Huizhou (region)

Huizhou 徽州
Region
Xidi, a World Heritage Site, is a village in Huizhou that was built by a merchant family during the Ming Dynasty
Country	China
Province	Anhui and Jiangxi
Area
• Total	13,870 km2 (5,360 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	c. 1,984,000

Huīzhōu (Chinese: ) is a historical region in southeastern China. It corresponds to the southernmost part of Anhui Province (Huangshan City and Jixi County) plus Wuyuan County in northeastern Jiangxi Province. Anhui, the name of the province, is a portmanteau word combining the first characters of Anqing and Huizhou.

From the Ming dynasty (1211), Huizhou is named from Shexian (歙县)。 Since then， it has been kept as a region for about 800 years which is consisted of six counties: Shexian County (歙县), Yixian County (黟县), Xiuning (休宁), Qimen (祁门), Jixi (绩溪), and Wuyuan (婺源).

Huizhou is a mountainous region in the south of Anhui province. Huizhou is also well known for the scenic Huangshan Mountains.

Since the Ming dynasty, the merchants of Huizhou, collectively known in Chinese as Huishang (; pinyin: Huīshāng) were renowned for their economic prowess. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, they formed a formidable political force both regionally and nationally.

Huizhou has its own distinct culture as well as spoken Chinese form, known as Huizhou and recognized as one of the main subdivisions of spoken Chinese. Peking Opera originates in a local opera of Huizhou.

Hui cuisine, known for wide use of wild herbs, is one of eight main Chinese cuisines.

Huizhou is famous for ancient streets and buildings, such as ancestral temple, memorial archway. Residential buildings in Huizhou attach importance to Fengshui and yinyang.