Anhui — the quiet province

Probably the least known among China’s eastern provinces, Anhui has seen little of the frantic development permeating the rest of urban China today. The borders were defined by the Qing government in the 17th century and have remained largely unchanged over the centuries, although its location, set between the warring factions of northern and southern China, has meant the province has seen more than its fair share of fighting and government changes.

This inland province contains fertile agricultural land in the north, where it consists mainly of flat river plains, and a far more mountainous region in the south. The contrast is so marked that the province was divided into two at the founding of the People’s Republic of China, but Anhui was merged into one again in 1952.