Lu'an

Lu'an (Chinese: 六安; pinyin: Lù'ān), is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northwest and Hubei to the southwest. As of the 2020 census, it had a total population of 4,393,699 inhabitants whom 1,752,537 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Yu'an and Jin'an urban districts. Neighbouring prefecture-level cities are the provincial capital of Hefei to the east, Anqing to the south, Huanggang (Hubei) and Xinyang (Henan) to the west, and Huainan and Fuyang to the north. Although the character 六 (literally: "six") is normally pronounced "Liù", in this case it changes to "Lù" on account of the historical literary reading.

Lu'an, also known as "Gaocheng". Located in the west of Anhui Province, between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains, "Western Anhui" in the geographical sense refers specifically to Lu'an. Lu'an has beautiful mountains and clear waters, and beautiful natural scenery. You can not only enjoy flowers and birds, but also mountain climbing and rafting. At the same time, Lu'an has many cultural relics and historic sites, as well as talented people. Good generals and prime ministers, literary heroes, party history heroes, and political figures are like stars in the sky, shining through the past and present.

In 121 AD, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took the meaning of "safety in the six places" and established the Liu'an Kingdom in the second year of Yuanxing. The name "Liu'an" is still used today. Because Shun granted Gaotao the title of Liu (Lù), later generations called Liu'an Gaocheng.

During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, Liu was a country south of the Huaihe River. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period, there were many feudal states, and the territory of Ying, Liu, Liao, Qunshu and other vassal states were formed successively. During the Warring States Period, the princes merged and became subordinate to Wu and Chu successively.

During the Qin Dynasty, six counties were established, which belonged to Jiujiang County. The Western Han Dynasty established Liu'an Kingdom, and the Eastern Han Dynasty established Liu'an County, named after the ancient Six Kingdoms. In the Sui Dynasty, Shouzhou was established. In the eighth year of Zhenghe of the Song Dynasty (1118), the Lu'an Army was established. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Liu'an Prefecture and belonged to Luzhou Road. It belonged to Luzhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty and Zhili Prefecture in the Qing Dynasty.

In December 1992, Lu'an City and Lu'an County merged and were called Lu'an City (county level). In September 1999, the State Council approved the withdrawal of land from Lu'an to establish a city. The original county-level Lu'an City was divided into Jin'an District and Yu'an District. In March 2000, the provincial-level Lu'an City was officially established.

At the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, Lu'an City has a permanent population of 4.343 million people and an urbanization rate of 51.41%.

Among the city's permanent population, 2.233 million people live in cities and towns, accounting for 51.41% of the total population; 2.110 million people live in rural areas, accounting for 48.59% of the total population. There are 2.239 million men, accounting for 51.56% of the total population; there are 2.104 million women, accounting for 48.44% of the total population. The sex ratio is 106.46.