Xuyi County is located in the Yangtze River Delta region, the southwest of Huai’an City, on the lower reaches of Huaihe River, the south of Hongze Lake. Huaihe River runs through the county, which is topographically high in the southwest and low in the northeast, with stepped distribution characteristics and varied landscape of hills, foothills, plains and polder areas of river and lake. It administers 14 towns, 3 streets, 3 villages and covers an area of 2,497 km², with a population of 800,500(2014). Xuyi has many cultural tourism resources and has been awarded the title of "a Strong Tourist County of China". Xuyi is also the birthplace of Zhou Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of China’s Ming Dynasty and has numerous historic sites.