Tongling

Tongling has been famous as a beautiful mountain city since its origins in the Han dynasty over 1500 years ago. Owing to its copper and tin deposits, it was an important center in the past for bronze production. The scale of industrial activity gradually increased through the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, the Japanese occupation (1938–45), and especially under the Communist government since 1949. Tongling has a long history and produced many talented people. It is one of the important birthplaces of China's bronze culture. The history of copper mining and smelting has lasted for more than 3,000 years without interruption. Tongling has been a mining center since the 7th century CE. While it has only been an industrial city for the second half of the 20th century.

Tongling is located in southern Anhui on the southern (right) bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with latitude ranging from 30° 45' 12" to 31° 07' 56" N and longitude ranging from 117° 42' 00" to 118° 10' 06" E; the maximal north–south extent is 42.5 kilometres (26.4 mi), and the greatest east–west width is 40.6 km (25.2 mi). It borders Fanchang County to the southeast, Qingyang County and Nanling County to the south, Guichi District of Chizhou to the southwest, and, northwest across the Yangtze, Wuwei County and Zongyang County. Tongling City has a northern subtropical humid monsoon climate. The climate in Tongling is warm and humid, with heavy rain in spring and summer, hot summer, dry autumn, mild winter, long frost-free period and distinct four seasons.

Tongling has built 5 public libraries, 5 cultural centers, 2 museums, 1 art gallery and 1 theater. The Tongling Museum is a special museum with copper culture as its main theme. It fully displays the status that Tongling should have in the history of China's bronze civilization, and displays the development of copper culture and the prospects of the copper industry. Tongling is famous for a local specialty called white ginger, which has been grown in the area for over 2,000 years. The history of this plant goes back as far as the Spring and Autumn period. It is a major part of the cultural identity of Tongling. The success of Tongling white ginger comes from three traditional farming techniques that are still used today. …

As of November 2017, Tongling has two bridges across the Yangtze River. The Tongling Yangtze River Bridge is a double-deck cable-stayed and suspension coordinated system bridge with a total length of 11.88 kilometers and a main span of 988 meters. It has three river crossing functions: expressway, intercity railway, and freight railway. Tongling is served by the Nanjing–Tongling, Tongling–Jiujiang, Lujiang-Tongling Railways, Nanjing–Anqing Intercity Railway and Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway.