Brief Introduction of Fuzhou
Located in the alluvial plain of the lower reaches of the Minjiang River (Mǐnjiāng 闽江) in the southeast coastal area and facing the sea to the east, Fuzhou (Fúzhōu 福州) is an ancient city along the southeast coast and an old foreign trade port of China. It was once called as the Metropolis in Southeast China and the City of Treasure and Fortune. Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde (Níngdé 宁德), those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (Mǐndōng 闽东) linguistic and cultural area. Fuzhou's core counties lie on the north bank of the estuary of Fujian's largest river, the Min River.

 
Fuzhou Today
A bird-watching corridor and a five-star hotel will be built in the national Minjiang Estuary Wetland Park, announced by officials of Changle Municipality (Chánglè 长乐市), Fujian Province. The bird-watching corridor is designed to be nearly 3000 meters from Wenshang village, Tantou County to Mashan Fort, with total investment of over 20 million yuan. Along the corridor will be monitoring stations, relaxation platforms and sightseeing pavilions, which will enable tourists to watch birds at close range and meanwhile maintain ecological balance. The five-star hotel will be set up in Wenshang village. Facilities, such as the bird-watching corridor, five-star hotel and Wetland Museum that is close to completion, will make the Minjiang Estuary Wetland Park an AAAA scenic spot.

Name Card of Fuzhou
As three major spring areas in China, springs in Fuzhou are noted for their wide spread, shallow underground storage, abundant flux and pure quality. Recently, Fuzhou government is endeavoring to publicize their spring brand by setting up a series of new leisure centers, such as Huang Zhulin, Gulou Jintang, Daminggu, Mt. Qingyun.
 

Longevity Stone (Chángshòushí 长寿石): Stone of Nation
Produced in longevity village of Jinan district of Fuzhou, Longevity Stone is praised as the stone of the nation by its bright color and smooth appearance. In 2008, it is listed as one of the national gifts during Olympic Games. The Sculpture on Longevity Stone is one of the three treasures of traditional arts in Fuzhou.

Mt. Xianshi Heritage Site: Origin of Sea Civilization
Located at Xianshi village of Fuzhou, it is listed as National Key Cultural Preservation Center by its most complete prehistoric cultural sites. Back to 5000 years, its history can be compared with that of Yangshao (Yǎngsháo 仰韶) and Hemudu (Hémǔdù 河姆渡) sites. Featured by its unique sea civilization, it stored some valuable clay lamps. Mt. Qingyun (Qīngyúnshān 青云山): A Most Potential Ecological Travelling Spot. Located at Yongtai county, it is listed as National Key Scenery Site by its well preservation of valleys, forests, ancient volcanoes, alpine pasture and birds. Nine mountains stand above thousand meters with nine rivers around it. Jiutian fall is named as the biggest cataract in Asia.
 

In the 13th year of the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty (AC 725), Fuzhou got its present name from a Fu ( means fortune) mountain to the northwest of it. In the Yuan Dynasty (AC 1206-1368), Fuzhou was set as the capital of Fujian province, which it has remained ever since. In 1946, it was formally named Fuzhou city. On Aug. 17th, it was liberated and set as the capital of Fujian province.

The Chaojing Building at that time was the first public library in China, and Shigu College is regarded as one of China’s four great colleges. Fuzhou has been the cradle of China’s modern industry, technology and navy since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Distinguished by its external-oriented location and rich history, Fuzhou boasts its rich Tanshi Hill heritage, Chinese Ship Building, Three Alleys and Seven Lanes, Shoushan Stone, etc. Other historic sites, such as the Cliffside Inscription at Gu Mountain, Hualin Temple, the earliest wood construction, the Cliffside Inscription at Wu Mountain, the Inscription on the Tree at Xuefeng Temple, have gained international fame as well.

City Flower
Jasmine: A specialty of Fuzhou, the jasmine flower ranks first in the nation in terms of output and quality. It blooms every late spring and early summer, with single lobe or polypetalous, simple or compound leaf as its divisions.Its color varies from red to white with white as its majority. Owing to its refined flavor, it is condensed to be jasmine tea and spices.

Fuzhou Bodiless Lacquer (Tuōtāiqī 脱胎漆)
Drawn on bark with a sharp knife, the soft wood painting presents the vivid and subtle images of pavilions, trees and flowers, small bridges on running brooks, corridors, figures and animals. It achieves the effect of implanting a panorama in one picture.

History of Fuzhou
With a history of more than 2,200 years, Fuzhou is a historical and cultural city with a lot of places of interest and scenic spots. Now many of them are kept intact, among which the famous ones are the Hualin Temple, the oldest wooden temple south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which was built 1,000 years ago; one of the Top Four Steles. With the Yushan, Wushan and Pingshan mountains leaning to each other, Fuzhou is endowed with enchanting scenery.

A well-known historic and cultural city, Fuzhou was founded more than 2000 years ago. In the 5th year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (BC 202), Wu Zhu, descendant of Gou Jian, the king of Yue State, was declared the king of Min and Yue and began to construct Ye City, the earliest form of Fuzhou city.

City Fruit
The Fuzhou basin teems with tangerines, with oranges making up their majority. The tangerine features a thin peel and a red, juicy pulp, and therefore got its Chinese name as the “fortune orange.” Ripe at the end of the year, blessed with its red color and pronounced in Chinese similarly to the word “fortune,” it is regarded as a mascot and proper greeting gift by local people.
 

City Emblem
Every city has its own emblems. Fuzhou is no exception. Fuzhou, located in southeast China's Fujian province, possesses the emblem of “Three Mountains and One River”: Fuzhou is surrounded by Mt. Yu, Mt. Wu, Mt. Ping and Min River. In the year 908, Wang Shenzhi, the governor of Min province enclosed the three charming mountains into the city so as to form a picture of mountains in the city and city in the mountains. Thus, the Three Mountains and One River became Fuzhou’s emblem and Fuzhou is also named "Three Mountains".Fuzhou also retains a lot of flavor of its traditional culture. The Fuzhou opera, lacquer ware (Qīqì 漆器), stone carving, woodcarving, ivory carving and jade caving are all with the unique Fuzhou flavor.As an open city along the coastal line, Fuzhou was proclaimed a national historical and cultural city by the State Council in 1986.

Fuzhou Cuisine
Fuzhou cuisine is one of the four traditional cooking styles of Fujian cuisine, which in turn is one of the eight Chinese regional cuisines. Dishes are light but flavorful, with particular emphasis on umami taste, known in Chinese cooking as xianwei (xiānwèi鲜味), as well as retaining the original flavor of the main ingredients instead of masking them. In Fuzhou cuisine, the taste is light compared to that of some other Chinese cooking styles, and often have a mixed sweet and sour taste. Soup, served as an indispensable dish in meals, is cooked in various ways with local seasonal fresh vegetables and seafood. Distinctive snack foods are also an important part of Fuzhou culture. Production of raw materials according to classification can be divided into many classes: powder, starch, dry fruit, meat and seafood, etc., with rice, beans, and sugar as the main raw materials. Red and white rice cakes (Niángāo年糕) during the Chinese New Year, stuffed yuanxiao (Yuánxiāo元宵) during the Lantern Festival, zongzi (Zòngzǐ 粽子) during the Dragon Boat Festival, and sweet soy bean powder-covered plain yuanxiao during the winter solstice are just some of the traditional foods enjoyed by the masses of Fuzhou.

Travel Tips
Transportation: Currently, the main railway is the "Wai Fu Railway", running eastwards through the northern districts towards Jiangxi province. The subline "Fuma railway" runs from the city hub to Mawei district.

Climate:
Fuzhou has a humid subtropical climate influenced by the East Asian Monsoon; the summers are long, very hot and humid, the winters are short, mild and dry. In most years torrential rain occurs during the monsoon in the second half of May. Fuzhou is also liable to typhoons in late summer and early autumn.

Special crafts:
Bodiless lacquerware, paper umbrellas and horn combs are the "Three Treasures" of Fuzhou traditional arts. In addition, bodiless lacquerware, cork pictures and Shoushan stone sculptures are called "Three Superexcellences" of Fuzhou.
 
Nearby Spots Recommend
Fuzhou National Forest Park 
Fuzhou National Forest Park is one of nine Forest Park. Originally called Fuzhou Arboretum, and the Tour, is a comprehensive research park. Fuzhou National Forest Park is located in Xindian Town (Xīndiān 新店) 7 km from Fuzhou city center, and covers an area of 2891 hectares. The forest park is home to over 3,000 species of rare plants. There are several special gardens have been set up for cycads, kittuls, bamboos, trees, flowers and rare species. The Dragon Pond Stream is twisting through the park. The lush plants and clean stream offers a theme of forest ecotourism for the park. Cultural attractions such as ancient post road, stone inscription is very appealing to enthusiasts of history and culture. Also, the park is equipped with abundant recreational facilities and set up as a forestry holiday resort.