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Fuzhou
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Coordinates: 26°04′16″N, 119°18′13″E

This article is about the city in Fujian province. For the city in Jiangxi province, see Fuzhou, Jiangxi.

Fuzhou (Chinese: 福州; pinyin: Fúzhōu; Wade-Giles: Fu-chou; Foochow Romanized: Hók-ciŭ; 福州市
EFEO: Fou-Tcheou; also seen as Foochow, Fuchow or Fuh-chau in earlier Western documents) is the Fúzhōu Shì
capital and the largest prefecture-level city of Fujian (福建) province, People's Republic of China. It is Also known as: Foochow, Fuchow or Fuh-chau
also referred to as Rongcheng (榕城) which means "city of banyan trees."

Its GDP was ¥31582 (ca. US$3800) per capita in 2003, ranked no. 21 among 659 Chinese cities.

Contents
n 1 History
n 2 Districts and counties
n 3 Transportation
n 4 Tourism
n 5 Sister cities
n 6 Colleges and universities
n 7 See also
n 8 External links

History
The exact foundation date of this city is not known. When Yue to the north of Fujian was annexed by
Chu in 306 BC, a branch of the royal family of the defeated Yue fled Fujian and became the Minyue
(闽越) tribe.

The first city wall of Fuzhou was built in 202 BC when Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han
Dynasty, gave permission to Wuzhu (无诸), the king of Minyue, to set up his capital in Fuzhou. The
city was named Ye (冶), meaning "The Beautiful". The name has changed many times, but the city has

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been continuously occupied since 202 BC and has never suffered major destruction by wars or natural
disasters.

The Minyue was annexed by Han in 110 BC and became a part of China, and Fuzhou became Ye
County. During the Jin Dynasty, West Lake, East Lake (now silted up) and numerous canals in the city
were constructed (282 AD).

When the Jin Dynasty collapsed, the first wave of immigrants of the gentile class arrived in Fujian
(308 AD). During the Tang Dynasty (725 AD), it started to be called Fuzhou.

More immigrants arrived from the north starting from 892 as the Tang Dynasty was collapsing. After
the Tang Dynasty fell in 907, the Wang family managed to establish a kingdom called Min (909 – 945)
The seal of Fuzhou: 3 hills and a
with its capital in Fuzhou, then known as Changle. Min is still used as another name for the province
river.
of Fujian, in names of region such as minnan, and the river that runs through Fuzhou is called Min
Jiang. Administration Type Prefecture-level city

New city walls were built in 282 AD, 901 AD, 905 AD, and 974 AD, so the city had many layers of Area 12,000 km²
walls — more than the Chinese capital. Population 6.6 million
Fuzhou dialect
Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty (宋) ordered destruction of all the walls in Fuzhou in 978 AD
Native Language (Eastern Min
but new walls were rebuilt later. The latest was built in 1371 AD. language)
During the Southern Song Dynasty, Fuzhou became more prosperous; many scholars came here to live ¥31582 (ca. US$3800)
GDP
and work. Among them were Zhu Xi (朱熹), the most celebrated Chinese philosopher after Confucius, per capita (2003)
and Xin Qiji (辛弃疾), the greatest composer of ci (a specialized form of poem). After them came Han, Manchurian,
Major Nationalities
Marco Polo, who transcribed the placename in Italian as Fugiu according to Mandarin Chinese. Miao, Hui
County-level
Hualin Temple in the original Ye city, which has been declared a national heritage site, was built in 13
divisions
964 AD according to documentation, but was carbon-dated to the 4th or 5th century AD. It is probably
the oldest existing wooden structure in China. Township-level
Unknown
divisions
Between 1405 and 1433 AD, the Chinese (Ming) navy fleet, led by Zheng He, sailed from Fuzhou to Area Code 591
the Indian Ocean seven times; on three occasions the fleet landed on the east coast of Africa. Before
the last sailing, Zheng erected a stele dedicated to the goddess Tian-Fei (Matsu) near the seaport.

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In the 19th century, Lin Zexu, a native of Fuzhou, led an unsuccessful attempt to resist the British fleet at Canton Bay, and Lin was exiled to the Russian
border. At the end of the First Opium War, Fuzhou became one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842). Lin
Zexu died on November 22, 1850 at age of 66.

On November 8, 1911, revolutionaries staged an uprising in Fuzhou. After an overnight street battle, the Qing (Manchu) army surrendered. On
November 22, 1933, the leaders of the 19th Army set up a short-lived Republic of China (中華共和國) in Fuzhou (compare the name to Chiang’s
“Republic of China” (中華民國), which literally means “People’s State of China”); it collapsed in two months.

Around 1940, the Japanese army decided to invade Fuzhou. Surrounded by hills on 3 sides, the Japanese army quickly bombed and invaded the city.
Japanese planes quickly bombed the only escape route for Chinese civilians- the bridges across the neighbouring river, leaving many civilians
dangerously crossing the river on foot. The Japanese soon took the city and held it until Japan's surrender in 1945.

See also: Battle of Foochow

Districts and counties

The administrative divisions of Fuzhou have changed frequently in history. In 1983, Fuzhou administered 5 districts and 8 counties, whose territory has
not changed since then. In 1990 and 1994, Fuqing (Hók-chiăng) and Changle (Diòng-lŏ h) counties were promoted to county-level cities. Despite this
change, the old statement of "5 districts and 8 counties" is still popular among the local people.

n Districts: Gulou (鼓楼, Gū-làu), Taijiang (台江, Dài-gĕ ng), Cangshan (仓山, Chŏng-săng), Mawei(马尾, Mā-muōi), Jin'an(晋安, Céng-ăng).
n County-level cities: Fuqing (福清，Hók-chiăng), Changle (长乐，Diòng-lŏ h).
n Counties: Minhou (闽侯，Mìng-âu), Minqing (闽清，Mìng-chiăng), Yongtai (永泰，Īng-tái), Lianjiang (连江，Lièng-gŏng), Luoyuan (罗源，
Lò -nguòng), Pingtan (平潭，Bìng-tàng).

Transportation
Fuzhou Changle International Airport

Tourism
Fuzhou, also known as the City of Banyan after the many Banyan trees that dot the city landscape, may not be as rich in history as some other ancient

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Chinese cities but still boasts a fair number of historical sights.

n Sanfang Qixiang (三坊七巷) (a cluster of ancient resident buildings dated from late Jin Dynasty)
n West Lake (福州西湖)(an artificial lake built in 282 AD)
n Hualin Temple (华林寺)(founding date uncertain)
n Dizang Temple (founded in 527 AD)
n Xichan Temple (西禅寺)(founded in 867 AD)
n Wu Ta (乌塔)(Black Pagoda) (originally built in 799 AD, rebuilt in 936 AD)
n Bai Ta (白塔)(White Pagoda) (originally built in 905 AD, 67 m in height, collapsed in 1534 AD, rebuilt in 1548 AD, 41 m in height)
n Yongquan Temple (涌泉寺)(founded in 915 AD)
n Gu Shan (鼓山)(Drum Mountain)
n Fuzhou National Forest Park (福州国家森林公园)

Sister cities
n Tacoma, Washington
n Nagasaki, Japan
n Naha, Japan
n Gunsan, South Korea
n George, South Africa
n Koszalin,Poland
n Campinas, Brazil

Colleges and universities

n Fujian Normal University (福建师范大学) (founded in 1907)
n Fuzhou University (福州大学)
n Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (福建农林大学)
n Fujian Medical University (福建医科大学)
n Fujian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (福建中医学院)
n Minjiang University (闽江学院)
n Fujian University of Technology (福建工程学院)

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Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

See also
n Min Dong language
n Fuzhou dialect
n List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

External links
n Fu Zhou Photo Gallery
n Fujian Travel Guide (Text & Photos)
n Government website of Fuzhou (in Simplified Chinese)
n An early history of Fujian and Fuzhou (Chinese)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzhou"

Categories: Cities in Fujian | Provincial capitals in China

n This page was last modified 05:31, 23 December 2007.

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