Fuzhou 福州

View of River Min and Chongseng Hill in Fuzhou


Fuzhou (福州) is the capital and biggest city in Fujian Province, China. A prefecture-level city, Fuzhou is on the north-central coast of Fujian. It covers 12,000 sq km (4,634 sq mi) and has a population of 7.1 million people. Fuzhou comprises 5 districts, 2 county-level cities and 6 counties. The city observes the China Standard Time, which is 8 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+8). The phone area code for Fuzhou is 591.

Downtown Fuzhou

Places of Interest in Fuzhou

Fuzhou is written in many ways including Foochow, Fuchow, Fuhchau, Fuh Chow, Hock Chew and Hokchew. The name Fuzhou means "Prosperous Region", and the city is also often nicknamed Rongcheng, meaning "city of banyan trees". While the exact date of Fuzhou's founding is not know, the city has ancient walls dating to 202 BC, when the Liu Bang, founding Emperor of the Han Dynasty, allowed the local reuler Wuzhu, to establish his capital in Fuzhou. That city was originally called Ye, but has been renamed over the course of history.

The area around Fuzhou has been receives successive waves of immigrants for centuries. The name Fuzhou may have dated back to 725 AD, during the Tang Dynasty. In AD 907, the Kingdom of Min was established, and the name exists today in the name of the Min River that flows through Fuzhou, as well as the Minnan language spoken (locally known as Hokkien) spoken in the city and province.

It was here in Fuzhou, from 1405 to 1433 AD, that the Ming imperial fleet of Admiral Zheng He left China to explore the southern seas, visiting places as far flung as the eastern coast of Africa.

Fuzhou experiences a humid subtropical climate. The hottest month is July, when the average high temperature may reach 34.1°C (93.4°F). Coldest month is January, when the average low temperature dips to 8.2°C (46.8°F). June is the wettest month, receiving 208.9 mm (8.22 in) of precipitation.

Xichansi Temple, Fuzhou