Fujian Province, abbreviated as “Min”, is a provincial-level administrative region of the People’s Republic of China and a well-known old revolutionary base area. With Fuzhou as its capital, it lies on China’s southeastern coast. It borders Zhejiang Province to the northeast, Jiangxi Province to the northwest, Guangdong Province to the southwest, and faces Taiwan Province across the Taiwan Strait to the southeast. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, nestled between mountains and the sea. Mountains and hills account for approximately 90% of the province’s total area. Fujian features a subtropical monsoon climate. As of the end of 2023, Fujian governs 9 prefecture-level cities.
In the 21st year of the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty (733 AD), a military administrative official post of Economic Strategist was established. Combining one character each from “Fuzhou” and “Jianzhou”, it was named Fujian Economic Strategy Military Commissioner, operating alongside the Fuzhou Military Governor’s Office. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Branch Secretariat of Fujian and surrounding regions was set up. In the 9th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1376 AD), the Administrative Commission of Fujian and surrounding regions was founded.
Occupying a strategic transportation hub between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, Fujian served as the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road and Zheng He’s Voyages to the Western Seas, as well as a distribution center for maritime trade. It enjoys remarkable opening-up advantages, a long history of foreign exchanges, and a highly export-oriented economy. The representative regional culture of Fujian is the Eight Min Culture. The name “Eight Min” originated in the Song Dynasty when the region was administered as Fujian Circuit, comprising eight parallel administrative entities: Fuzhou, Jianzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Tingzhou, Nan Jianzhou, Shaowu Military Prefecture and Xinghua Military Prefecture. Today, Fujian is generally divided into Eastern Min, Central Min, Southern Min, Northern Min and Western Min. Southern Min is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese; immigrants from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou are the ancestral roots of most overseas Chinese and Minnan people in Taiwan. Northern Min is also the ancestral homeland of numerous overseas Chinese.
Fujian boasts five World Heritage sites in total:
Mount Wuyi, a mixed World Cultural and Natural Heritage;
Taining Danxia Landform, a World Natural Heritage;
Fujian Tulou (Earthen Buildings), a World Cultural Heritage;
Gulangyu Island: A Historic International Settlement, a World Cultural Heritage;
Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China, a World Cultural Heritage.Approved by the State Council, Fujian is designated as a national ecological civilization pilot zone and a key region for China’s opening-up. Among its 84 counties, 70 are old revolutionary base counties, including 37 former counties of the Central Soviet Area. It enjoys superimposed policy advantages covering a special economic zone, a pilot free trade zone, a comprehensive experimental zone, and the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. As a celebrated hometown of overseas Chinese across China, Fujian is home to 15.8 million ethnic Fujianese residing worldwide, over 1.2 million Fujian compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao, while more than 80% of Taiwan residents trace their ancestral origins to Fujian.
According to the Third National Cultural Relics Survey, 33,251 immovable cultural relics have been registered in Fujian, ranking 10th nationwide (out of a national total of 700,000). The First National Movable Cultural Relics Survey recorded 469,220 sets (769,360 individual pieces) of movable cultural relics across the province. Fujian has 169 Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level, 941 at the provincial level, and around 5,100 at the municipal and county levels. Among these protected relics, there are 1,657 immovable revolutionary cultural sites, 1,515 Taiwan-related cultural relics (accounting for roughly three-quarters of China’s national total), and 218 Maritime Silk Road heritage sites.
By the end of 2021, 9 items from Fujian had been inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Six of them are on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Nanyin Music, Mazu Belief Customs, Chinese Paper Cutting (Zhangpu and Zherong styles), Traditional Chinese Wooden Structure Construction Techniques (Southern Min Folk Dwellings), Wang Boat Sending Rituals and Practices for Sustainable Human-Ocean Bonds, and Traditional Chinese Tea Making Techniques and Associated Customs. Two more entries are on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: the Traditional Construction Craft of Chinese Wooden Arch Bridges and the Manufacturing Skills of Chinese Watertight Compartment Fu Ships.
Endowed with rich and unique tourism resources, Fujian features 10 stunning AAAAA-level scenic areas: Gulangyu Island Scenic Area in Xiamen, Mount Wuyi Scenic Area in Nanping, Fujian Tulou (Yongding & Nanjing) Tourist Zone, Taining Scenic Area in Sanming, Qingyuan Mountain Scenic Area in Quanzhou, Baishuiyang Yuanyangxi Tourist Zone in Ningde, Taimu Mountain Scenic Area in Fuding (Ningde), Gutian Tourist Zone in Longyan, Three Lanes and Seven Alleys Scenic Area in Fuzhou, and Mazu Culture Tourist Zone on Meizhou Island. Fujian is the second province nationwide where every prefecture-level city hosts at least one AAAAA-level tourist attraction.
In addition, Fujian’s renowned scenic spots also include Taiwan Folk Custom Village, Ruins of the Former Consulate District in Cangshan (Fuzhou), Site of the Gutian Conference, Daxiang Town · Taiwan Duty-Free Park, Southern Shaolin Temple, Yunshuiyao Ancient Village, Chonggu Ancient City, Tong’an Film Studio, Riyuegu Hot Spring Theme Park, Dongshan Island, Yushan Island and Meizhou Island.
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