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| Introduction |
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Lu'an lies in the western part of Anhui Province, on the northern foot of the Dabie Mountain. It borders the provincial capital Hefei to the east, Anqing to the south, Xinyang of Henan Province to the west, and Huainan and Fuyang to the north. Covering an area of 17,976 sq km, it is the largest city in Anhui.
Located in the transition area between the subtropical zone and the warm temperate zone, the city enjoys a moderate climate with average temperature around 15-16 ℃. Lu'an has plentiful agricultural products, such as crops, tea, vegetables and geese. It also has abundant mineral resources, such as iron ore, natural gas, marble and quartz. Huoqiu Zhouji Iron Ore Field, the fifth largest iron ore field in China, consists of 9 iron ore deposits and has proven iron ore reserve of 1.65 billion tons.
Lu'an has a well-established traffic infrastructure. State Highway 312, State Highway 206 and State Highway 104 make the city easily accessible by highway, while the Hefei-Jiujiang railway and the Nanjing-Xi'an Railway connect the city with major cities along the railways. Hefei Luogang Airport, situated within one hour's drive from Lu'an, provides another option for reaching the city. |
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| Economic Features |
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The GDP of Lu'an rose 13.7% to RMB 67.6 billion in 2010, ranking the last among 17 prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province. In 2010, agricultural sector, secondary sector and service sector contributed RMB 15.93 billion, RMB 28.58 billion and RMB 23.11 billion, accounting for 4.6%, 24.2% and 7.4% of the city's GDP, respectively.
The city is a major agricultural producer and supplier in Anhui Province. In 2010, the city produced 4.59 million tons of crops and 0.2 million tons of oil plants, up 1.9% and down 8.2% year on year, respectively.
In 2010, the value-added industrial output from enterprises with designated size and above soared 29.3% to RMB 24.67 billion. Heavy industry and light industry amounted to RMB 12.84 billion and RMB 11.83 billion, accounted 29.3% and 26.2%, respectively. Though the city's industrial sector is growing quickly, it still lags behind other large cities in Anhui Province. It lacks large competitive companies and listed companies.
Metallurgy, machinery, electricity and power production and supply and chemicals are the pillar industries in the city. Rich iron ore resources make the city a large iron ore mining base in Anhui.
The city has a booming consumer market. In 2010, the sales of consumer goods rose 19.1% year on year to RMB 27.99 billion. The city attracted nearly 4 million tourists in 2007, which brought a total tourism income of RMB 2 billion.
In 2010, the total foreign trade value amounted to US$453.64 million, representing an increase of 37.3% year on year. The export value hit US$435.09 million, increased 35.6% year on year, while the import value was US$18.55 million, up 112.3% year on year. Export of private enterprises amounted to US$359.99 million, accounting for 82.7% of the city's total.
In 2010, the utilized FDI in the city stood at US$137.04 million, with a sharp rise of 62.3% year on year.
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| Cultural Highlights |
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Lu'an has a long history. During the Spring-and-Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the region belonged to Jiujiang Shire, which was under the control of Chu State. It has been called Lu'an since 121BC, during the Han Dynasty. The city is home to Lu Opera, a kind of traditional opera, and reveres Gao Tao, the son of Huang Di, whose judicial activity and legal thoughts deeply influenced ancient legal culture in China.
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| Tourist Attraction |
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Tian Tang Zhai, also know as the stockaded village of paradise, is the most popular tourist attraction in Lu'an. The village’s lands contain a vast forest park and a national nature reserve. The higheast peak in the area is Tiantang Ding (paradise peak), which is also the highest peak in the Dabie Mountains. Tian Tang Zhai is famous for its waterfalls. There are over 100 waterfalls in this area. The most famous one is called the Plunging Waterfall. Other scenic spots in Liu'an include the Bao'en Temple and Ancient City Wall of Shouyang County.
Liu'an is well-known for marinated dishes such as marinated ribs, marinated beef and marinated duck. It also has diverse flavored snacks, such as Steaming Paozi (a kind of flour food stuffed with vegetables and meat), Salt Bean-curd Slice and Pork Noodles.
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