Fuzhou

Fuzhou, also known as “Banyan City”, is the capital city of Fujian Province. Built over 2,200 years ago, Fuzhou is now reputed as a famous historic and cultural city, as well as a national model city of civil ethics.

Mawei is regarded as the cradle of China’s modern navy and shipbuilding culture. Fuzhou is not only one of the nation’s first 14 coastal cities open to the outside world, but also the first region in China that has four national-level zones or areas for development, namely Fuzhou New Area, Pilot Free Trade Zone, the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and the Demonstration Zone for Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation.

Symbols of Fuzhou are: City Landmarks - Three Mountains and One River; City Tree - Banyan Tree; City Flower - Jasmine; City Fruit - Fu Orange.

A panoramic view of the West Lake in the livable city of Fuzhou

Xiamen

Xiamen, also referred to as “Egret Island” , is a famous tourist port city in the southeast coast of the Chinese mainland, and is reputed as “A Garden on the Sea” because of its wonderful mixture of the city landscape and the sea view.

Xiamen is one of the first four special economic zones of China opening to the outside world; one of the five National Pilot Zones for Overall Reform (including the New Special Zone); and one of the three areas of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Xiamen is also the international shipping center in Southeast Asia, the cross-Straits regional financial service center and the cross-Straits trade center.

Among others, Xiamen has been awarded the International Garden City, the National Health City, China’s Outstanding Tourist City and the Top 10 Habitat City, and got the United Nations Habitat Award, and National Civilized City.

Symbols of Xiamen city are: City Tree - Phoenix Wood; City Flower - Bougainvillea; City Bird - Egret.

East Coast Financial Center in Xiamen

Zhangzhou

Zhangzhou, lying on the extreme south of Fujian Province, is a historic and cultural city with a history of 1,320 years old. The city is particularly famous for its achievements in education with a great number of historical figures and scholars of fame.

Zhangzhou boasts green mountains, vast waters, and Jiulong River alluvial plain - the largest plain in the Province. It is known as the land of fruits and flowers, as well as the base of seafood. The city is honored with titles of “National Model City of Civil Ethics”, “National Forest City”, “Excellent Tourism City in China”, and “Hot Spring City of China”, and regarded as the home-field of China Women’s National Volleyball Team for it has been the Training Base of the Team for years.

Zhangzhou is abundant with cultural relics. The Tulou clusters in Nanjing County and Hua’an County have been inscribed on the list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Narcissus, the city flower of Zhangzhou, is one of the “Three Treasures of Zhangzhou”, the other two being ink pad and Pien Tze Huang, a kind of Chinese medicine.

Zhangzhou, a National Forest City

Quanzhou

Quanzhou, also referred to as “City of Carp”, boasts a long history and profound culture. The city is the first Cultural City of East Asia in China, as well as the core area of South Fujian Culture Preservation Zone. Quanzhou is officially recognized by UNESCO as one of the starting points of the Maritime Silk Road, and designated as the pilot area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Known in older times as “Zaytun”, Quanzhou was one of the four major foreign trade ports in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Zanytun Port, the then largest port in the East, had trade ties with more than 100 countries and regions. Currently, the robust private sector of Quanzhou ranks first for 15 years in terms of regional economic strength in Fujian Province. The city has been listed as one of the 18 Model Areas for Reform and Opening-up, one of the three Financial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zones approved by the central government, the Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zone in Private Sector Economy, as well as the first pilot city of “Made in China 2025”.

Symbols of Quanzhou are: City Sculpture – Statue of the Flying Goddess Welcoming Guests; City Tree – Zaytun Tree; City Flower – Flower of Zaytun.

The Twin Pagodas in Quanzhou

Sanming

The Min River, the mother river of Fujian, originates from Sanming. Here in Wanshou Rock ancient historical relics are discovered to be the origin of the Min people, which shows that human activities in Fujian can date back to 180,000 years ago. Sanming is also the ancestral homeland for the Hakkas.

Sanming, as the major forest zone in Fujian province, has the highest output per unit in Ninghua ancient firs and the largest area of Castanopsis kawakamii in Xinkou, Sanming. The city has been approved by the State Council as the National Pilot Reform for Collective Forest Areas and the only National Collective Forestry Pilot Area for Property Rights System Reform by the State Forestry Administration and the Pilot Area for Cross-Straits Modern Forestry Cooperation.

Symbols of Sanming are: City Tree – Sophora xanthantha and Bauhinia blakeana; City Flower – Azalea.

Sanming, a national model city of civil ethics and clean environment

Putian

Known as “Xinghua” in older times, Putian, a big lychee producer, is otherwise named “City of Lychees”. In ancient times, scholars of Putian gained remarkable grades in imperial examinations. The city is particularly famous for its achievements in education with a great number of historical figures and scholars of fame calling Putian their home. Putian is home to Mazu, a legendary Goddess of the Sea, and where the Mazu culture originated.

Putian people, dubbed as “the Jews in China” for their excellence in doing business. Putian businessmen have left their footprints in 83 countries and regions around the world and grabbed 70% market share of building materials, 30% of jewelry and silver accessories and 30% of arts and crafts industries in domestic market. Putian is also the shoe-making base of China. E-commerce is thriving here, employing over 200,000 people. With the three large bays here – Meizhou Bay, Xinghua Bay, and Pinghai Bay, Putian will for sure become one of the most important port cities in Fujian.

The “Four Most Famous Fruits” – Lychees, longans, loquats, Wen Dan pomelos, are well-known both at home and abroad. The Lychee tree is the City Tree of Putian.

A panoramic view of Putian City

Nanping

Nanping, built over 4,000 years ago, is one of the earliest areas developed in the south China. The name “Fujian” comes from the initial Chinese characters of the names of the two cities: “Fu” in “Fuzhou” and “Jian” in “Jianzhou” (now Jian’ou city) of Nanping.

Nanping is where Minyue culture, Zhu Xi culture, and Wuyi tea culture originated and thrived. The city is abundant in resources with the largest grain output in the province, the cultivated land and woodland both accounting for one fourth of the provincial total. It boasts one third of the province’s forest growing stock, one fifth of the tea plantations and one tenth of China’s bamboo forest area.

Nanping enjoys beautiful sceneries and numerous cultural relics. Mount Wuyi is one of the only four World Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites in China. The forest coverage in Nanping has reached 76.46%. Endowed with favorable ecological conditions, the city is designated as the only National Ecological Demonstration Area in Fujian, and also dubbed as one of those with the best preserved ecological conditions at the same latitude.

Symbol of Nanping: City Flower – Lily.

A panoramic view of Nanping City

Longyan

Longyan is a well-known ancestral home for the Hakkas and overseas Chinese, and an important area for the formation of the Hakkas family. More than 80% of the population in the city are Hakka people. Changting County is thus reputed as “the Capital for the Hakkas” and Tingjiang River as the “mother river” for the Hakkas.

Longyan is an important mining area in Fujian with 64 kinds of minerals detected, of which the reserves of 16 minerals rank among the top in Fujian province. Longyan is also one of the three largest forest areas in the province with the forest coverage as much as 77.91%, ranking first at the municipal level in Fujian and among the top in China. Yongding Tulou Complex, the traditional communal residence of the Hakkas, is known as a wonder in the world architectural history and has been inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Symbols of Longyan are: City Tree – Camphor Tree; City Flower – Orchid and Camellia.

Longyan, a National Forest City

Ningde

Ningde, a city with numerous mountains, rivers, seas, islands and lakes, boasts 696 mountains with altitudes of more than 1,000 meters, a World Geopark – Baishuiyang, two 5A scenic attractions- Yuanyang Stream and Taimu Mountain, 29 large or small bays, and 643 islands. There are also over 500 natural lakes, reservoirs and artificial lakes reclaimed from marshes, of which Cuiping Lake is the largest artificial one in Fujian covering an area of 37.1 square kilometers. Ningde is abundant with port resources, tidal flats, fresh water, minerals, and electric and tourist resources. The Port of Sandu’ao, hailed as“the Only One in China, One of the Few in the World”, makes it an ideal location for port-based equipment manufacturing. Ningde has been approved by the State Council as the National Comprehensive Pilot Area for Poverty Alleviation and Development in Rural Areas.

Ningde City

Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone

Pingtan was historically a transit point in the southeast coast for cross-Straits trade and maritime commerce. During the reign of Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1861) of the Qing Dynasty, it was one of the five ports in Fujian to be opened for cross-Straits trade. As Pingtan Island is the closest part of the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, the Beijing-Taipei Expressway under construction has both its terminal of the mainland section and the north entry of the undersea tunnel set in Pingtan.

Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone was officially established in July 2009 as a window of cross-Straits cooperation and national opening up efforts. Pingtan Area, one of the three areas of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, focuses on building a common home for both sides of the Taiwan Straits and an international tourism island. In December 2015, Pingtan announced the initiation of building International Tourism Island.

Double bridge of Pingtan Strait Bridge

Refreshing Fujian