Suzhou (Chinese: 宿州; pinyin: Sùzhōu) formerly Romanized as Suchow is a prefecture-level city in northern Anhui province. It borders the prefectural cities of Huaibei and Bengbu to the southwest and south respectively, the provinces of Jiangsu to the east, Shandong to the north, and Henan to the northwest.Its population was 5,352,924 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,647,642 lived in the built-up area (or metro) made of Yongqiao urban district, even though it stays largely rural.