City guide · 黄山 · 古称徽州
Huangshan
Tunxi Old Street links past and present — the home ground of Huizhou landscape and merchant-gang culture
Huangshan City lies in southern Anhui, in the Huangshan mountain range and the Xin'an River basin; in ancient times it was Huizhou, the land of one prefecture and six counties, its historical territory covering Tunxi, Huizhou, Xiuning, Shexian, Yixian, Qimen and Jixi (now under Xuancheng). In 1987 the city was established because of the Huangshan scenic area, with the municipal government seated in Tunxi. This is both China's landscape sanctuary — Mount Huangshan is famed for its strange pines, grotesque rocks, sea of clouds and hot springs — and the birthplace of Hui culture: the Huizhou merchants, the white-walled, black-tiled horse-head-wall villages, the legacy of Cheng–Zhu Neo-Confucianism, the Xin'an painting school and Hui cuisine together form a complete cultural ecology. Tunxi Old Street and the Liyang in-Lane are the centre of city life, while Xidi and Hongcun are the living specimens of the Huizhou countryside.
History
How the city came to be
Mount Huangshan's land belonged in ancient times to Yangzhou; the Qin set up the counties of Yi and She — the earliest counties established in southern Anhui. In the third year of Xuanhe of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song (1121), after the suppression of the Fang La rebellion, Shezhou was renamed Huizhou taking the character "hui", and the name Huizhou Prefecture endured for nearly eight hundred years. In the Ming and Qing the Huizhou merchants rose — "no town without Huizhou men" — dealing in salt, tea, pawnshops and timber across the whole country; their wealth flowed back home, creating the architectural marvels of ancestral halls, memorial archways and dwellings and the scholarly glory of the "Lu of the Southeast". Mount Huangshan was originally named Yishan; in the sixth year of Tianbao of the Tang (747), on the legend that the Yellow Emperor (Xuanyuan Huangdi) refined elixirs here, it was renamed Huangshan ("Yellow Mountain"). In 1985 Mount Huangshan was listed among China's top ten scenic spots; in 1990 it was inscribed as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site; in 2000 Xidi and Hongcun were inscribed as World Cultural Heritage.
- 221 BCThe Qin set up Yi County and She County — the beginning of the establishment of the Huizhou region
- 747In the sixth year of Tianbao of the Tang, Yishan was renamed Huangshan on the Yellow Emperor legend
- 1121The Northern Song renamed Shezhou as Huizhou; the name Huizhou was established
- Ming–QingThe Huizhou merchants reached their zenith; ancestral halls and archways were built everywhere, and Huizhou's scholarship was called the "Lu of the Southeast"
- 1934The Red Army's Northern Expedition anti-Japanese vanguard fought across southern Anhui; Tunxi was a key rear-area town
- 1987The Huizhou Prefecture was abolished and the prefecture-level Huangshan City established, its government seated in Tunxi
- 1990Mount Huangshan was inscribed on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage list
- 2000Xidi and Hongcun were inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage list
Local life
Food and local daily life
Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)
Must-try
- Stinky mandarin fish (chou guiyu)
- Maodoufu (hairy tofu)
- Huangshan shaobing (sesame flatbread)
Fermented mandarin fish, mao doufu, Huangshan shaobing, stone-ear mushroom chicken stew (mountain delicacy, at licensed restaurants), braised pork with dried bamboo shoots
| Where to eat | Restaurants in Tangkou town at the foot of the mountain, Tunxi Old Street (Huizhou cuisine at Diyilou and others), hotel restaurants on the mountain |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | Don't pick or eat wild mushrooms or greens |
| Typical price per person | CNY 60–100 below the mountain, CNY 120–200 on top |
| Tips | Supplies on the mountain are carried up by porters, so prices are high — set your expectations; bring your own snacks and carry rubbish down. |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Zheng Zhou · CC BY-SA 4.0
Trips beyond the city
These places can be explored from this city but lie outside it. See each place for transport and visiting guidance.
