qin and Han Dynasties, it was chartered as Hefei County, coming under the jurisdiction of Jiujiang Prefecture. Liu Xiu, an emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, upgraded Hefei to be a Kingdom. By the Three Kingdoms Period, Hefei was the seat of the government of Yangzhou Prefecture. Then between Ming and Qing Dynasties, it became the seat of the government of Luzhou Prefecture. Hence Hefei came to be also known as Luzhou.
Hefei enjoys a subtropical humid monsoon climate featuring mild climate with distinct seasons and appropriate precipitation. In spring the temperature varies frequently with an obvious raining period, rainfall concentrates in summer while autumn has crisp air and clear sky. The average temperature is 15.7℃, the mean precipitation is about 1000 millimeters and sunshine-time accounts for 2100 hours annually. Hefei has been the provincial capital since 1949 (before it was Anqing) and is a natural center of transportation, being situated to the north of Lake Chao and standing on a low saddle crossing the northeastern extension of the Dabie Mountains, which form the divide between the Huai and Yangtze rivers. From Hefei there is easy water transport via the lake to the Yangtze River opposite Wuhu.
Important land routes run through Hefei — east-west from Puzhou (opposite Nanjing in Jiangsu) to Xi'an (in Shaanxi) and north-south from Xuzhou (in Jiangsu) and Bengbu to Anqing (both in Anhui).
There are also two train stations in Hefei, the new one was built a few years ago and the old one is no longer used by the public.
In 2008 the thoroughfare Chang Jiang Lu (Chang Jiang Road) is undergoing a renovation project to widen the roads and to create a bus route in the center of the road, with bus stations at islands that are connected to the sidewalks by skyways. The First Ring Road is also undergoing construction, with traffic lights being replaced by overpasses and ramps built to connect the First Ring Road and all major intersecting roads. Both projects are intended to ease the traffic Hefei now experiences at rush hour.
Hefei Luogang International Airport provides the area with scheduled passenger service to major airports in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
