Fujian (福建 Fújiàn) is a coastal province in East China. It has long been an outward-looking province, much involved in maritime trade, and is the ancestral homeland for many overseas Chinese, especially in Southeast Asia. Located just across the sea from Taiwan, it is also the ancestral homeland for most Taiwanese, and continues to share close cultural ties with the island.
The terrain is very hilly. There is a saying that Fujian is 80% mountain, 10% water, and 10% farmland. Because of its mountainous terrain and relative isolation, Fujian has a large number of local languages and dialects, many of which are not mutually intelligible.
Population in the 2020 census was 41.5 million, which is small for a Chinese province but slightly more than Canada, Poland or California. The most important cities are either on the coast (Xiamen and Quanzhou) or a few miles up a nigable river (Fuzhou).
Regions[edit] Fujian regions - Color-coded map East Fujian South Fujian Inland FujianAlthough the islands of Kinmen and Matsu are officially considered to be part of Fujian province by both the PRC and ROC governments, as they are administered by the ROC government in Taiwan, use Taiwanese currency, and require Taiwanese visas for one to visit, we treat them as part of Taiwan here on Wikivoyage.
Cities[edit]Fujian is divided administratively into nine regions. Eight of them are prefectures, each around a central city and named for the city. For the ninth, Xiamen, there is no separate prefecture, just the city. The nine cities are:
26.076944119.2916671 Fuzhou (福州) — the provincial capital 25.088056117.0244442 Longyan (龙岩) — in the West of Fujian, and gateway to the Fujian Tulou 26.64481118.172823 Nanping (南平) — up the Min river from Fuzhou, and gateway to Mount Wuyi 26.661667119.5227784 Ningde (宁德) — on the coast, North of Fuzhou 25.439444119.0102785 Putian (莆田) — between Fuzhou and Quanzhou, and birthplace of the popular sea goddess Mazu 24.91389118.585836 Quanzhou (泉州) — historic port on the Maritime Silk Road, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 26.2658117.630177 Sanming (三明) — up in the mountains 24.479722118.0819448 Xiamen (厦门) — special economic zone and port city, ferries for Taiwan 24.50932117.661179 Zhangzhou (漳州) — southwest of XiamenThese are substantial cities; none are under two million population.
Other destinations[edit] Mount WuyiFujian has several sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List:
24.4475118.0619441 Gulangyu — a car-free island near downtown Xiamen, full of old colonial-period buildings 27.716667117.6833332 Mount Wuyi — a scenic area famous for its tea, mountains, rivers and traditional architecture, up a river from Fuzhou 24.5872117.0553 Fujian Tulou — fascinating, centuries-old earth building also known as Hakka roundhouses, in the west of the provinceThere are other interesting places as well:
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