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Historic city · Cultural centre · Scenic area · Fujian

Longyan

龙岩 (Lóngyán)

Hakka heartland of the Yongding tulou and the Gutian meeting

Longyan is a prefecture-level city in the mountains of western Fujian and one of the heartlands of the Hakka people. Its Yongding district holds many of the Fujian tulou inscribed as World Heritage in 2008, Changting was the historic centre of Hakka culture, and Gutian was the site of a formative 1929 conference of the Red Army.

ProvinceFujian

Key facts

Province
Fujian
Administrative level
Prefecture-level city
Area
about 19,050 km²[1]
Resident population
2.72 million(as of 2020 census)[2]
UNESCO World Heritage
Fujian Tulou (2008)[3]

Overview

Longyan lies in the Wuyi and Bomian mountain ranges of western Fujian, drained by the Ting River south into Guangdong. From the Song dynasty onward, Hakka migrants from the north settled these valleys; the old prefectural town of Tingzhou (today's Changting) became their cultural capital.

To defend themselves against bandits and rival clans, Hakka families built tulou, great multi-storey earthen houses. Yongding district has hundreds of them, including the Chengqi and Zhencheng buildings. In the 1920s and 1930s the region was part of the Central Soviet Area.

Names and nicknames

  • 闽西 (Mǐn Xī)

    “western Fujian”

    Longyan is the core of the western Fujian region.

  • 客家祖地 (Kèjiā zǔdì)

    “ancestral land of the Hakka”

    Many Hakka lineages in Guangdong, Taiwan and overseas trace their ancestry to Tingzhou (Changting).

History

Tingzhou prefecture was established in 736. Hakka settlement grew from the Song onwards, and tulou construction flourished from the Ming to the twentieth century. In December 1929 the Gutian Conference defined the principle of Party control over the army. Longyan became a prefecture-level city in 1997.

  1. 736

    Tingzhou prefecture founded

    Changting became the seat of the prefecture and later the centre of Hakka culture.

  2. 1628–1709

    Chengqi Lou built

    According to local tradition the largest of the Yongding round houses, with four concentric rings, took the Jiang clan three generations to complete.

  3. December 1929

    Gutian Conference

    The Ninth Party Congress of the Fourth Red Army adopted Mao Zedong's resolution on Party leadership of the army.

  4. 2008

    Fujian Tulou inscribed

    Tulou clusters in Yongding were inscribed as part of the World Heritage site.

Landmarks

  1. Historic site

    Chengqi Lou

    承启楼 (Chéngqǐ Lóu)

    Round tulou of four concentric rings in Gaotou, known as the “king of tulou”.

  2. Historic site

    Zhencheng Lou

    振成楼 (Zhènchéng Lóu)

    Round tulou of 1912 in Hongkeng, arranged on the eight trigrams with a Western-influenced inner hall.

  3. Historic site

    Changting old town

    长汀古城 (Chángtīng gǔchéng)

    Walled town on the Ting River, described by the New Zealand writer Rewi Alley as one of China's two most beautiful small towns.

  4. Historic site

    Gutian Conference Site

    古田会议旧址 (Gǔtián Huìyì Jiùzhǐ)

    Clan hall where the 1929 conference was held, with a memorial museum.

Neighbourhoods

  • Hongkeng

    洪坑 (Hóngkēng)

    Village of tulou along a stream in Yongding.

Food

  • Yongding dried vegetables

    永定菜干 (Yǒngdìng càigān)

    Sun-dried mustard greens used in braised pork and soups.

  • Changting tofu

    长汀豆腐 (Chángtīng dòufu)

    Tofu stuffed with minced pork — a Hakka staple.

  • Taro dumplings

    芋子包 (yùzi bāo)

    Dumplings with a wrapper made from taro and sweet-potato starch.

Culture

Longyan's culture is Hakka: clan halls, genealogies, mountain songs, the Hakka dialect, and houses that sheltered whole lineages under one roof. Clan festivals and ancestor rites draw back emigrants from South-east Asia and Taiwan.

Getting around

  • Longyan station is on high-speed lines towards Xiamen and Ganzhou; buses run to the tulou areas of Yongding.
  • Longyan Guanzhishan Airport serves domestic routes.

Day trips

  • Peitian village

    培田古民居 (Péitián gǔ mínjū)

    Hakka village in Liancheng with Ming and Qing houses and academies.

  • Guanzhishan

    冠豸山 (Guànzhì Shān)

    Danxia sandstone hills in Liancheng.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

  1. Longyan Municipal People's Government — Longyan Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  2. Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  3. Fujian Tulou — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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