Fujian Travel Guide

Fujian province, Min for short, is located at the southeast coast of China, neighboring Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, and facing Taiwan province across the Taiwan Strait. The total area is 124,000 square kilometers (47,876 square miles), and its population is 36,894,216 according the 2010 statistics. Fujian has a mild climate with plenty of rainfall, and its percentage of forest cover takes the first place in China. It is a province rich of mineral and tourism resources.

As the provincial capital of Fujian, Fuzhou is the largest city, as well as the cultural, political and scientific research center of the province. It is one of the earliest opening-up port cities in China. Situated in the southeast of Fujian, Xiamen city is outstanding for its pleasant climate, beautiful scenery, and neat and clean city. The former president of UAS praised Xiamen as the “oriental Hawaii”. Quanzhou city has a long history. It is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road on sea. Early during the Song (960 - 1279) and Yuan (1271 - 1368) dynasties, Quanzhou was honored as the Orient’s largest port, and enjoyed the same fame as the Alexander Port in Egypt. Longyan city is located to the west of Quanzhou. It is named after the Longyan (dragon rock) Cave in the city, as the texture on the rock in the cave is similar to that of the dragon, so was the name. Longyan is well known for it is one of the settlements of the Hakkas. More cities in Fujian are Zhangzhou which is rich of agricultural products, Putian which is known as the City of Litchi as litchi is an important product in the city, Sanming, Ningde and Nanping cities. 

 Attractions Yongding Earth Towers, Luoyang Bridge, Qingjing Mosque
Fujian is endowed with charming landscape of mountains, rivers and sea, as well as rich historical relics. The Wuyi Mountain in Nanping city features gorgeous Danxia landform, where green streams flow among red rocks and peaks. Another attraction famous for the Danxia landform is the Taining Geologic Parkin Sanming city. Gulangyu Island in Xiamen city is known as the “garden on the sea”, as it is blessed with pleasant climate all the year round, and people live a quiet and leisurely life, which is very different from the bustle in cities. The earth tower of the Hakkas is another highlight in Fujian. The Hakkas live in groups in mountainous region, so their ancestors built the residence houses into to the round or square enclosing towers to keep beasts, robbers and thieves away. The most famous earth towers are Yongding Earth Towers in Longyan city and Nanjing Earth Towers in Zhangzhou city. The Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou city is China’s earliest existing cross-sea girder stone bridge, which was built in the Song Dynasty. Constructed in 1009 during the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127), the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou is the oldest Islamic mosque in China.

 Best Time for Visiting
Fujian has a subtropical humid monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of 17 – 21°C (62.8 – 69.8°F), and the temperature of the coastal regions is above 10°C (50°F) for the whole year. Winter is warm and the mean temperature in January is 7 – 10°C (44.6 - 50°F) in coastal area and 6 – 8°C (42.8 – 46.4°F) in mountains regions, while summer is hot and the temperature in July is 20 – 39°C (68 – 102.2°F) and typhoons often pound the region in summer (July to September).

Generally, it is suitable to come here all the year round, but spring (March to May) and autumn (October to December) are better. Spring is the best time to visit the mountains, rivers and countryside as the scenery is the best and there is nearly no harsh weather during the period. For those who prefer sea and beaches, it is better to go in the end of summer and early autumn, such as September and October, when the summer heat and typhoons have gone. Fujian has a warm winter, so it is an ideal place to escape from coldness, and Fuzhou and Quanzhou are recommended cities.

 Travel Tips
1. There are regular bullet trains in Fujian, mainly running from Fuzhou to Xiamen and from Xiamen to Longyan, so transportation among cities in Fujian is very convenient.
2. Fuzhou cuisines and Minnan cuisine are the represent food in Fujian. They locals here are fond of seafood and mountain delicacies. There are also many flavor snacks that deserve a try, such as the marine peanut worm jelly, wonton, glutinous rice dumpling with meat wrapped with bamboo leaves, and fried oyster with eggs. When visiting the Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, you will find many snack outlets selling those delicacies.
3. Oolong Tea of Wuyi Mountain, paper umbrella, horn comb and lacquer wares of Fuzhou, Tieguanyin Tea in Quanzhou, and oranges in Zhangzhou are the products in Fujian.
4. The Meizhou Island Goddess Matsu Cultural Festival is held on March 23 and September 9 in Chinese lunar calendar every year in Putian city. There is also the yearly Xiamen International Marathon Game at the afternoon of the first Saturday in January.