Ringed by parkland and canals - the remains of Ming-dynasty moats - which soon give way to paddy fields, downtown Hefei resembles a suburban high street more than a provincial capital. Nothing is too far away to reach on foot, although the main roads are travelled by frequent buses - including claustrophobic double-deckers - and plenty of taxis prowl the centre, costing around ¥5 to hire.

The well-presented Provincial Museum , on Mengcheng Lu (Mon-Fri 8.30-10.40am & 2-4pm, Sat & Sun 8.30-11.40am & 2-5pm; ¥10), provides sound evidence for Anhui's contributions to Chinese culture. A walk-through plaster cave leads on to a cast of the homo erectus cranium from Taodian in the south of the province, proudly displayed in an oversized glass case, while splinters of more immediate history emerge in a few Stone-Age items and an exceptional Shang bronze urn decorated with tiger and dragon motifs. Also interesting are the carved blocks taken from Han-dynasty mausoleums - Chinese-speakers might be able to decipher the comments about the Cao family (of Three Kingdoms' fame) incised into the bricks of their Bozhou tomb by construction labourers. Farther on, there's a special exhibition of the " Four Scholastic Treasures " for which the province is famed: high quality inksticks , heavy carved ink stones , weasel-hair writing brushes and multicoloured papers . Make sure you press on to the last hall, where there are photographs, scale models and life-size reconstructions of Ming architecture from the Tunxi area comprising domestic buildings and monumentally carved stone memorial arches.

First built in the Tang dynasty, the current Mingjiao Si on Huai He Lu (¥5) is a sixteenth-century temple, last restored in 1991. Fortress-like walls front the unpretentious halls and peach garden, while there are some older relics to hunt out. The temple occupies the site of a Three Kingdoms' platform where the northern leader Cao Cao drilled his crossbowers during the winter of 216-217 AD and later defended the city against the kingdom of Wu's forces. Earlier, his general Zhang Liao had routed Wu's armies at the bloody battle of Xiaoyao Jin (Leisure Ford) - the site is now an unexciting park directly north of the temple - where Sun Quan, the leader of Wu, had to flee on horseback by leaping the bridgeless canal. A glassed-in well in the temple's main courtyard reputedly dates from this time, and definitely looks ancient - a worn stone ring set close to the ground, deeply scored by centuries of ropes being dragged over the rim.

Down at the southeastern side of town, Baohe Park is a nice strip of lakeside willows and arched bridges off Wuhu Lu, where the Lord Bao Memorial Hall (¥10) identifies Hefei as the birthplace of this famous Song-dynasty administrator. Later governor of Kaifeng, Lord Bao's ability to uncover the truth in complex court cases, and his proverbially unbiased rulings - he even executed the son of the emperor's adviser for extortion - are the subject of endless tales, and he often appears as a judge in paintings of Chinese hell. Along with gilded statues, a waxworks brings a couple of well-known stories to life: look for Lord Bao's dark face, improbably "winged" hat, and the three choppers he had made for summary executions - shaped as a dragon, tiger and dog, they were used according to the status of the condemned.