Wuhu

Wuhu is known to have been inhabited since at least 570 BCE. Present-day Wuhu evolved out of a settlement known as Jiuzi (Chinese: 鸠兹; pinyin: Jiūzī), located on the southern bank of the Shuiyang River, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Wuhu's contemporary urban core. Jiuzi was a site of conflict prior to 670 BCE between the Chu and the Wu during the Spring and Autumn period. In 473 BCE, the Yue took Jiuzi from the Wu. In 306 BCE, the Chu took Jiuzi from the Yue. During the time of the Qin dynasty, Jiuzi was placed under the jurisdiction of the Zhang Commandery (Chinese: 鄣郡; pinyin: Zhāng Jùn). In 109 BCE, Zhang Commandery was renamed to Danyang Commandery. During this time, the area of Juizi was reorganized as Wuhu County (simplified Chinese: 芜湖县; traditional Chinese: 蕪湖縣; pinyin: Wúhú Xiàn). …

The acclaimed poet Li Bai spent his late life in Wuhu, it is said, due to its striking landscape. Li Bai was born in Suyab, an ancient Silk Road city in Central Asian, and raised in southwestern China. Xie Tiao, one of the most distinctive Six Dynasty poets whom he greatly admired, left many poems when holding positions here. During the Tang dynasty (619–907), the poet Du Mu wrote a famous poem Thoughts on Staying Again at Wuhu. A factory in Wuhu carries on the local craft of making wrought iron pictures. Other local handicrafts are embossed lacquerware and rice straw pith patchwork. A famous stone tablet in Wuhu recording local events of the Song dynasty period (ca. 1000 AD) is considered to be a masterpiece of the renowned calligrapher Mi Fu. …

The city is the second largest economy in Anhui, after Hefei, the provincial capital. Like elsewhere in China, Wuhu was seen rapid economic growth in the 21st Century, with its GDP nearly doubling from 2014 to 2022 alone, and its GDP per capita nearly doubling from 2012 to 2019 alone. As of 2022, Wuhu has a gross domestic product (GDP) of 450.213 billion renminbi (RMB). Per 2022 data, the city's primary sector of the economy accounts for 17.925 billion RMB of the city's GDP (3.98% of total GDP), the secondary sector accounts for 213.558 billion RMB (47.43%), and the tertiary sector accounts for 218.730 billion RMB (48.58%). As of 2019, Wuhu's GDP per capita was 96,154 RMB. The city's statistics bureau reported an annual per capita disposable income of 43,145 RMB in 2022 (+6.5% from 2021). …