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Fuzhou

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Fuzhou (福州, Hanyu Pinyin: Fúzhōu, Wade-Giles: Fu-chou, also seen as Foochow or Fuchow) is a city on the coast of China, the largest city in and capital of Fujian province.

Its GDP was ¥31582 (ca. US$3800) per capita in 2003, ranked no. 21 among 659 Chinese cities.

History

The exact foundation date of this city is not known.

When Yue (越) to the north of Fujian was annexed by Chu in 306 BC, a branch of the royal family of the defeated Yue fled Fujian and became the Minyue (闽越) tribe.

The first city wall of Fuzhou was built in 202 BC when Liu Bang (刘邦), the founding emperor of Han Dynasty, gave permission to Wuzhu (无诸), the king of Minyue, to set up his capital in Fuzhou. And the city was named Ye (冶), meaning "The Beautiful". The name has changed many time. But the city has had a continuous occupation since 202 BC and never suffer from any major destructions by wars or natural disasters.

The Minyue was annexed by Han in 110 BC and became a part of China, and Fuzhou became Ye County.

During Jin Dynasty, West Lake, East Lake (already silt up) and numerous canals in the city were constructed (282 AD).

When Jin Dynasty collapsed, the first wave of immigrants of the gentile class arrived in Fujian (308 AD).

During Tang Dynasty (725 AD), it started to be called Fuzhou (福州).

More immigrants arrived from the north in 892 BC when the grand Tang Dynasty collapsed. The Wang family managed to established a kingdom called Min (闽) (909 - 947 AD) with its capital in Fuzhou.

New city walls had been built in 282 AD, 901 AD, 905 AD, and 974 AD, so the city had many layers of walls - more than the Chinese capital!

The emperor of Song Dynasty ordered destruction of all the walls in Fuzhou in 978 AD but new walls were rebuilt later (the latest wall was built in 1371 AD).

During Southern Song Dynasty, Fuzhou became more prosperous; many scholars came here to live and work. Among them were Zhu Xi (朱熹), the most celebrated Chinese philosopher after Confucius, and Xin Qiji (辛弃疾), the greatest composer of ci (a specialized form of poem). After them came Marco Polo, who transcribed the placename in Italian as Fugiu according to the local dialect.

Hualin Temple in the original Ye city, which has been declared a national heritage site, was built in 964 AD according to the document, but was Carbon-dated to the 4th or 5th century AD. It is probably the oldest existing wooden structure in China.

Between 1405 and 1433 AD, the Chinese (Ming) navy fleet, led by Zheng He (郑和), sailed from Fuzhou to the Indian Ocean seven times; on three occasions the fleet landed in the East coast of Africa. Before the last sail, Zheng erected a stele dedicated to Goddess Tian-Fei near the seaport.

In the 19th century, Lin Zexu (林则徐), a native from Fuzhou, led an unsuccessful attempt to resist the British fleet at Canton Bay, and Lin was exiled to the Russian border. At the end of the First Opium War, Fuzhou became one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842).

On November 8, 1911, the revolutionary staged an uprising in Fuzhou. After an overnight street battle, the Qing (Manchu) army surrendered.

On November 22, 1933, the leaders of the 19th army set up a short-lived Republic of China (中華共和國) in Fuzhou (compare the name to Jiang’s “Republic of China” (中華民國), which literally means “People’s State of China”); it collapsed in two months.

See also: Battle of Foochow

Tourism

  • West Lake (an artificial lake built in 282 AD)
  • Hualin Temple (founding date uncertain)
  • Dizang Temple (founded in 527 AD)
  • Xichan Temple (founded in 867 AD)
  • Wu Ta (Black Pagoda) (originally built in 799 AD, rebuilt in 936 AD)
  • Bai Ta (White Pagoda) (originally built in 905 AD, 67 m in height, collapsed in 1534 AD, rebuilt in 1548 AD, 41 m in height)
  • Yongquan Temple (founded in 915 AD)

Colleges and Universities

  • Fujian Normal University
  • Fuzhou University
  • Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
  • Fujian Medical University
  • Fujian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • Fujian Communications Technology College
  • Minjiang College
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