Get to know Huainan
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- Administrative area
- Prefecture-level city · 地级市
- Part of
- Anhui
- Chinese name
- 淮南市
- Local areas
- 7 local areas
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 5,530.00 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 3,033,528
- Administrative seat
- Tianjia'an District
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The Huai divides two landscapes: south of the river are low hills belonging to the Jianghuai uplands, with the Gaotang (高塘湖) and Wabu (瓦埠湖) lakes south of Shungeng Mountain (舜耕山), while the flat Huaibei Plain (淮北平原) spreads to the north. Bagong Mountain (八公山), more than 40 peaks covering some 200 square kilometres, is a national geopark and forest park; the provincial government describes its 'Huainan worm' (淮南虫) fossils as the world's earliest known multicellular fossils.
History
In 241 BC King Kaolie of Chu moved his capital to Shouchun (寿春), today's Shou County, and renamed it Ying (郢). Liu An (刘安), King of Huainan, ruled from Shouchun from 164 BC until his suicide in 122 BC. Bagong Mountain owes its fame to the stories behind the sayings about chickens and dogs rising to heaven with an immortal and about every bush looking like an enemy soldier. The modern city grew from three towns, Tianjia'an (田家庵), Datong (大通) and Jiulonggang (九龙岗), on which a coal-mining district was founded in 1949; it became a city in 1950.
What to see
The old city of Shou County (寿县古城), on the south side of Bagong Mountain beside the Huai and Fei (淝) rivers, keeps a wall rebuilt in the Song, 7,147 metres round, with four gates that each once had a barbican for both defence and flood control; it is a national key cultural relic. Nearby, Anfeng Pond (安丰塘), anciently Quebei (芍陂), is described by the province as the earliest large reservoir irrigation work in Chinese history. The city's religious sites include the White Pagoda Temple (白塔寺) on Bagong Mountain, Shou County's Bao'en Temple (报恩禅寺), founded in the Tang Zhenguan era, and the Shouchun Great Mosque (寿春清真大寺), founded in the Ming Tianqi era, which the city calls the largest Hui-style mosque in East China.
Food and local products
Bagongshan tofu (八公山豆腐), made with water from the mountain's springs, is white and fine, firm enough to hold in the palm and to simmer long without breaking, and is eaten braised or cold. In the Compendium of Materia Medica (本草纲目), Li Shizhen (李时珍) credits Liu An with inventing tofu, and Huainan's traditional tofu-making, which uses purple-sandstone mills and half-cooked gypsum as coagulant, entered the national intangible heritage list in 2014.
Sources for this guide
淮南概况_淮南市人民政府 · Huainan Municipal People's Government (text from the Huainan Party History and Local Chronicles Office)
人文荟萃——八公山_安徽省人民政府 · Anhui Provincial People's Government
历史文化名城——寿县_安徽省人民政府 · Anhui Provincial People's Government
八公山豆腐_安徽省人民政府 · Anhui Provincial People's Government
豆腐传统制作技艺 - 中国非物质文化遗产网·中国非物质文化遗产数字博物馆 · China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-30.
Explore Huainan
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Huainan
Tongfei Gate in Shou County’s old city wall · 寿县通淝门 Photograph date recorded by the source: Taken on 7 March 2019 10:47:43.Shou County寿县
Shouxian’s old walled centre preserves a compact view of the region’s urban history. The city walls and moat give the settlement its outline, while Bao’en Temple, the Confucian temple and mosque reveal different religious…
Read the place guide →
Along Shou County’s old city wall · 寿县古城墙 Photograph date recorded by the source: 9 November 2014, 10:50:09.Shou County City Wall寿县古城墙
Shou County’s city wall preserves a complete sense of an enclosed historic town. Its four gates are Binyang, Tongfei, Dinghu and Jinghuai, and their barbicans remain important parts of the defensive layout.
Read the place guide →
Misty hills of the Bagong Mountain scenic area seen from an overlook, Huainan · 淮南八公山风景区雾中山景 Source-recorded photograph date: 2016-03-26 11:02:31.Bagong Mountain八公山
Range north of Shou County's old town, linked to Liu An, the Eight Lords, tofu and the Battle of Feishui, with a stone forest and fossils.
Read the place guide →
Anhui Chu Culture Museum · 安徽楚文化博物馆Anhui Chu Culture Museum安徽楚文化博物馆
Anhui Chu Culture Museum presents the archaeology of Chu and the history of Shouxian in the museum’s new-town building, opened in 2022.
Read the place guide →Rampart walkway and moat-side setting of Shou County’s historic city wall · 寿县古城墙步道. Source-recorded photograph date: 2014-11-09 10:50:09.Shouxian Ancient City寿县古城
Shouxian Ancient City is a walled settlement beside the Huai River whose defences evolved to resist both attack and floodwater.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Huainan local specialties
淮南市特色美食 · 8 specialties to discover
Huainan beef soup 淮南牛肉汤
The broth is deeply savory, with soft beef and contrasting chewy or absorbent additions. Chili changes the balance considerably.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
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Bagong Mountain Tofu 八公山豆腐Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片
Bagong Mountain Tofu (八公山豆腐) is a bean curd from Huainan (淮南) in Anhui, named after the Mount Bagong (八公山) area, which the Huainan municipal agriculture bureau credits with the best-quality tofu in the city.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Photo adjustments
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Shouxian layered sweet pastry 寿县大救驾AI illustration · AI 示意图
The shell is rich and crumbly, surrounding a softer, dense center. A small piece brings considerable sweetness and fat.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Huainan Tofu Banquet 淮南豆腐宴AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Huainan Tofu Banquet (淮南豆腐宴) is a meal from Huainan (淮南), Anhui, in which every dish is made from bean curd; a local chef calls it the banquet local people are proud of.
Read the dish guide →
Shangyao Fried Dough Twists 上窑馓子
Shangyao Fried Dough Twists (上窑馓子) are a thick-strip form of sanzi (馓子), coiled strands of fried dough, and a local speciality snack of Datong District (大通区) in Huainan (淮南), Anhui.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Shouxian Brine-Braised Goose 寿县咸水鹅AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Shouxian Brine-Braised Goose (寿县咸水鹅) is listed among the local specialties of Huainan, Anhui. The name includes 鹅 (goose).
Read the dish guide →Fengtai Tofu 凤台豆腐Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片
Fengtai Tofu (凤台豆腐) is listed among the local specialties of Huainan, Anhui. The name includes 豆腐 (bean curd).
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
Jiaogang Lake Red-Yolk Salted Duck Eggs 焦岗湖红心鸭蛋AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Jiaogang Lake Red-Yolk Salted Duck Eggs (焦岗湖红心鸭蛋) is listed among the local specialties of Huainan, Anhui. The name includes 鸭 (duck).
Read the dish guide →More dishes from across Anhui are in the Anhui food guide.
Counties & districts in Huainan
7 areas belong directly to Huainan.
7 areas
Datong District 大通区
Datong is a district of the city of Huainan, Anhui Province, China.
Explore the area →DistrictTianjia'an District 田家庵区
Tianjia'an is a district in the city of Huainan, Anhui Province, China. It is known for several places including Longhu Park, Shungeng Mountain, and Commerce And Culture Square.
Explore the area →DistrictXiejiaji District 谢家集区
Xiejiaji District (simplified Chinese: 谢家集区; traditional Chinese: 謝家集區; pinyin: Xièjiājí Qū) is a district of the city of Huainan, Anhui Province, China.
Explore the area →DistrictBagongshan district 八公山区
Bagongshan is a district of the city of Huainan, Anhui Province, China.
Explore the area →Show fewer areas
Panji District 潘集区
Panji District is a district of the city of Huainan, Anhui Province, China, located to the north of the Huai River and northwest of the city center.
Explore the area →CountyFengtai County 凤台县
Fengtai County (simplified Chinese: 凤台县; traditional Chinese: 鳳台縣; pinyin: Fèngtái Xiàn; lit. 'phoenix platform') is a county in the north of Anhui Province, China.
Explore the area →CountyShou County 寿县
Shou County or Shouxian (simplified Chinese: 寿县; traditional Chinese: 壽縣; pinyin: Shòu Xiàn) is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the…
Explore the area →No areas match this name.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Search for 淮南市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Shou County and Shou County City Wall are about 4 km apart in a straight line. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Anhui →More in Anhui
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Photo: Shou County · Whisper of the heart · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Shou County City Wall · Zhou Guanhuai · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Bagong Mountain · Virgil Guo · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Anhui Chu Culture Museum · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Shouxian Ancient City · Zhou Guanhuai · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full source framing retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or subject alteration. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.