Anqing, city in east central China, in Anhui province. It is situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River where the river narrows, allowing an easy crossing. The city is a market center for tea grown in the mountains nearby, in the Dabie Shan to the north and in the Huang Shan to the south. Industries include oil refining and petrochemical processing.
Anqing was founded as the county of Wan in the 2nd century BC. In the 12th century AD, it became a military prefecture called Anqing. Anqing was the capital of Anhui province from the mid-17th century until 1949, when Hefei replaced it as the provincial capital. In 1853, during the Taiping Rebellion, an uprising against the imperial government of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, followers of Hong Xiuquan (Hung Hsiu-Ch'üan) captured Anqing and made it an important center for the rebellion. The city was recaptured by the Chinese imperial army in 1861. In the late 19th century flour mills, granaries, and munitions factories were built in Anqing, and it was opened to foreign trade. A poor communications network and lack of productivity in the surrounding area, however, hampered development of commerce. Population (1991) 250,718.
