Hefei

Capital of Anhui province, eastern China; population (2000) 1,549,500. Once just a trading hub for agricultural products, especially rice, it has, since the development from the 1930s of the nearby Anhui coalfield, become a centre of heavy industry. Products include textiles, chemicals, iron and steel, aluminium, machine tools, electronics, and domestic appliances.

Hefei is situated a few kilometres north of Lake Chao. During the 1950s several factories were relocated here from Shanghai in accordance with the government's industrial dispersal policy; these included textile and leather manufacturing facilities. Later a small steel works and aluminium plant were built, and subsequently a factory producing washing machines. Hefei replaced Anqing as the capital of Anhui province in 1949.