Overview of Fujian
A bird's-eye view of Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province. [Photo/WeChat ID: fztour]
Fujian province is located on the Southeast coast of China, with its capital in Fuzhou. The province covers a land area of 124,000 square kilometers and a sea area of 136,000 square kilometers. It borders Zhejiang province to the north, Jiangxi province to the west, Guangdong province to the southwest, and faces Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait to the east.
Fujian province governs nine cities with subordinate districts including Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Sanming, Putian, Nanping, Longyan, and Ningde, as well as the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, 11 county-level cities, 31 urban districts and 42 counties (including Jinmen county).
By the end of 2023, the province had a permanent resident population of 41.83 million.
Fujian province's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 5.44 trillion yuan ($752.79 billion) in 2023, up 4.5 percent from 2022, and the province's economic aggregate ranks 8th nationally, making it one of the fastest-growing regions in China.
With a rich history of foreign exchanges and a high degree of opening up, Fujian is one of the first provinces in China to engage in foreign trade. During the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, Quanzhou was a renowned international trading port and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. The capital city Fuzhou served as a crucial port for Zheng He's maritime expeditions. Nowadays, Fujian is home to a number of economic zones, pilot free trade zones, and a comprehensive experimental area, and is a core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Fujian is characterized by its mountainous terrain, with a forest coverage rate of 65.12 percent, the highest in the country. It possesses the second-longest mainland coastline in China and is home to numerous islands.
The province has no shortage of tourist attractions, including UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Wuyi Mountain, Gulangyu Island, Fujian Earth Buildings, Danxia landform (Taining), and Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou (Zayton).
