Hefei, Anhui (China, center)
Hefei is the capital of Anxui Province and is located in the heart of the province. Until 1949, Hefei was a quiet trading town.
Today it is one of the four scientific, technical and educational centers of China, it houses the Institute of Science and Technology, which is known for a very high level of education. Although more than one million people live in the capital, the atmosphere is still calm here.
Hefei is a garden city surrounded by forested mountain slopes. There are few attractions. Among them, it is worth noting the Mingjiao Temple, the local history museum of Anhui Province, Baohe and Xiaoyatsin parks. Buddhist temple Mingjiao(Mingjiao) is under state protection. The temple is famous for the huge cast bell of the Yuan Dynasty. AT In the local history museum of Anhui Province, you can see bronze items of the 16th – 8th centuries. BC, coins of the epochs of Autumn and Spring and the Three Kingdoms, steles with portrait images, gold and silver objects of the Yuan dynasty, paintings and calligraphic works of the Xi’an school, and much more.
Baohe Park is one of the parks surrounding the walls of the old city. Most of the park is occupied by a lake, but there is also a memorial temple, several ancient graves, arched bridges, a small coniferous forest and many willow trees whose branches hang over the water.
The memorial temple bears the name of Bao Zheng, an official of the Northern Song era, whose name has become synonymous with honesty and incorruptibility. It was built in 1066. To the west of the temple is a hexagonal pavilion with a well, the water in which, according to legend, is a measure of morality. If a corrupt official drinks this water, his head will split open.
Hidden in a coniferous forest are several houses in the typical architectural style of Anhui province, where Bao Zheng and his companions lived. Xiaoyaojin Park is a famous battle site that took place during the Three Kingdoms period. The area of the park is 31.3 hectares. A small zoo with animals traditional for China has been created in its southeastern part., and in the west – a bonsai garden, a corner of rare plants and a garden with decorative stone slides. Many tourists use Hefei as a transit point before traveling to the sacred mountains of Huangshan and Jiuhuashan. Check a2zdirectory for travel to beautiful cities in China.Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province.
Changzhou (China, center)
Changzhou is located in Jiangxi Province, 350 km southwest of Nanchang. There are few attractions in the city, but you can visit the picturesque Jiulian Mountain, the Mei Pass, look at the houses built in the Hakka style, and the Dongjin pontoon bridge built during the Song Dynasty.
Changsha, Hunan (China, center)
Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province. Settlements on the site of the modern city existed from the 5th century BC. BC e. Later, it became one of the centers for the formation of the ancient Chinese kingdom of Chu, which played an important political role in the 5th – 3rd centuries. BC e. Changsha became the administrative center of the province during the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911), having previously been the center of the district, region and county at different times.
Changsha is the hometown of Mao Zedong, so many tourist attractions are inextricably linked to it. This is Mao ‘s residence, an exhibition of personal belongings, a memorial to his famous associate Liu Feng. On the 30-meter fortress wall of Changsha is located Tianxin pavilion, which overlooks the entire city. Changsha is home to the Yuelu Academy, which was one of the four major educational institutions during the Song Dynasty and one of the first state-funded institutions. The buildings of the academy that have survived to this day mainly belong to the era of the Qing Dynasty.
In the vicinity of the city, in the town of Mawangdui, Chinese archaeologists discovered an ancient burial with three graves of the Han era. One of the finds amazed scientists – this is the mummy of a woman, whose bones and skin are preserved in excellent condition, despite the age of 2100 years. Among other valuable finds were 3,000 lacquerware and silk paintings. Mummies and objects found in the graves are exhibited in Hunan Provincial Museum in Changsha.
Wuhan, Hubei (China, center)
It is a large industrial city at the confluence of the Yangtze and Hanjiang rivers. It is a conglomerate of three once independent cities: Hankou, Hanyang and Wuchang.
The center of the city is Hankou, especially the area around Zhongshan Dadao Road, and its main avenue is Jiefang Dadao. Here are the main hotels, shops, restaurants, street markets.
The symbol of the city is the Huanghelou Tower or the Yellow Stork Tower. It is one of three large towers in southern China.. The building has a height of 5 floors and rises to 51.4 m. It is believed that the first tower on this site was built in the 3rd century. In Wuhan, you can take a walk in the park near Donghu Lake and watch costumed performances from the life of Chinese mandarins; visit Guiyuan Si Temple, a Buddhist temple from the time of the change of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the main attraction of which are the statues of Buddha’s disciples, frozen in comical poses.
The undoubted attraction is the bridge over the Yangtze. It stretches 1,100 meters in length and 80 meters in height and links the Wuchang and Hanyang sectors. Hubei Provincial Museum a must visit if you are interested in archeology. His collection of ancient artefacts comes from the tomb of Zhenghouyi, excavated in 1978, in the 5th century. BC. The collection of musical instruments is very interesting: bronze bells, wooden drums, Pan flutes. All of this is still in working condition and produces amazing harmonious sounds.
Today, few tourists head specifically to Wuhan, but most travel through it on the large ferry route from Chongqing to Shanghai.
