Bengbu

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蚌埠市
Bèngbù Shì

Administration Type	Prefecture-level city
City Seat	Longzihu District (32°56′N 117°21′E)
Area	5,952 km²
Population	3,469,700 (2004)
GDP - Total - Per Capita	¥26.37 billion (2004) ¥7,621 (2004)
Major Nationalities	Han
County-level divisions	7
Township-level divisions	74
CPC Committee Secretary
Mayor	Hua Jianhui (花建慧)
Area code	552
Postal Code	233000 (Urban center) 233300, 233400, 233700 (Other areas)
License Plate Prefix	皖C

Bengbu (Chinese: 蚌埠; pinyin: Bèngbù; literally "Clam Wharf" or "Oyster Quay"; often incorrectly pronouced Fengfu; other spellings: P'engpu, Bangbu, Pang-pu or Peng-pu) is a prefecture-level city with a population of 585,000 in northern Anhui province, People's Republic of China. It borders Suzhou to the north, Huaibei to the northwest, Bozhou to the west, Huainan to the southwest, Chuzhou to the south, and the province of Jiangsu to the east. The city is twinned with Tameside in Greater Manchester, England.

1 Administration
2 Geography
3 History
4 Economy
5 Food
6 Transportation
7 Colleges and universities
8 Social Welfare Institute
9 External links

[edit] Administration

The prefecture-level city of Bengbu administers 7 county-level divisions, including 4 districts and 3 counties.

Longzihu District (龙子湖区)
Bengshan District (蚌山区)
Yuhui District (禹会区)
Huaishang District (淮上区)
Huaiyuan County (怀远县)
Wuhe County (五河县)
Guzhen County (固镇县)

These are further divided into 74 township-level divisions, including 36 towns, 19 townships and 19 subdistricts.

[edit] Geography

Bengbu is located 135 km north of Nanjing, on the Huai River. It is divided into two parts: greater Bengbu on the south bank of the river and little Bengbu on the north bank.

[edit] History

Bengbu has always been a hub of water and land communications in Anhui province, and a major distribution centre for the Huai basin. The name echoes its former reputation as a center of the freshwater pearl fishery.

In 1948, during the Chinese Civil War, the Communist People's Liberation Army won a decisive victory over Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist (KMT) forces near Bengbu, in the Battle of Huaihai.

[edit] Economy

Bengbu is now a famous food city in Anhui province. Food-related industries account for 44% of the city's industrial production. The city's other industries include engineering works, textiles, glass making, chemicals, and electronics.

[edit] Food

Bengbu is one of the centers of the Yanhuai cuisine, one of the three noted cuisines of Anhui province. The dishes tend to be salty and slightly hot, with thick soups. One of the famous dishes is fuliji (braised chicken), whose 13 herbs and spices give it a rich aroma.