Fuzhou - Capital city of Fujian Province

Fuzhou Map

Fuzhou is an ancient city with a history of more than 2,100 years and now the capital city of Fujian province. It is one ofthe fourteen open coastal cities in China. Situated by the East Sea and in the lower reaches of the Min River, this area of 12,153 square kilometres is populated with 5.83 million people. The city tree is Banyan Jasmine flower is known as the symbolic flower of the city.

The city of Fuzhou is alternatively called Three Hills. The Yu, Wu andScreen Hills, all verdant with flourishing trees and grass, form a triangle inside the city. The White and Black Pagodas, elegant and slim as they are, face each other from the Yu and Wu hills. The Min River flows through the city, carrying along with it the reflections of trees and flowers. As it is said, "Three Hills, Two Pagodas and a River" constitute the unique landscape of Fuzhou City. The banyan is the symbolic tree of the city. Since the Song
Dynasty (960-1279), this kind of trees have been planted all over the city,and as a local saying goes; "Green shade is the cover of the city, and no otheris needed in summer. " Ancient banyan trees, shaped like umbrellas and luxuriant with all the youthfulness, offer a comfortable coolness to courtyards. Thus, the city is also called Banyan City. Jasmine flower is known as the symbolic flower of the city. The broad modern avenues and little ancient lanes are permeated with the sweet scent of jasmines, which contend with the Yulan magnolia, banana shrub and orchid, blazing the city with a riot of colour, brimming it with aroma and bringing about the name to the city "Hometown of Flowers and Fruits. "

Fuzhou has a honourable title "Civilization by the East Sea. " Since the establishment of the city under the reign of Song Dynasty Gaozhu over one thousand years ago, the city has even served as the capital either to the king's prefecture or emperor's state or today's province. The rock-face inscriptions in the Drum Mountain, the Luoxing Tower in Mawei,the Great Iron Buddha in the Kaiyuan Temple and the Jinshan Temple amid the Min River, along with the hundred and more historic sites, have recorded the glory of Fuzhou City. The historical figures such as Lin Zexu, Yan Fu, Sha Zhenbing, Zheng Zhenduo and Gao Shiqi, have always aroused the pride in the hearts of Fuzhou people. The "Treasure Land" Fuzhou has become more and more glamorous today.