Province · East China
Fujian
福建
Mountains, tea and seafaring on the Taiwan Strait
Fujian is a mountainous coastal province in south-east China facing Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait. Its capital is Fuzhou; the province is known for the maritime trade of medieval Quanzhou, the Hakka earthen roundhouses (tulou), the tea mountains of Wuyi and Anxi, the Mazu faith and the emigrants who carried its dialects and customs across South-east Asia. It has five UNESCO World Heritage sites and one of China's Eight Great Cuisines.
Key facts
- Capital
- Fuzhou
- Abbreviation
- 闽 (Mǐn)
- Area
- about 124,000 km²[1]
- Resident population
- 41.90 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 6.02 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 41.54 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Divisions
- 9 prefecture-level cities[1]
- UNESCO World Heritage sites
- 5, two of them shared (1999–2021)[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 福建
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 闽
- Type
- Province
- Region
- East China
- Capital
- Fuzhou
- Area
- about 124,000 km²
- Divisions
- 9 prefecture-level cities, plus the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone
- Ethnic groups
- Han, She, Hui, Miao, Manchu, Gaoshan
- Languages
- Eastern Min (Fuzhounese), Southern Min (Hokkien), Puxian Min, Hakka, Northern Min
Languages
Eastern Min (Fuzhounese)
闽东语
Spoken around Fuzhou and Ningde; the Fuzhou dialect is also used by emigrant communities in Sibu (Malaysia) and New York.
Southern Min (Hokkien)
闽南语
Spoken in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou; closely related to Taiwanese and the Hokkien of Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Puxian Min
莆仙话
Spoken in Putian and Xianyou, between the Eastern and Southern Min areas.
Hakka
客家话
Spoken in the western uplands around Longyan and Sanming, one of the Hakka heartlands.
Northern Min
闽北语
Spoken in Nanping and the Wuyi region.
Name and abbreviation
The name was formed in 733, when the Tang created the office of military commissioner of Fujian (福建经略使), combining the first characters of the prefectures of Fuzhou (福州) and Jianzhou (建州, today's Jian'ou). The abbreviation 闽 is far older: the Min were the peoples of the region in pre-imperial times, and the Min River and the Min dialects still carry the name.
Historic names
闽越
The Yue kingdom of the Min region, recognised by the Han in 202 BCE and conquered by Emperor Wu in 110 BCE.
闽国
Kingdom of the Ten Kingdoms period (909–945) ruled from Fuzhou by the Wang family.
八闽
“Eight Min”
Literary name for the province, from the eight prefectures and commanderies into which it was divided under the Song and Yuan.
Land and climate
More than eighty per cent of Fujian is hill and mountain — the saying is “eight parts mountain, one part water, one part field”. The Wuyi Mountains form the border with Jiangxi in the north-west and include Huanggang Shan (about 2,160 m), the highest peak of south-east China; a second range, the Daiyun and Jiufeng mountains, runs parallel nearer the coast. Short rivers cut through to a rocky, deeply indented coast with many bays and islands. The mountains long isolated Fujian from inland China and turned its people towards the sea.
Landforms
Wuyi Mountains
武夷山脉
Range on the Jiangxi border, with the red sandstone peaks and tea gardens of Mount Wuyi.
Daiyun Mountains
戴云山
Central range, the “roof of central Fujian”.
Taimu Mountain
太姥山
Granite peaks by the sea in Fuding, a UNESCO Global Geopark.
Taining Danxia
泰宁丹霞
Red sandstone gorges and cliffs around the Jinhu reservoir; part of the China Danxia World Heritage site.
Pingtan Island
平潭岛
The largest island of Fujian and the closest point of the mainland region to Taiwan.
Rivers and lakes
Min River
闽江
The province's largest river, draining the north and reaching the sea through Fuzhou.
Jiulong River
九龙江
Flows through Zhangzhou to the sea at Xiamen.
Jin River
晋江
The river of Quanzhou, whose estuary sheltered the medieval port.
Ting River
汀江
Flows south from the Hakka country of western Fujian into Guangdong; called the Hakka mother river.
Climate
Fujian has a humid subtropical climate, warm and wet, becoming almost tropical on the southern coast. Summers are long, hot and humid, with typhoons between July and September; winters are mild on the coast and cool in the mountains, where frost and occasional snow occur. Spring is the tea-picking season; autumn is generally the most settled time to travel.
History
The Minyue kingdom was absorbed into the Han empire in 110 BCE, but Fujian was settled by northern Chinese only gradually, in waves after the fall of the Western Jin and in the Tang. In the tenth century the Min kingdom ruled from Fuzhou. Under the Song and Yuan, Quanzhou became one of the greatest seaports in the world, home to Arab, Persian, Indian and other merchants. Ming bans on private sea trade drove Fujianese traders into smuggling and emigration, and Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) led Ming loyalists from Xiamen to take Taiwan from the Dutch in 1662. Fuzhou and Xiamen became treaty ports in 1842, and the Fuzhou Navy Yard was a centre of Qing modernisation. Xiamen was one of the first special economic zones in 1980, and ties with Taiwan shape much of the province's modern economy.
110 BCE
Han conquers Minyue
Emperor Wu of Han ended the Minyue kingdom and moved much of its population north.
4th–9th century
Migration from the north
Families fleeing war in northern China settled the valleys, bringing the Chinese speech that evolved into the Min dialects.
909–945
Min kingdom
Wang Shenzhi ruled from Fuzhou and promoted trade and Buddhism.
10th–14th century
Quanzhou, port of the world
Known to Arab and European travellers as Zaitun, Quanzhou was one of the busiest ports on the maritime Silk Roads.
1405–1433
Zheng He's fleets sail from Fujian
The treasure fleets waited for the monsoon at Changle near Fuzhou before sailing to the Indian Ocean.
1662
Koxinga takes Taiwan
Zheng Chenggong sailed from Xiamen and Kinmen to expel the Dutch East India Company from Taiwan.
1842
Fuzhou and Xiamen opened
Two of the five treaty ports under the Treaty of Nanjing; Fuzhou became the leading port for the tea trade.
1866
Fuzhou Navy Yard
Founded by Zuo Zongtang at Mawei with a naval school; its fleet was destroyed by the French in 1884.
1980
Xiamen Special Economic Zone
One of the first four special economic zones, chosen partly to attract investment from Taiwan and overseas Chinese.
2021
Quanzhou inscribed as World Heritage
Recognised as the Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Mixed · inscribed 1999 · shared
武夷山
Red sandstone peaks along the Nine-Bend Stream, subtropical forest, Han-dynasty city ruins and Neo-Confucian academies; extended in 2017 to the northern Wuyi in Jiangxi.
Cultural · inscribed 2008
福建土楼
Forty-six fortified earthen houses in Yongding, Nanjing and Hua'an counties, built between the twelfth and twentieth centuries for whole clans.
Natural · inscribed 2010 · shared
中国丹霞
Red-bed landscapes in six provinces; Fujian's component is Taining.
Cultural · inscribed 2017
Kulangsu, a Historic International Settlement
鼓浪屿
Island off Xiamen with villas, consulates, churches and gardens from its time as an international settlement (1903–1941).
Cultural · inscribed 2021
Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China
泉州：宋元中国的世界海洋商贸中心
Twenty-two sites — temples, a mosque, bridges, kilns, docks and administrative ruins — that document the port's maritime trade.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2009
Nanyin
南音
Slow, refined vocal and instrumental music of Quanzhou and the Southern Min region, performed with the pipa and the dongxiao flute.
Inscribed 2009
Mazu belief and customs
妈祖信俗
Worship of the sea goddess Mazu, centred on Meizhou Island in Putian and spread along China's coasts and across the world.
Inscribed 2009
Traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges
中国木拱桥传统营造技艺
On the urgent-safeguarding list; covered woven-arch bridges in Shouning, Pingnan and Zhouning (shared with Zhejiang).
Inscribed 2010
Watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks
水密隔舱福船制造技艺
On the urgent-safeguarding list; the construction of Fujian ships divided into sealed compartments.
Inscribed 2020
Ong Chun / Wangchuan / Wangkang ceremony
送王船
Ritual of sending off a “royal boat” to expel misfortune, practised in Xiamen and Quanzhou and by Chinese communities in Malaysia (joint inscription).
Inscribed 2022
Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China
中国传统制茶技艺及其相关习俗
Includes Wuyi rock tea, Anxi Tieguanyin, Fuding white tea and Fuzhou jasmine tea.
Culture
Fujian's mountains divided it into distinct cultural regions — Eastern Min around Fuzhou, Southern Min around Xiamen and Quanzhou, Puxian, Northern Min and the Hakka west — each with its own dialect, opera and customs. Popular religion is unusually vigorous: temples to Mazu, Baosheng Dadi and local deities are found in almost every village, and processions, puppet theatre and incense-dividing pilgrimages link Fujian with Taiwan. Emigration to South-east Asia since the Ming made Fujian a homeland of overseas Chinese.
Opera, music and dance
Liyuan opera
梨园戏
Quanzhou opera with stylised gestures thought to preserve features of Song and Yuan drama.
Puxian opera
莆仙戏
Old opera form of Putian, sung in Puxian Min.
Min opera
闽剧
Opera of Fuzhou, sung in the Fuzhou dialect.
Quanzhou marionettes
提线木偶
String puppets worked with dozens of strings, and the hand puppets of Zhangzhou and Jinjiang.
Crafts
Fuzhou bodiless lacquer
福州脱胎漆器
Light, strong lacquerware built up over a removable core, developed in the Qing dynasty.
Dehua white porcelain
德化白瓷
Ivory-white porcelain known in Europe as blanc de Chine, especially figures of Guanyin.
Shoushan stone carving
寿山石雕
Carvings and seals in the soft, colourful stone of Shoushan near Fuzhou.
Jian ware tea bowls
建盏
Dark-glazed Song tea bowls from Jianyang with hare's-fur and oil-spot patterns, known in Japan as tenmoku.
Festivals and customs
Mazu's birthday
妈祖诞辰
Pilgrimages to Meizhou Island on the 23rd day of the third lunar month.
Bobing dice game
博饼
Mid-Autumn dice game played in Xiamen and southern Fujian, with mooncakes as prizes.
Gongfu tea
功夫茶
Oolong brewed in small pots and cups, repeated through many infusions.
Xunpu flower headdresses
蟳埔女
Women of the fishing village of Xunpu in Quanzhou wear garlands of fresh flowers in their hair.
Cuisine
Fujian cuisine (闽菜) is one of the Eight Great Cuisines. It is known for soups and broths, seafood, the use of red yeast rice wine lees (红糟), fish sauce and shrimp oil, and a light, slightly sweet and sour balance. The Fuzhou style is the core of the canon; Southern Min cooking shares much with Taiwan, and the Hakka west has its own heartier dishes.
Signature dishes
Buddha jumps over the wall
佛跳墙
A Fuzhou banquet soup of many luxurious ingredients slowly simmered in a wine jar.
Lychee pork
荔枝肉
Scored pork pieces fried so they curl like lychees and glazed sweet-sour.
Oyster omelette
海蛎煎
Small oysters fried with sweet-potato starch and egg, a Southern Min street food.
Red wine lees chicken
红糟鸡
Chicken cooked with the fermented red lees of rice wine.
Satay noodles
沙茶面
Xiamen noodles in a rich shacha broth, reflecting links with South-east Asia.
Fuzhou fish balls
鱼丸
Fish balls with a pork filling, served in clear soup.
Specialities
Wuyi rock tea
武夷岩茶
Roasted oolongs such as Da Hong Pao grown among the rocks of Mount Wuyi.
Tieguanyin
铁观音
Oolong from Anxi county near Quanzhou.
Fuding white tea
福鼎白茶
Minimally processed white tea such as Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle).
Lapsang souchong
正山小种
Pine-smoked black tea from Tongmu in the Wuyi Mountains, regarded as the original black tea.
Fuzhou jasmine tea
茉莉花茶
Green tea scented with jasmine blossoms, a Fuzhou speciality since the Qing.
Putian lychees and longans
莆田荔枝
Fruit of the southern coast, grown for more than a thousand years.
Notable people
Zhu Xi (1130–1200)
朱熹
Neo-Confucian philosopher born in Youxi; he taught for decades in the Wuyi Mountains.
Mazu (Lin Moniang) (960–987 (traditional))
林默娘
The fisherman's daughter of Meizhou Island deified as the sea goddess Mazu.
Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) (1624–1662)
郑成功
Ming loyalist commander from Nan'an who expelled the Dutch from Taiwan.
Lin Zexu (1785–1850)
林则徐
Qing official from Fuzhou whose destruction of opium at Humen in 1839 preceded the Opium War.
Yan Fu (1854–1921)
严复
Translator of Huxley, Adam Smith and Mill, from Fuzhou.
Lin Huiyin (1904–1955)
林徽因
Architect, historian of Chinese architecture and poet, from a Fuzhou family.
Tan Kah Kee (1874–1961)
陈嘉庚
Businessman of Singapore from Jimei, Xiamen, who founded Xiamen University and the Jimei schools.
Economy
Fujian's economy is export-oriented and strongly private. Southern Fujian — Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Xiamen — is home to large sportswear, footwear, textile and food companies, many founded by families with overseas connections. Fuzhou and Ningde have become centres of electronics, lithium batteries and electric-vehicle supply chains. Petrochemicals, steel, tea, seafood and forestry are also important, and cross-strait trade and investment with Taiwan receive special policy support.
Main industries
- Lithium-ion batteries and new-energy vehicles (Ningde)
- Electronics and information technology
- Sportswear, footwear and textiles (Jinjiang, Quanzhou)
- Petrochemicals (Gulei, Quanzhou)
- Tea, seafood and fruit
- Stone, ceramics and building materials
- Port logistics and shipping
Zones, ports and hubs
Xiamen Special Economic Zone
厦门经济特区
One of the four original special economic zones (1980), extended to the whole island in 1984.
China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone
中国（福建）自由贸易试验区
Established in 2015 with areas in Fuzhou, Xiamen and Pingtan, focused on cross-strait cooperation.
Fuzhou New Area
福州新区
National-level new area approved in 2015 on the coast of Fuzhou.
Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone
平潭综合实验区
Island zone for experiments in cross-strait economic integration.
Cities
- Fuzhou福州Capital · Historic city · PortBanyan City on the Min River, capital of Fujian for two thousand years
- Xiamen厦门Port · Historic city · Scenic areaIsland port of Kulangsu, Koxinga and the Southern Min diaspora
- Quanzhou泉州Historic city · Port · Cultural centre · Industrial centreZaitun, the medieval emporium of the maritime Silk Roads
- Longyan龙岩Historic city · Cultural centre · Scenic areaHakka heartland of the Yongding tulou and the Gutian meeting
Getting there
- Xiamen Gaoqi and Fuzhou Changle are the main international airports; Quanzhou Jinjiang and Wuyishan airports serve domestic routes.
- The coastal high-speed railway links Fuzhou, Putian, Quanzhou and Xiamen with Wenzhou and Shenzhen; the Hefei–Fuzhou line crosses the mountains via Wuyishan.
- Ferries run from Xiamen to Kinmen and from Fuzhou (Mawei) to Matsu; the ports of Xiamen and Fuzhou handle container and cruise traffic.
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Fujian Provincial People's Government — Fujian Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 2025年福建省国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Fujian on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Fujian Provincial Bureau of Statistics (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- World Heritage List: China — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: China — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Fujian — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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