Last updated 2026-10-07 — Datong is a famous ancient town in the Jiangnan region with a history of over a thousand years. It is located southwest of Tongling City in Anhui Province, on the southern bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. To its northwest, it faces Zongyang across the river, while to the south, it borders Guichi and Qingyang via the Qingtong River. It is only 180 kilometers from Huangshan, known as the “World Park,” and 90 kilometers from Jiuhua Mountain, one of China’s Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains. The Tongqing Highway, Tonggui Highway, the riverside expressway, and the Hefei–Tongling–Huangshan Expressway all run through the area, making it a key hub and important passage into the southern Anhui tourist region. It serves as the northern gateway to Anhui’s “Two Mountains and One Lake” (Jiuhua Mountain, Huangshan, and Taihu Lake) and is also the site of the first gate of Jiuhua Mountain. Historically, Datong Ancient Town in Tongling City, Anhui, was ranked alongside Anqing, Wuhu, and Bengbu as one of the Four Major Commercial Ports of Anhui. To this day, it retains a large number of Huizhou-style buildings and ancient streets, providing valuable material for the study of ancient Chinese water transport history. In recent years, due to the need for flood control along the Yangtze River, residents have gradually relocated, and many Huizhou-style structures have fallen into disuse. To address this, the local government hopes to strengthen cooperation with relevant departments to rationally develop and preserve this ancient town with a history of over 1,000 years.