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Brief description |
 Located on China's southeastern coast, on the lower reaches of the Min River, Fuzhou City is the capital city of Fujian Province and also the economic, political, cultural and transportation center of Fujian. With a long tradition as a coastal port and shipbuilding center, Fuzhou is the major coastal city between Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is known as ''Banyan Town (''Rongcheng'' in Chinese)'' after the subtropical banyan trees planted there since the Song dynasty, which now provide shade for the entire city. Fuzhou's cultural and economic development has been heavily influenced by its proximity to Taiwan, directly across the Taiwan Straits. Fuzhou has many ethnic and linguistic links to Taiwan, and heavy cross-strait investment has helped to turn the city into a major commercial and manufacturing center.
Fuzhou's history dates back to the 3rd century BC, when it became a center for ore smelting. It was then known as Minzhou, and was the capital of the coastal kingdom of Minyue. When it was absorbed into the
Tang dynasty, Fuzhou acquired its present name, which means ''prosperous city'' or ''fortunate city.'' It grew wealthy as a coastal export center for tea. Fuzhou's international links continued in the Ming dynasty, when it was the home port for the international voyages of the eunuch-admiral Zheng He in the early 15th century. In 1842, following the first Opium War, Fuzhou became one of the five ports declared open to foreign trade. It also became a center of both Catholic and Protestant missionary activity after that time.
At the time of the internationalization of the Chinese economy in the early 80s, Fuzhou was one of the 14 coastal Cities which the State Council of PRC decided to target for development and international trade, which gave it an early start on the road to economic prosperity.
The climate of Fuzhou is comfortable, affording tourists the opportunity to visit the city all year round: the best time to visit is between April and November. Among the scenic attractions in the Fuzhou region are the Mt.Gu Scenic Area and the nearby Yongquan Temple, the fine Xichan Temple, and the Qingyun Mountain Scenic Area, which is famous for its superb mountain scenery and waterfalls. But of all the sightseeing experiences that the region has to offer, by far the most memorable is a trip to the famed Hakka earth houses, remarkable circular buildings designed for both communal living and collective defense.
Fuzhou has a rich cultural and artistic legacy. Min Opera is a local form of Chinese opera which developed during the Qing dynasty. Performances are lively and steeped in Fujian dialect, and although they are waning in popularity among young people, they can still be seen in Fuzhou theaters.
Among the handicrafts of the region are the ''Three Treasures of Fuzhou'' - lacquer work, stone sculpting and cork cutting - which visitors will want to put on their shoppinglist. Among the other local productsof Fuzhou are wulong teaand tieguanyin tea.
The local cuisineis Fujian (or Min) cuisine, one of the eight great cooking styles of China. Min cuisine is distinguished by its choice seafood, beautiful color and magical sweet, sour and salty taste. Local delicacies include Buddha Jumps over the Wall(a mixture of seafood, poultry and vegetables stewed with pigeon eggs and rice wine), Shixiangzhui Spareribs(spareribs fried with water chestnuts and spices), and Chicken Soup with Sea Clams. As in other provinces, snacks are very much part of daily diet and the tasty Fuzhou snacks include Ding Bian Hu (Rice Pieces in Seafood Soup), Yu Wan (Fish Balls), and Li Bing (Oyster Cake).
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Location /Climate |
 Fuzhou lies in the eastern coast of the Fujian Province in the downstream plain of Min River. The city faces Taiwan across the water to the east and the Fuzhou Municipality is sliced through by the Minjiang River, which runs into the east sea.
Fuzhou sits in a basin between groups of mountain ranges: Gushan Mountain on the east, Qishan Mountain on the west, Wuhushan Mountain on the south and Lianhuafeng Mountain on the north. The north of the city borders on Ningde city and Nanping city and Sanming city lie to the west. Quanzhou city and Putian city can be found to the south.
The climate in Fuzhou is generally mild and comfortable at any time of year. During summer, it rises to around 30C during the day, and will drop to around 3C on the coldest winter nights. May and June are the wettest months when typhoons and rainstorms can ravage the city. Visitors are advised to check weather reports before finalizing their travel plans
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Area & Population |
| The total area of Fuzhou is 12 thousand square kilometers, with a developed urban area of 1,043 square kilometers. The resident population of Fuzhou is just under 7 million with around 2.7 million living in the urban areas. The population in Fuzhou is mainly Han, but about 37 ethnic groups live in Fuzhou including She, Hui, Manchu, Zhuang and Gaoshan. |
History |
 The site on which the modern city of Fuzhou now sits has been continually occupied since the first settlement was founded here over 2000 years ago in 202 BC when the Fujian region was known as Minyue. Liu Bang, the founding Emperor of the Han Dynasty gave the local king of Minyue permission to establish his capital which he named Ye (''the Beautiful'') on this site and erected the first city walls. It has survived thousands of years of wars and revolution to emerge intact as a major coastal port and centre for shipbuilding.
Since its earliest days, Fuzhou port was an important hub for foreign traders. This led to an influx of affluent merchants during the Jin and Tang Dynasties, at which point it started to be known by its current name of Fuzhou, which means ''Prosperous'' or ''Fortunate'' City, though it took a long time for this to be the city's only name. Waves of immigrants arrived as a response to the slow collapse of the Tang Dynasty, which began around 892. When the Tang dynasty finally did fall, the short-lived Min Dynasty emerged as the new ruling power, claiming Fuzhou as its capital and naming it Changle. This brief period in the spotlight made its mark on Fuzhou: the river which runs through is called the Min and even now, Min is still used as an alternative name for the Fujian Province.
Fuzhou earned the name ''San Shan'' (three Mountains) during the Five Dynasty Period when the King of Min expanded the city territory to include Ping Mountain, Wu Mountain and Yu Mountain. The city's link with nature was further strengthened during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) when the city official Zhang Boyu began a program encouraging residents to grow banyan trees around the city. These flowering fig trees are now an important symbol and source of pride for the whole city.
The city began to grow and become prosperous. During the Southern Song Dynasty celebrated scholars arrived in Fuzhou to live and work including Zhu Xi a philosopher second only in the Chinese conscious to Confucius, and Xin Qiji the revered composer of Ci Poetry. Marco Polo also lived here during his legendary tour around China, when he witnessed the emergence of Fuzhou as an important port.
The Hualin Temple was built sometime before the end of the Song Dynasty. It was thought to have been built toward the end of this period as documentation had s been unearthed dating it to 964 AD. However, carbon-dating has revised this figure and it is now thought to be the oldest surviving wooden structure in the whole of China after it was dated to the 4th or 5th century. Marco Polo is supposed to have passed through Fuzhou at the end of the 13th century. He described it as a great center of international commerce with special trade links to India. He also noted the presence of a large Christian community there, with roots going back several hundred years. These were possibly descendants of Nestorian Christians, a Syrian sect that had come to China via the Silk Road.
The importance of Fuzhou as a port remained constant. Between 1405 and 1433, Fuzhou was used as the departing point for seven of the Ming Navy Fleet's journeys across the Indian Ocean. The fleet landed on the east coast of Africa on one of these journeys, during which they erected a stele dedicated to Matsu, the Chinese Goddess of the Sea. It was during this period that Fuzhou went from being a commercial to a military port. By the end of the First Opium War, Fuzhou had grown in importance enough to be named on the Treaty of Nanjing as one of the first five Chinese ports to be reopened in 1842.
The revolution of 1911 left Fuzhou with thankfully few scars. An uprising began on November 8, which ended the next day after a street battle and the surrender of the Manchu army. In 1940, the Japanese army bombed Fuzhou, and many civilians left the city. The Japanese soon took the city until 1945, when they surrendered completely to the PRC.
In recent years, the city has been considerably influenced by cultures outside of China having been named as one of the 14 coastal Cities which the State Council of PRC intends to open up further to the outside world |
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