Anhui province is located in east-central China. It is about 570 kilometers long from north to south and 450 kilometers wide from east to west. The total area is 140,000 square kilometers, accounting for 1.45 percent of China's land area. By the end of 2018, the registered population of the whole province was 70.82 million and the population of permanent residents was 63.23 million. Up to now, there are 16 prefecture-level cities, including hefei city, and 105 counties (districts) in Anhui.
The Yangtze River and Huaihe River run through the whole Anhui Province from west to east, dividing the whole province into three relatively uniform natural regions, commonly known as Northern Anhui, Central Anhui and Southern Anhui. “Northern Anhui” refers to the northern area along Huaihe river, which covers an area of about 40,400 square kilometers and has a population of about 36.85 million. It is the lowest and flatest one among the three natural regions, most of which is endless plain. “Central Anhui” refers to the area between the south of Huaihe River and the north of Yangtze River, covering an area of about 63,200 square kilometers, with a population of about 24 million. Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, is located in the center of Anhui Province, where hills rise and fall and rivers and lakes crisscross. “Southern Anhui” refers to the southern area along the Yangtze River, with an area of about 36,500 square kilometers and a population of about 9.97 million. It is famous for its undulating mountains, among which Yellow mountain and Jiuhua mountains are the best-known in the world.