Prefecture-level city · Anhui

Lu'an 六安市

Lu'an (六安市) lies in western Anhui (安徽) on the northern slopes of the Dabie Mountains (大别山), where Anhui, Hubei (湖北) and Henan (河南) meet, and is commonly called Wanxi (皖西), 'western Anhui'. The first character of its name is read lù here, and the city government describes it as the province's largest prefecture by area.

Location of Anhui, the surrounding province-level areaView province guide

Get to know Lu'an

A rural valley in Danlongsi Town, Huoshan County (霍山县单龙寺镇), within Lu'an, Anhui.
A rural valley in Danlongsi Town, Huoshan County (霍山县单龙寺镇), within Lu'an, Anhui. Photograph date recorded by the source: 2006-04-15. · Zhengqian zhang · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Administrative area
Prefecture-level city · 地级市
Part of
Anhui
Chinese name
六安市
Local areas
7 local areas

Area & population

Area in the source
15,436.00 km²
Population · 2020 census
4,393,699
Administrative seat
Jin'an District

Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.

Setting and landscape

The land steps down from the Dabie Mountains in the southwest through hills and ridges to plain in the northeast, and the Jianghuai watershed sends its rivers either to the Huai or to the Yangtze. Six large reservoirs lie within the prefecture: Foziling (佛子岭), Mozitan (磨子潭), Bailianya (白莲崖), Xianghongdian (响洪甸), Meishan (梅山) and Longhekou (龙河口). Tiantangzhai (天堂寨), on the border with Luotian County (罗田县) in Hubei, is a 5A scenic area and national nature reserve that the provincial government bills as the last primeval forest in East China, and the city names Baimajian (白马尖) as the main peak of the Dabie range.

History

The city government traces its story to more than 4,000 years ago, when Yu the Great (禹) enfeoffed descendants of Gao Yao (皋陶) at Ying (英) and Liu (六), which is why Lu'an is also called Gaocheng (皋城). In 206 BC Xiang Yu (项羽) made Ying Bu (英布), a native of Liu, King of Jiujiang with his capital there, and in 121 BC Emperor Wu of Han created the state of Lu'an, the first use of the name. The city counts the Three Kingdoms general Zhou Yu (周瑜) and the Song painter Li Gonglin (李公麟) among its famous people. Lu'an was also the core of the Hubei–Henan–Anhui revolutionary base, where the Red 25th Army and eleven other main Red Army units were formed.

What to see

Jinzhai (金寨), known as the 'county of generals', has the Jinzhai Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery (金寨县革命烈士陵园) at Meishan town, combining a memorial tower, the Jinzhai Revolutionary Museum and a Red Army graveyard. The city's tourism routes also take in Wanfo Lake (万佛湖) and Wanfo Mountain (万佛山), the Foziling Reservoir, the Yanzihe Grand Canyon (燕子河大峡谷) and the tomb of Gao Yao on the edge of the city.

Food and local products

Lu'an Guapian (六安瓜片), which the city lists among China's ten historic famous teas, is made from single melon-seed-shaped leaves without buds or stems, picked in the ten days either side of the Grain Rain solar term (谷雨) and fired repeatedly until a white bloom appears. Huoshan Huangya (霍山黄芽), grown above 600 metres in Huoshan (霍山), was a tribute tea from the Tang to the Qing. Yingjia Gongjiu (迎驾贡酒) liquor comes from Foziling in Huoshan, and Huoshan dendrobium (霍山石斛) is a prized medicinal herb.

Sources for this guide

概述篇_六安市人民政府 · Lu'an Municipal People's Government

历史篇_六安市人民政府 · Lu'an Municipal People's Government (text from the Lu'an Party History and Local Chronicles Office)

地理篇_六安市人民政府 · Lu'an Municipal People's Government (text from the Lu'an Party History and Local Chronicles Office)

旅游篇_六安市人民政府 · Lu'an Municipal People's Government (text from the Lu'an Culture and Tourism Bureau)

风物篇_六安市人民政府 · Lu'an Municipal People's Government (text from the Lu'an Party History and Local Chronicles Office)

险奇幽深——天堂寨_安徽省人民政府 · Anhui Provincial People's Government

金寨县革命烈士陵园_安徽省人民政府 · Anhui Provincial People's Government

Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-30.

Explore Lu'an

Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.

Places to explore around Lu'an

A gondola lift crossing above green, rocky peaks at TiantangzhaiCable cars ascending the forested peaks of Tiantangzhai · 天堂寨索道与群峰景观 Source-recorded photograph date: 2012-08-06.

Tiantangzhai天堂寨

Tiantangzhai straddles the Dabie Mountains’ divide between the Huai and Yangtze drainage systems. On the Anhui side, waterfalls and forested valleys provide a clear focus: Jiuying Waterfall is one named stop in the cascade area…

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Wanfo Lake (万佛湖)Wanfo Lake · 万佛湖

Wanfo Lake万佛湖

Wanfo Lake in Shucheng is the visitor landscape around Longhekou Reservoir, with islands, wooded shores and dam-related history.

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AI illustration of a general forested mountain valley scene; not a photograph or an exact view of this place.AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非该地点实拍)

Wanfo Mountain万佛山

Wanfo Mountain in southwestern Shucheng belongs to an outer range of the Dabie Mountains, rising to the 1,539-metre summit of Laofoding.

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Dushan Revolutionary Sites (独山革命旧址群)Dushan Revolutionary Sites · 独山革命旧址群

Dushan Revolutionary Sites独山革命旧址群

Dushan's revolutionary historic sites in Yu'an District bring together former Soviet county institutions and later memorials to the 1929 uprising.

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AI illustration of a general waterfall stream scene; not a photograph or an exact view of this place.AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非该地点实拍)

Yanzihe Grand Canyon燕子河大峡谷

Yanzihe Grand Canyon in Jinzhai County combines the Lvzhu River's rock-cut valley with the cliffs and waterfalls around Tiankeng.

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Jinzhai County Revolutionary Museum (金寨县革命博物馆)Jinzhai County Revolutionary Museum · 金寨县革命博物馆

Jinzhai County Revolutionary Museum金寨县革命博物馆

Jinzhai County Revolutionary Museum in Meishan presents the county's revolutionary history through historical displays and the lives of people from the area.

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Baimajian Peak (白马尖)Baimajian Peak · 白马尖

Baimajian Peak白马尖

Baimajian in Huoshan County is the highest peak of the Dabie Mountains, rising to 1,777 metres.

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Foziling Reservoir (佛子岭水库)Foziling Reservoir · 佛子岭水库

Foziling Reservoir佛子岭水库

Reservoir in Huoshan County's Dabie Mountains, behind the 1954 multiple-arch dam officially called 'the first dam in New China', now a national protected site.

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Tongluozhai Scenic Area (铜锣寨)Tongluozhai Scenic Area · 铜锣寨

Tongluozhai Scenic Area铜锣寨

Tongluozhai in Huoshan County combines a 1,096-metre peak, pines growing among rocks and the cliffs and waterfalls of Tongluo Grand Canyon.

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Local life & food

Lu'an local specialties

六安市特色美食 · 9 specialties to discover

AI illustration: A platter of roasted chicken cut into substantial golden-brown skin-on pieces.Lu'an Guapian Tea-Scented Chicken 六安瓜片茶香鸡AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非实拍)

Lu'an Guapian Tea-Scented Chicken (六安瓜片茶香鸡) is listed among the local specialties of Lu'an, Anhui. The name includes 鸡 (chicken). The term 茶 points to tea or a locally named drink.

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Huoshan Air-Dried Mutton (霍山风干羊) — dish photographHuoshan Air-Dried Mutton 霍山风干羊

Huoshan Air-Dried Mutton (霍山风干羊) is listed among the local specialties of Anhui. The name includes 羊 (sheep).

Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Photo: Source photographer · License not provided
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Jinzhai hanging-pot stew · 金寨吊锅 · AI dish illustrationJinzhai hanging-pot stew 金寨吊锅AI illustration · AI 示意图

Long cooking makes the ingredients tender and the broth richly savory, while firmer vegetables or dried foods retain some bite.

Source ↗Read the dish guide →
AI illustration: A metal Chinese hotpot with steaming broth and clearly separated small portions of meat and vegetables.Tiantangzhai Hanging-Pot Stew 天堂寨吊锅AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非实拍)

Tiantangzhai Hanging-Pot Stew (天堂寨吊锅) is the one-pot meal of the Tiantangzhai (天堂寨) area in the Dabie Mountains (大别山) of Jinzhai (金寨), Lu'an (六安): an iron pot hung from a roof beam over a fire pit, filled with cooked meats and vegetables and shared by everyone sitting round it.

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AI illustration: A platter of orange-red cooked whole prawns with shells and tails.Shucheng Xiaolanhua Tea-Scented Shrimp 舒城小兰花茶香虾AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非实拍)

Shucheng Xiaolanhua Tea-Scented Shrimp (舒城小兰花茶香虾) is listed among the local specialties of Lu'an, Anhui. The name includes 虾 (shrimp or prawns). The term 茶 points to tea or a locally named drink.

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AI illustration: A plate of pale boiled lamb chunks with a few bone-in pieces.Yeji Mutton 叶集羊肉AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非实拍)

Yeji Mutton (叶集羊肉) is the mutton cooking of Yeji District (叶集区) in Lu'an (六安), Anhui, which the district put forward as the first of its three signature foods, beside hollow dried noodles and Shazhui tribute fish (沙锥贡鱼).

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AI illustration: A ceramic casserole of large irregular duck or goose pieces simmered in dark savory sauce.Huoqiu Braised Goose Pieces 霍邱鹅块AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非实拍)

Huoqiu Braised Goose Pieces (霍邱鹅块) is listed among the local specialties of Lu'an, Anhui. The name includes 鹅 (goose).

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Reference photo for Jinzhai Red Cured Tofu · 金寨红豆腐同类菜品参考照片Jinzhai Red Cured Tofu 金寨红豆腐Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片

Jinzhai Red Cured Tofu (金寨红豆腐) is not a plain bean curd but a winter preserve from Tiantangzhai (天堂寨) in Jinzhai County (金寨县), Anhui: tofu kneaded with pig's blood and diced pork, shaped into round cakes and cured in the sun or over smoke.

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Photo: Archon6812 · CC BY-SA 3.0
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All dish names · 全部菜名 (9)

More dishes from across Anhui are in the Anhui food guide.

EXPLORE THE NEXT LEVEL

Counties & districts in Lu'an

7 areas belong directly to Lu'an.

7 areas

View all 7 areasShow fewer areas

Plan your visit

Build your route

Tiantangzhai and Wanfo Lake are both listed here. 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: Tiantangzhai · Jasonfang86 · 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: Wanfo Lake · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.

Photo: Dushan Revolutionary Sites · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.

Photo: Jinzhai County Revolutionary Museum · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.

Photo: Baimajian Peak · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.

Photo: Foziling Reservoir · The original uploader was Lastman at Chinese Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.

Photo: Tongluozhai Scenic Area · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.

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