Get to know Huai'an District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Huai'an
- Chinese name
- 淮安区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,452.00 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 785,272
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The district lies on the lower Huai, largely in the low-lying Lixiahe (里下河) plain. The Grand Canal and the Beijing–Shanghai Expressway run through it from north to south, while the Xinyi–Changxing Railway (新长铁路) and the Northern Jiangsu Main Irrigation Canal (苏北灌溉总渠) cross it from east to west.
History
Zu Ti (祖逖) of the Jin dynasty walled the town and founded Shanyang County, and it grew after the Sui opened the Grand Canal. Under the Ming and Qing it was the seat of Huai'an Prefecture, and the Director-General of Grain Transport (漕运总督), headquartered in the middle of the old city, ran the canal grain shipments; salt from the northern Huai coast was checked and stored at Hexia (河下). At its peak it ranked with Yangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou as one of the four great cities of the canal. Sea and rail transport later ended its prosperity. Shanyang became Huai'an County in 1914 and a national historical and cultural city in 1986.
The town grew as three walled towns side by side: the old city of Zu Ti, a new city added a kilometre north under the Northern Song, and a linking city walled between them in the Ming Jiajing reign against Japanese pirates.
What to see
Zhenhuai Tower (镇淮楼), in the town centre, dates from the Southern Song; it was renamed 'subduing the Huai' after Qing-era Huai floods and has been a Jiangsu protected site since 2002. The Huai'an Prefecture Office (淮安府衙), begun in 1370, is a national key protected site. The China Canal Transport Museum (中国漕运博物馆), a 4A scenic area, is joined to the excavated site of the grain-transport director's headquarters, one of China's major archaeological discoveries of 2002.
Zhou Enlai's Former Residence (周恩来故居) is a national key protected site and a 5A scenic area, and the Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall (周恩来纪念馆) covers 40 hectares with a memorial island and an artificial lake. Hexia Ancient Town (河下古镇), once called Beichen (北辰镇), produced 67 jinshi, 123 juren and 12 Hanlin academicians in the Ming and Qing; it holds the former home of Wu Cheng'en (吴承恩), author of Journey to the West.
Food and local products
The district counts as one of the main birthplaces of Huaiyang cuisine (淮扬菜). Local specialities include chasan (茶馓) fried dough threads, cattail shoots (蒲菜), Pingqiao tofu (平桥豆腐), Wenlou soup dumplings (文楼汤包), Qingong meatballs (钦工肉圆) and eel (长鱼).
Highlights
- Zhou Enlai's Former Residence 周恩来故居: National key protected site and 5A scenic area.
- Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall 周恩来纪念馆: 5A memorial with an island, artificial lake and gardens over 40 hectares.
- Hexia Ancient Town 河下古镇: Ming–Qing town of scholars, with Wu Cheng'en's former home.
- China Canal Transport Museum 中国漕运博物馆: 4A museum joined to the excavated headquarters of the grain-transport director.
- Huai'an Prefecture Office 淮安府衙: Begun in 1370; national key protected site.
- Zhenhuai Tower 镇淮楼: Southern Song tower in the town centre, renamed in the Qing after Huai floods.
Sources for this guide
淮安区 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
暑期，这些淮安地情文化研学路线不容错过 · Jiangsu News (jschina.com.cn), from Huaihai Evening News
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Huai'an District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Huai'an District
Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall Huaian · 周恩来纪念馆Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall Huaian周恩来纪念馆
The Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall in Huai'an is a purpose-built memorial complex in the Taohuayin area. Its museum displays and monumental landscape complement the separate former-residence site in the historic city.
Read the place guide →
A single-storey grey-brick house with a tiled roof and slightly upturned eaves, a black-boarded central doorway with a life-size figure in a brown robe standing inside it, two latticed windows with small tiled awnings, a potted shrub behind a low timber fence at the left and a herringbone brick-paved courtyard in the foreground.Zhou Enlai Former Residence and Memorial Hall周恩来故居与纪念馆
Zhou Enlai's former residence and memorial museum are two separate places in Huai'an District: a traditional home in Fuma Lane and a purpose-built memorial complex at Taohuayin.
Read the place guide →
A stone-carved gateway reading "He Xia Ancient Town" opens onto the old street in Huai'an · 淮安河下古镇老街入口石刻 Source-recorded photograph date: 2023-04-24.Hexia Ancient Town河下古镇
Canal and salt-trade town in Huai'an, with Ming–Qing streets, the Cheng merchants' legacy and the birthplace of Wu Cheng'en.
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China Water Transport Museum illuminated at night, Huai'an · 淮安中国漕运博物馆夜景 Photograph date recorded by the source: 10 August 2024, 19:41:52.China Water Transport Museum中国漕运博物馆
China Water Transport Museum examines Huai’an’s role in the movement of grain to the imperial capital along the Grand Canal. It stands on the archaeological site of the grain-transport governor’s office at Caoyun Square, linking…
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Main hall of Huai'an Government House · 淮安府署大堂 Photograph date recorded by the source: 7 November 2019, 13:32:59.Huai'an Government House淮安府署
Huai’an Government House preserves the scale and internal hierarchy of a prefectural yamen. Its central sequence runs through gates and clerks’ offices toward the Great Hall and Second Hall, with residential and service spaces…
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Huai'an District is about 20 km in a straight line from central Huai'an. Search for 淮安区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall Huaian and Zhou Enlai Former Residence and Memorial Hall are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Huai'an →More in Huai'an
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 淮安区 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall Huaian · 西安兵马俑 · CC BY-SA 4.0. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Zhou Enlai Former Residence and Memorial Hall · ScareCriterion12 · 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.
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Photo: Hexia Ancient Town · Kmchang28 · 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: China Water Transport Museum · Yumeto · Yumeto — Zhongguo_Caoyun_Bowuguan.jpg — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 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: Huai'an Government House · ScareCriterion12 · ScareCriterion12 — 淮安府衙大堂2019.jpg — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 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.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.