An underappreciated ancient city, Huizhou Ancient City

Huizhou Ancient City, located in Shexian County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, was founded during the Qin Dynasty. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has always been the administrative center of Huizhou prefecture, state, and county. The 'one prefecture and six counties' of ancient Huizhou refers to the six counties under the jurisdiction of Huizhou Prefecture: Shexian, Yixian, Wuyuan County, Xiuning County, Qimen County, and Jixi County. For nearly nine hundred years of history, Huizhou Ancient City has been the political, economic, and cultural center of these six counties. Huizhou Ancient City is one of the four well-preserved ancient historical and cultural cities of China (the other three are Langzhong Ancient City, Pingyao Ancient City, and Lijiang Ancient City), located in Huicheng Town, Shexian County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, also known as Shexian Ancient City. In ancient times, it was called Xin'an Prefecture and Huizhou Prefecture. Since the establishment of the county by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC, it has been the site of prefectures, states, and counties during the Tang and Song dynasties. The unique architectural style of 'city within a city' was formed geographically because the county and the prefectural government were located in the same place. There are many historical relics from the thousand-year history of Huizhou Prefecture, and many architectural structures and streets from the Ming and Qing dynasties are still preserved to this day. Huizhou Ancient City is also the birthplace of one of the three major local schools of thought in China, 'Huizhou Studies,' the birthplace of the national essence, Peking Opera, and the famous Huizhou merchants. It has long been known as 'the land of etiquette in the southeast, the Zou and Lu of the East.' During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Huizhou merchants dominated the Chinese business world for over 500 years and were known for their Confucian merchant reputation. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the prosperity of the commodity economy in the Jiangnan region attracted more and more Huizhou merchants to various towns for business development, and Hangzhou naturally became a business stronghold for Huizhou merchants. Among them, Hu Xueyan was one of the most famous Huizhou merchants...