Northern Anhui

Northern Anhui comprises six cities north of the Huai River, best known for Bozhou's Cao Wei relics and traditional Chinese medicine culture and for ancient Huai River towns.

Northern Anhui covers six cities: Huaibei, Bozhou, Suzhou, Bengbu, Fuyang and Huainan. It lies mostly on the Huang–Huai Plain north of the Huai River; note that parts of Huainan and Bengbu are actually on the south bank, but by convention they are counted as northern Anhui as a whole. Bozhou is the core destination. As the hometown of Cao Cao, it has his military tunnels and the Huaxi Tower, famed for its exquisite brick and wood carving. Bozhou is also a nationally known trading hub for Chinese medicinal herbs, where you can visit the herb market and enjoy the atmosphere of the "medicine capital". Around Mengcheng there are sites commemorating Zhuangzi. In Huainan, the ancient city wall at Shouxian is well preserved, and Bagong Mountain is linked to tofu culture. Bengbu has relics tied to the legend of Yu the Great at Tushan, Dangshan in Suzhou has pear blossoms that bloom in sheets in spring, Huaibei offers sites related to the Sui–Tang Grand Canal, and Fuyang has the Yingzhou West Lake and Bali River scenic area. The classic route is two days in Bozhou, then 1–2 days at Shouxian and Bagong Mountain, with a day at Dangshan for pear blossoms in spring, for 3–5 days overall. For transport, the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed line passes through Suzhou and Bengbu, the Shangqiu–Hefei–Hangzhou high-speed line links Bozhou, Fuyang and Hefei, and Fuyang Airport has flights. Summers on the northern Anhui plain are hot, so spring and autumn are best for ancient towns and flower fields. Local wheat dishes such as beef mo and gelatiao noodles are worth trying.

Destinations

Itineraries