Former Site of the Old Wuhu Customs House

The Former Site of the Old Wuhu Customs House stands on Binjiang North Road in Fanluoshan Subdistrict, Jinghu District, Wuhu, Anhui province, China. It preserves the remains of the foreign-run customs house that operated in Wuhu's treaty-port period after 1876, when the city was opened to foreign trade on the Yangtze River. The building is a reminder of the era when foreign shipping, merchants and missionaries shaped the riverfront, and it is one of several treaty-port-era sites near the old waterfront. Visitors mainly see the building from the outside, from the open riverfront road. Interior hours and admission are not confirmed, so the exterior view is the reliable part of a visit; check at the site if hoping to enter. The architecture shows the colonial-era style typical of Yangtze treaty ports, and visitors can look at the facade, windows and brickwork and imagine the customs and shipping activity of the late nineteenth century. A visit is short, around 20 to 30 minutes, so it is best treated as a stop on a longer riverfront walk. It is a short walk from Yangtze Riverside Park, and about a 15-minute walk north of Zhongjiang Pagoda along Binjiang Road. Late afternoon is a good time, when light is softer for photographs of the facade and the river beyond. Crowds are rarely an issue, although the riverfront can be busier on weekend evenings. To find it, use Didi or Amap with the name 芜湖海关旧址. There is little food or seating immediately at the building, so many visitors combine it with a river promenade walk and eat in the city centre afterward. Interpretive information may be mainly in Chinese.