Anhui, with a population of over 59 million, is an inland province in southeast China, and is a top tourist attraction. Anhui intrigues and astonishes tourists with its marvellous scenery and centuries-old cultural relics. It is also well known for its various craftworks, such as rice paper, ink stone and Chinese ink. Together, they form the precious 'four treasures of literary pursuits'.

Reasons to visit: Anhui boasts an abundance of natural beauty spots such as the amazing Mount Huangshan, famous for its towering pines, precipitous stones, wonderland cloud-sea and hot springs; Mount Jiuhua, one of the four famous Buddhist Mountains in China; and Mount Tian Zhu is also a well-known scenic spot. In addition to the beautiful mountain scenery, the well-preserved ancient villages in southern Anhui are remnants of the Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911). Shexian County, reputed as Town of Arches, is also a must for each visitor who wants to experience fine examples of residential architecture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Ancient Tunxi Street: in the east of Tunxi City is Tunxi Street, paved with flagstones and lined with two-story buildings in the ancient style. As these are from the Southern Song Dynasty, the street has become known as 'Song Street.’ Overseas tourists call it 'ancient Rome in the East.' Tunxi Street was built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was destroyed by fire but rebuilt afterward. It now has 42 old-fashioned shops. 

Hongcun village: at the foot of the southwest side of Huangshan Mountain, 11 kilometers away from Yixian town, is this unique, buffalo-shaped ancient village. The village was built in the North Song Dynasty (960-1127). All the buildings followed the local architectural style with exquisite carvings and were magnificent symbols of its time.

Qiyunshan mountain: 33 km to the west of Huangshan City (Tunxi), at the foot of Huangshan Mountains, is Qiyunshan, held sacred by Taoist believers. This mountain hosts dinosaur fossils, geological sections, geological tectonic ruins and other rare geological resources that are said to have been formed millions of years ago. Qiyun Mountain was listed as a cultural relic’s site under the provincial protection in 1981, and listed by the State Council in 1994 as one of the cultural relic’s sites under national protection.

Pingyao Pingyao County: 94 km southwest of Taiyuan. With an area of 1,260 square km, it has five towns and nine villages under its prefecture. Unlike those cities or counties south of the Yangtze River, Pingyao was not endowed with charming natural scenery, but what is unique here is this well-preserved ancient city with its grand, solemn city wall, its residences and shops, and even the government office all in the style of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. In 1997, when it was declared a World Cultural Heritage site, Pingyao gradually opened up to the outside world.