Huangshan () is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. Huangshan means Yellow Mountain in Chinese and the city is named after the famously scenic Yellow Mountains which cover much of the city's vast geographic expanse. The prefectural city of Huangshan includes three urban districts and four counties. The urban center of Huangshan was originally the city of Tunxi and is now called Tunxi District. Locals still call the city Tunxi to distinguish the urban core from other parts of Huangshan. The population of Huangshan city, as of the end of 2021, was 1.332 million, with an urbanization rate of 59.25%, an increase of 0.96 percentage points over the previous year. By the end of 2021, the household population of Huangshan City will be 1,485,700, with an urbanization rate of 37.82%, an increase of 1.66 percentage points.

Huangshan occupies the southernmost part of Anhui. It is bordered by Chizhou to the northwest, Xuancheng to the northeast, Jiangxi Province to the southwest and Zhejiang Province to the southeast. Huangshan's history dates back to the time of the First Emperor. The city's current jurisdiction covers much of the historical and cultural region of Huizhou (), which together with Anqing formed the name of Anhui Province. Huangshan is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Mount Huangshan and Hongcun and Xidi, the ancient villages of Southern Anhui. It is a major tourist destination in China.

Administration

thumb|right|An old gate in the city

The prefecture-level city of Huangshan administers 7 county-level divisions, including 3 districts and 4 counties.

  • Tunxi District ()
  • Huangshan District ()
  • Huizhou District ()
  • She County ()
  • Xiuning County ()
  • Yi County ()
  • Qimen County ()

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These are further divided into 145 township-level divisions, including 58 towns, 43 townships and 4 subdistricts.

Economy

thumb|right|180px|Keemun tea

Huangshan is famous for its tea, including Keemun tea, which is produced in Qimen County, and Maofeng green tea. The city is also home to significant tourism, centered on Mount Huang and including other scenic and historic sites (such as Xidi and Hongcun),

Transportation

Due to rugged terrain, Huangshan was historically a secluded region. The Xinan River provided an outlet to the east. Winding, narrow roads through Huang Mountains made trips to Xuancheng, Wuhu, Guichi and the Yangtze River slow and arduous. In recent decades, improvements to the transportation infrastructure have made the city and its surrounding tourist attractions more accessible.

Air

The Huangshan Tunxi International Airport, also referred to as the Tunxi Airport, is located in Tunxi District and is known by the IATA abbreviation TXN. The airport was opened in October 1959, and has been expanded five times, including an expansion in 2000. The Huangshan-Taling-Taolin Expressway and Anhui Provincial Route S326, also pass through the city.

Cultural history

thumb|Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – [[Xidi and Hongcun.]]

In the Ming dynasty, (; 1518&ndash;1595), a native of Qimen County, wrote the opera Mulian Rescues His Mother. According to local legend, Zheng was blind when he wrote the opera and was restored to full sight by a grateful Guanyin (the legend also has it that when Zheng later wrote a love story he went blind again).

In 2011, local authorities promoted performance of the Ming dynasty play Mulian Rescues His Mother as a tourist attraction.

Notable people

  • Zhang Rongqiao (b.1966), physicist and aerospace engineer, served as the chief designer of Tianwen-1 Mars mission
  • Gloria Ai (b.1987), business anchorwoman and author

International relations

Huangshan City is twinned with:

  • Serravalle, San Marino (1999)

Other notes

In early 2008, the BBC broadcast a series of 5 documentaries on life for schoolchildren in China, called "Chinese School". One of the three schools documented was Xiuning High School, the top school in the county. This was situated in the town of Xiuning, in the county of Xiuning in Huangshan.

See also

  • Chinese frigate Huangshan

Notes

Further reading

  • Official website
  • Huangshan Tours and Hotels
  • Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home provides a detailed look at life within the Huangshan District of East China through the examination of a Huang family residence built during the late Qing dynasty and occupied for over 200 years.