The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei and Henan to the west, and Shandong to the north.

The province's nickname, "Wan", is taken from the name of a small state that existed in the region during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC).

Evidence of human beings inhabiting what is now Anhui 20,000 years before present has been attested by archaeological findings in Fanchang County, related to he cultural domains of Yangshao and Longshan, dated to the Neolithic period (8000–2000 BC).

After the Qin dynasty unified China in 221 BC, the territory of modern Anhui belonged to different prefectures, including Jiujiang, Zhang, Tang, and Sishui.

The lands became part of the Yang, Yu, and Xu prefectures during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD).

It played an important role in the Self-Strengthening Movement led by Li Hongzhang during the later Qing; at this time, western weapons, factories and administrative theories were being introduced into China.

Over the next 50 years, Anhui became one of the country's most radically liberal areas, with important 20th-century figures moving to the province, like the poet and diplomat Hu Shih, and Chen Duxiu, the founder of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In 1938, large areas in north and central Anhui were severely damaged by the decision of President Chiang Kai-shek to demolish a critical dam on the Yellow River, hoping that would physically impede the ongoing invasion by the Imperial Japanese Army and prevent them from capturing Zhengzhou.

Within only ten days of the dam breaking, the water and sands drowned all of north and middle area of this province, resulting in the deaths of between 500,000 and 900,000 Chinese people, as well as an unknown number of Japanese soldiers.

Following the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, the capital city of Anhui moved to Hefei, then a small town.

The province underwent significant development via the Third Front campaign to build basic and national defense industries in protected locations, in case of invasion by the Soviet Union or United States.

The Anhui elm, Ulmus gaussenii W. C. Cheng, is a medium size deciduous tree whose natural range is restricted to the valleys of the Langya limestone mountains of Chu Xian.

The Politics of Anhui Province is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

Most provincial government departments and the Governor office are located at No.1 Zhongshan Road, moved from old downtown of Hefei since 2016.

Provincial government is responsible to manage 16 prefecture-level cities, 105 counties, 1845 townships and different departments in Anhui.

[3] Natural resources of Anhui include iron in Ma'anshan, coal in Huainan, and copper in Tongling.

However, the provincial GDP per capita is based on the population registered in the province (that is, with local Hukou), but not necessarily residing there.

The province is home to a large cluster of white goods manufacture such as Haier, Hisense, Whirlpool, Gree, Royalstar, and Meling.

[24] Historically, Anhui's transport network was hampered by the lack of bridges across the Yangtze River, which divides the province into northern and southern regions.

Anhui lacked a developed railway network until this century: most cities are now connected by a high-speed train system.

According to a 2009 study published in the British Medical Journal, in the 1–4 age group, there are 138 boys for every 100 girls, making it among the most unbalanced of provinces in China.

[37] The reports didn't give figures for other types of religion; 89.48% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and folk religious sects.

Mandarin dialects are spoken over the northern and central parts of the province, north of the Yangtze river.

Huangmeixi, which originated in the environs of Anqing in southwestern Anhui, is a form of traditional Chinese opera popular across China.

Anhui has a high concentration of traditional products related to calligraphy: Xuanzhou (today Xuancheng) and Huizhou (today Huangshan City) are revered for producing Xuan Paper and Hui Ink respectively, which are traditionally considered the best types of paper and ink for Chinese calligraphy.