Hefei

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Hefei (合肥 pinyin Héféi) is the capital of Anhui Province of China. Formerly translated Hofei using the Wade-Giles system. Population: 772,000. Area: 120 km². The GDP per capita was ¥ 17770 (ca. € 1800, US$ 2150) in 2003, ranked no. 91 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
The city was known as Luzhou (pinyin Lúzhou) during theMing and Qing Dynasties.

A famous Three Kingdoms battle was fought at what is currently Xiaoyao Jin (pinyin Xiaoyáo Jin) in Hefei. General Zhang Liao of the Kingdom of Wei (Wèi) commanding 7,000 picked cavalry defeated the 100,000-men army of Kingdom of Wu (Wú).

Geography
Hefei is located 130 km west of Nanjing.

Hefei's annual average temperature is about 15.7°C. Its annual precipitation is about 1000 mm.

Chaohu Lake, a lake 15 km southeast of the city, is one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. However, the lake has unfortuneatly been polluted with nitrogen and phosphor in recent decades.

Economy
Before the Chinese civil war Hefei was a town whose industry was predominantly agricultural. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic, the capital of Anhui was moved from Anqing to Hefei. To help development of the city, many talents were sent from other parts of the country. Modern day Hefei has among others machinery, electronics, chemistry, steel, textile, and cigarette industries.

Demographics
The majority of the population in Hefei is Han Chinese. There is a small minority of Hui Chinese living in the city.

Sites of Interest
Xiaoyao Jin was the site of the battle mentioned above. The location is currently a public park
The Temple of Lord Bao is located near the city centre. It was built in 1066 close to the tomb of Lord Bao.