Sanhe Ancient Town

Sanhe Ancient Town lies about 40 kilometers south of the Hefei city area. It gets its name from its three rivers: Fengle, River, Hangbu River, and Xiaonan River. The ancient town's development was driven by the wharves on the three rivers. It has over 2,500 years of history: in the Spring and Autumn period it was called Que'an; it became known as Sanhe during the Ming dynasty. In 1858 during the Taiping Rebellion, Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng scored a massive defeat over the Qing army, which became known as The Great Victory at Sanhe. Sanhe's old street is paved with stones worn smooth by hundreds of years of people and vehicles. The street is flanked by distinctive Hui-style buildings. The walls of a number of these were directly laid in exposed brick. The upturned eaves of the horse head walls of these buildings are far more exaggerated than those in Hongcun or Xidi.