Hefei City Carding in the 21^st Century

¹ Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau, Macau, China
² School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

^* Corresponding author: wbg318@163.com

Abstract

Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, is situated in central China. This city, with a history spanning over 2,200 years, remained a medium-sized urban area until the late 1970s. However, in the past decade, Hefei has undergone significant spatial expansion and economic growth. This paper examines the city’s development trajectory, achievements in socio-economic and spatial growth, and the challenges it faces in the future. Urban researchers have largely overlooked cities in central China; thus, this study aims to enrich the literature in this field, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the urbanization and industrialization efforts in a typical emerging inland city in China.