Wuhu in the context of Tongling

Hefei is the capital of Anhui province, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or metro) area is made up of four urban districts plus Feidong, Feixi and Changfeng counties being urbanized, and was home to 7,754,481 inhabitants. Located in the central portion of the province, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Wuhu to the southeast, Tongling to the south, Anqing to the southwest and Lu'an to the west. A natural hub of communications, Hefei is situated to the north of Chao Lake and stands on a low saddle crossing the northeastern extension of the Dabie Mountains, which forms the divide between the Huai and Yangtze rivers.

The present-day city dates from the Song dynasty. Before World War II, Hefei remained essentially an administrative centre and the regional market for the fertile plain to the south. It has gone through a growth in infrastructure in recent years. Hefei is the location of Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor.

The Hongguang Emperor (5 September 1607 – 23 May 1646), personal name Zhu Yousong, was the first emperor of the Chinese Southern Ming dynasty. He was the grandson of the Wanli Emperor through his third son Zhu Changxun, and a cousin of the Chongzhen Emperor, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty. He reigned briefly in southern China from 1644 to 1645.

In 1644, rebels led by Li Zicheng captured the Ming capital of Beijing, and the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide. Two candidates for the throne then emerged in the auxiliary southern capital of Nanjing, but Zhu Yousong's supporters ensured his appointment as the Hongguang Emperor. In May 1645, Qing dynasty forces—who had defeated the rebels and established control over northern China—attacked Yangzhou, a city north of Nanjing. The battle was followed by the Qing forces crossing the Yangtze River and capturing Nanjing. The Hongguang Emperor fled to Wuhu, Anhui, but was captured in June and taken to Beijing, where he was executed in 1646.