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Wuhu

Prefecture-level city in Anhui, China

  • 12 min read
  • 13 chapters
This is a photo showing the skyline of Wuhu.
Wu Shan · CC BY-SA 4.0

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History

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). In 223 CE, under the reign of Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu, the county seat was moved from the site of Jiuzi to the highlands along the north banks of the Qingyi River, to the southeast of contemporary Wuhu's urban core.

Xuancheng Commandery was carved-out of Danyang Commandery in 281 CE, with the headquarters of Danyang Commandery moved to Nanjing. The area of contemporary Wuhu remained under the jurisdiction of Danyang Commandery. During the Eastern Jin period, the area saw an influx of people migrate to the area from the Central Plains. The area was placed under the jurisdiction of Xuancheng Commandery in 363 CE, and the commandery's headquarters were moved to the area. During the late 4th Century, the area underwent a number of other administrative changes. Part of the area would fall under the jurisdiction of Huainan Commandery.

Both Xuancheng Commandery and Huainan Commandery were abolished early on during the Sui dynasty, in 589 CE.

In 627 CE, under the Tang dynasty, the area was re-organized as Xuan Prefecture (Chinese: 宣州; pinyin: Xuān Zhōu), and placed under the jurisdiction of Jiangnan Circuit. In 733 CE, it became part of the newly created Jiangnanxi Circuit. In 758 CE, it was transferred to be part of Sheng Prefecture, in Jiangnandong Circuit. Three years later, it would return to Xuan Prefecture in Jiangnanxi Circuit. In 787 CE, Xuan Prefecture was transferred to Jiangnandong Circuit.

In 937 CE, upon the creation of the Southern Tang during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Wuhu County was established, and placed under Jiangning Fu. Since then, Wuhu went uninterrupted as an administrative unit throughout the remainder of dynastic China.

During the Song dynasty, Wuhu County belonged to Jiangnan Circuit, and later Jiangnandong Circuit.

In 1277, during the Yuan dynasty, Wuhu County was placed under the jurisdiction of Taiping Circuit. In 1355, Taiping Circuit was replaced by Taiping Fu, and Wuhu County was placed under its jurisdiction.

Taiping Fu was under the jurisdiction of Zhongshu Sheng until its abolition in 1380, during the Ming dynasty. Throughout the Ming dynasty, Wuhu County remained under the jurisdiction of Taiping Fu. Under the Ming dynasty, Wuhu developed into a major commercial center and river port and since that time has been known as a center of the rice trade.

In 1644, the Hongguang Emperor (better known as the Prince of Fu), one of the last emperors of the Ming dynasty, was captured by forces of the new Qing dynasty in Wuhu County. During the Taiping Rebellion, Wuhu County exchanged hands more than five times between Taiping and Imperial forces. Wuhu County was placed under the jurisdiction of Huiningchitaiguang Circuit during the Taiping Rebellion. The city became a treaty port in 1876 and has remained a commercial center since that time. The city's Roman Catholic cathedral, St. Joseph's Cathedral (圣若瑟主教座堂), dates from this time. Most of the downtown area alongside the Yangtze River was ceded in the British concession. Wuhu has been one of China's four major rice market cities since the Ming Dynasty, playing a crucial role in the domestic grain trade.

Upon the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, Fu, Prefectures, and Ting were established, and counties were placed under direct provincial jurisdiction. Wuhu County was directly governed by Anhui province from 1912 until 1914, when Wuhu Circuit was established to govern 23 counties in the area, including Wuhu County, until 1928. Trade in rice, wood, and tea flourished at Wuhu until the Warlord Era of the 1920s and 1930s, when bandits were active in the area. In 1932, Wuhu County was placed under the jurisdiction of the Second Administrative Division of Anhui province (Chinese: 安徽省第二专区; pinyin: Ānhuī Shěng Dì Èr Zhuānqū).

At the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, part of the Second World War, Wuhu was occupied by Japan on December 10, 1937. This was a prelude to the Battle of Nanjing, ending in the Nanjing massacre. Under Japanese occupation, Chinese resistance fighters hid in the lakes around Wuhu by submerging themselves and breathing through reeds. In early 1938, Japan moved Wuhu County from the Second Administrative Division to the Fifth Administrative Division. On October 25, 1938, they transferred Wuhu County to the Ninth Administrative Division. Japan had again changed the region's divisions in August 1941, and placed Wuhu County under the Sixth Administrative Division.

Japanese forces had been expelled from the area by August 1945, and Kuomintang forces placed Wuhu County under the Southern Anhui Administrative Office, and remained part of the Sixth Administrative Division.

The People's Liberation Army captured Wuhu on April 24, 1949. Three days later, it was placed under the jurisdiction of a local military committee. The civilian Wuhu Municipal People's Government was established on May 10, 1949. Two days later, a civilian government was formed for Wuhu County, which was placed under the jurisdiction of Wuhu.

From December 1, 1967, to April 1, 1968, during the tumult of the Cultural Revolution, Wuhu was placed under military rule.

Major industries began to be developed in Wuhu after the Second World War, with the development of the textile industry, shipbuilding, and paper mills. Despite this, Wuhu had been lagging behind Ma'anshan and Tongling in industrial production for decades after the establishment of the People's Republic of China and remained primarily a commercial center for trade in rice, silk, cotton, tea, wheat and eggs. However, with recent years' economic rise, Wuhu has become a hub for manufacturing.

In July 2016, the area was afflicted by the 2016 China floods.

On July 6, 2020, the Anhui provincial government approved the merger of Sanshan District into Yijiang District, the replacement of Wuhu County with Wanzhi District, and the replacement of Fanchang County with Fanchang District.

In June 2023, the area was afflicted by flooding.

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Source and licence. Adapted from the Wikipedia article “Wuhu” (this version, 2026-09-28) by its contributors, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Lablypedia has left out its tables, references and most pictures, and linked it to other Lablypedia articles.