Historic city · Cultural centre · Port · Anhui
Anqing
安庆
Old provincial capital on the Yangtze, home of Huangmei opera and the Tongcheng school
Anqing is a prefecture-level city in south-western Anhui on the north bank of the Yangtze. It was the provincial capital for most of the Qing and Republican periods and gave Anhui the first half of its name; it is the home of Huangmei opera, of the Tongcheng school of prose, and of Chen Duxiu, and the site of one of China's first modern arsenals.
Key facts
Overview
Anqing guards the Yangtze between Jiujiang and Wuhu and was long a strategic fortress. When the provincial government moved here in 1760 it became the political centre of Anhui, a role it kept until the 1940s.
The region is rich in culture: Huangmei opera grew from tea-picking songs in its villages, the Tongcheng school of prose dominated Qing literary style, and the Anqing troupes of Hui opera took the stage in Beijing. Its territory includes Tianzhu Shan, a granite mountain and Global Geopark.
Names and nicknames
宜城
Literary name of the city.
皖城
After the ancient state of Wan and Mount Wan (Tianzhu Shan), source of Anhui's abbreviation.
戏曲之乡
“home of opera”
For Huangmei opera and for the Anqing troupes that took Hui opera to Beijing.
History
Anqing was walled in 1217 during the Southern Song. It was a Taiping stronghold until Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army took it in 1861, after which Zeng founded the Anqing Arsenal. The city was the provincial capital from 1760 and saw early revolutionary activity; Chen Duxiu, founder of New Youth, was born here in 1879.
1217
City walled
The Song built Anqing as a fortress on the Yangtze against the Jin; the Zhenfeng Pagoda was added in the Ming.
1760
Provincial capital
The Anhui provincial government moved to Anqing from Nanjing.
1861
Fall of Anqing and the Anqing Arsenal
The recapture from the Taiping was a turning point in the war; the arsenal built the first Chinese steamship, the Huanghu.
1907
Anqing uprising
Xu Xilin assassinated the Anhui governor En Ming in a failed revolutionary rising.
Landmarks
Temple or shrine
Zhenfeng Pagoda and Yingjiang Temple
振风塔
Ming pagoda on the riverbank, known as the first pagoda on the Yangtze.
Historic site
Chen Duxiu's tomb
陈独秀墓园
Memorial park in the northern suburbs.
Modern landmark
Huangmei Opera Art Centre
黄梅戏艺术中心
Theatre of the Anhui Huangmei opera troupes.
Neighbourhoods
Daobashi Street
倒扒狮街
Old commercial street in the city centre.
Food
Jiang Mao dumplings
江毛水饺
Small wontons in a clear broth from a restaurant founded in the 1920s.
Mozi pastry
墨子酥
Crisp black-sesame pastry, a local gift.
Culture
Anqing is the capital of Huangmei opera, whose lilting tunes and folk stories such as The Heavenly Match became popular nationwide through film. Nearby Tongcheng was the home of the Tongcheng school of classical prose (Fang Bao, Liu Dakui, Yao Nai) and of the Six-Foot Lane, a symbol of neighbourly courtesy.
Getting around
- Anqing station is on the high-speed line between Hefei and Jiujiang; Anqing Tianzhushan Airport serves the city.
- The Yangtze bridges link the city with Chizhou on the south bank.
Day trips
Tianzhu Shan
天柱山
Granite peaks in Qianshan county, the ancient Mount Wan, with the Three Ancestors Temple of Chan Buddhism.
Six-Foot Lane, Tongcheng
六尺巷
Lane created when two families each gave up three feet of land to end a boundary dispute.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Anqing Municipal People's Government — Anqing Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Anqing — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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