Get to know Chizhou
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- Administrative area
- Prefecture-level city · 地级市
- Part of
- Anhui
- Chinese name
- 池州市
- Local areas
- 4 local areas
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 8,399.00 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 1,342,764
- Administrative seat
- Guichi District
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
Mount Jiuhua (九华山) is a World Geopark. In Shitai, Guniujiang (牯牛降) is described by the city as the last primeval forest in East China and a natural gene bank of plants and animals. The city government calls Shengjin Lake (升金湖) Anhui's only wetland of international importance; it is known as 'China's crane lake'.
History
Remains of Hualong Cave Man (华龙洞人), about 300,000 years old and described by the city as the earliest humans in East Asia evolving towards Homo sapiens, were found here. Chizhou was set up as a prefecture under the Tang in 621, with its seat at Qiupu (秋浦). It was Chiyang Commandery (池阳郡) under the Song and Chizhou Prefecture (池州府) under the Ming and Qing, and became a prefecture-level city in 2000.
What to see
Mount Jiuhua is one of China's four great Buddhist mountains and among the first national 5A scenic areas. Its managing authority calls it the 'Lotus Buddha Land' (莲花佛国): nine main peaks rise like nine lotus flowers, and a chain of ridges forms a natural reclining Buddha. Guniujiang, 22 kilometres from the Shitai county town and anciently called 'West Huangshan' (西黄山), is named for a mountain shaped like a bull descending from the sky; Longmen Pool (龙门潭) is its largest and deepest pool. The city government presents Xinghua Village (杏花村) as the village the herd boy points to in a poem by Du Mu (杜牧).
Food and local products
Jiuhuashan vegetarian fare (九华山素斋) uses lily bulbs, Solomon's seal, rock ear and wood ear from the mountain with tofu, agar and wheat gluten; dishes are stir-fried, stewed or baked and often shaped as mock chicken, duck or fish. Guichi xiaoba (贵池小粑), an everyday breakfast, is a flour wrapper filled with glass noodles, shredded radish, beans or pickled greens and pan-fried in rapeseed oil. Lingyang dried tofu (陵阳豆腐干) from Qingyang goes through more than a dozen steps, braising among them, and comes out glossy black with a strong soy-sauce flavour.
Getting oriented
The Nanjing–Anqing high-speed railway (宁安高铁), the Tongling–Jiujiang Railway (铜九铁路) and the Chizhou–Huangshan high-speed line (池黄高铁) serve the city, as does Jiuhuashan Airport (九华山机场). The city government describes the Chizhou Jiuhuashan tourist wharf (池州九华山旅游码头) as Anhui's only Yangtze cruise-ship stop.
Sources for this guide
池州简介-池州市人民政府 · Chizhou Municipal People's Government
历史沿革-池州市人民政府 · Chizhou Municipal People's Government (text from the Chizhou Party History and Local Chronicles Office)
九华山素斋-池州市人民政府 · Chizhou Municipal People's Government
贵池小粑-池州市人民政府 · Chizhou Municipal People's Government (text from the Chizhou Culture and Tourism Bureau)
陵阳豆腐干-池州市人民政府 · Chizhou Municipal People's Government (text from the Chizhou Culture and Tourism Bureau)
牯牛降风景区：山水间的“绿野仙踪”-池州市人民政府 · Chizhou Daily (on the Chizhou Municipal People's Government portal)
走进九华山-九华山风景区 · Jiuhuashan Scenic Area Administrative Committee
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-30.
Explore Chizhou
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Chizhou
Jiuhua Mountain · 九华山Mount Jiuhua九华山
Jiuhua’s Buddhist landscape is centred on devotion to Dizang, with temples set among forested granite hills. Around Jiuhua Street, Huacheng Temple faces a crescent-shaped release pond and open square, while the lanes connect…
Read the place guide →
Shengjin Lake Birdwatching Area · 升金湖开放观鸟区Shengjin Lake Birdwatching Area升金湖开放观鸟区
The visitor side of Shengjin Lake in Dongzhi includes village-based nature education and designated birdwatching points linked to Lianmeng Village in Zhangxi Town.
Read the place guide →
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非该地点实拍）Guniujiang Longmen Scenic Area牯牛降龙门景区
Longmen is the northern-foot section of Guniujiang in Shitai County, combining clear-water gorge scenery with Yanjia Village.
Read the place guide →
The Qiupu River near its confluence with the Yangtze in Guichi District, Chizhou, the same river that flows through Shitai County · 秋浦河入江口，池州市贵池区 Source-recorded photograph date: 2021-10-02.Qiupu River秋浦河
Yangtze tributary flowing from Qimen through Shitai to Chizhou, the river of Li Bai's Seventeen Songs of Qiupu and of its mandarin fish.
Read the place guide →
Penglai Fairy Cave · 蓬莱仙洞Penglai Fairy Cave蓬莱仙洞
Penglai Xiandong in Du Village, Shitai County, is a cave system of upper, middle and lower chambers above an underground river.
Read the place guide →
Jiuhua Tianchi Scenic Area · 九华天池Jiuhua Tianchi Scenic Area九华天池
Jiuhua Tianchi in Guichi's Maya Subdistrict brings together reservoirs, wooded slopes and a boulder-filled stream valley.
Read the place guide →
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非该地点实拍）Xinghuacun Cultural Scenic Area杏花村文化旅游区
Xinghuacun Cultural Tourism Area in Guichi is a modern landscape park that celebrates the village, wine and spring scenery associated with Du Mu's poem Qingming.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Chizhou local specialties
池州市特色美食 · 8 specialties to discover
Mount Jiuhua Vegetarian Cuisine 九华山素斋
Mount Jiuhua Vegetarian Cuisine (九华山素斋) is the meat-free cooking of Mount Jiuhua (九华山) in Chizhou (池州), Anhui.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Guichi Pan-Fried Stuffed Cakes 贵池小粑
Guichi Pan-Fried Stuffed Cakes (贵池小粑) are small leavened-dough cakes with a vegetable filling, fried in rapeseed oil until golden and crisp.
Read the dish guide →
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Shitai Layered One-Pot 石台一品锅
Shitai Layered One-Pot (石台一品锅) is a banquet pot from Shitai County (石台县), Chizhou (池州), in which dried bamboo shoots, pork, tofu, round balls (yuanzi, 圆子) and glass noodles are stacked in layers in one large pan, each layer carrying a wish for the guests who eat it.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Dongzhi Maiyu Small Fish 东至麦鱼AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Dongzhi Maiyu Small Fish (东至麦鱼) is a small freshwater fish from Dongzhi County (东至县) in Chizhou (池州), Anhui, prized as a local delicacy.
Read the dish guide →
Qiupu Mandarin Fish with Egg Custard 秋浦花鳜
Qiupu Mandarin Fish with Egg Custard (秋浦花鳜) is Chizhou's (池州) steamed mandarin fish laid on a set egg custard, a dish the city's culture and tourism bureau lists in its food series under the name Chizhou mandarin fish (池州鳜鱼).
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Qingyang Lingyang Pressed Tofu 青阳陵阳豆腐干
Qingyang Lingyang Pressed Tofu (青阳陵阳豆腐干) is a dark, bean-paste-seasoned pressed tofu from the Lingyang (陵阳) area of Qingyang County (青阳县), Chizhou (池州), which the county government lists among its noted local products.
Read the dish guide →
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Shitai Qidu Fermented Tofu 石台七都臭豆腐Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片
Shitai Qidu Fermented Tofu (石台七都臭豆腐) is a pressed bean curd fermented in a specially made brine, made by hand in family workshops in Qidu (七都镇), an old walled town in Shitai County (石台县), Chizhou (池州), in the interior of southern Anhui.
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Cured Pork Braised with Bamboo Shoots 腊味炖笋
Cured Pork Braised with Bamboo Shoots (腊味炖笋) is listed among the local specialties of Chizhou, Anhui. The name includes 笋 (bamboo shoots). 腊 describes curing.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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All dish names · 全部菜名 (8)
- Mount Jiuhua Vegetarian Cuisine · 九华山素斋
- Guichi Pan-Fried Stuffed Cakes · 贵池小粑
- Shitai Layered One-Pot · 石台一品锅
- Dongzhi Maiyu Small Fish · 东至麦鱼
- Qiupu Mandarin Fish with Egg Custard · 秋浦花鳜
- Qingyang Lingyang Pressed Tofu · 青阳陵阳豆腐干
- Shitai Qidu Fermented Tofu · 石台七都臭豆腐
- Cured Pork Braised with Bamboo Shoots · 腊味炖笋
More dishes from across Anhui are in the Anhui food guide.
Counties & districts in Chizhou
4 areas belong directly to Chizhou.
4 areas
Guichi District 贵池区
Guichi District (simplified Chinese: 贵池区; traditional Chinese: 貴池區; pinyin: Guìchí Qū) is a district of the city of Chizhou, Anhui province, People's Republic of China and the seat of the city government.
Explore the area →CountyDongzhi County 东至县
Dongzhi County (simplified Chinese: 东至县; traditional Chinese: 東至縣; pinyin: Dōngzhì Xiàn) is a county in the south of Anhui province, situated on the southeast (right) bank of the Yangtze and bordering Jiangxi…
Explore the area →CountyShitai County 石台县
Shitai County (simplified Chinese: 石台县; traditional Chinese: 石台縣; pinyin: Shítái Xiàn) is a county in the south of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level…
Explore the area →CountyQingyang County 青阳县
Qingyang County (simplified Chinese: 青阳县; traditional Chinese: 青陽縣; pinyin: Qīngyáng Xiàn) is a county in the south of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China.
Explore the area →No areas match this name.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Search for 池州市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Mount Jiuhua and Shengjin Lake Birdwatching Area 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: Mount Jiuhua · Nat Krause · Public domain. Wikimedia thumbnail; fitted to the ranking-card frame.
Photo: Shengjin Lake Birdwatching Area · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Qiupu River · William Ng · 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: Penglai Fairy Cave · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Jiuhua Tianchi Scenic Area · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.