Fujian China
Topography:Mountains and hilly areas constitute over 80 percent of
Fujian's land area. Plains are concentrated in its southeast coastal areas.
Climate:
Fujian has a subtropical humid monsoon climate, with annual temperature averaging between 17-210C. The average temperatures in the coldest month (January) are 10-130C in the southeast coastal parts and 5-80C in the inland mountainous areas. In the hottest month (July) the temperature averages 26-290C. The average annual precipitation is 1,000 mm and frost-free period lasts 240 to 330 days a year.
Natural resources:Fujian possesses 86 kinds of minerals with verified reserves, including 34 kinds of metallic minerals and 47 nonmetallic minerals. Among those with considerable reserves are gold, silver, lead, zinc, manganese, kaolin, limestone, granite, alunite, pyrophyllite and sulfur. Its reserve of quartz-sandstone ranks among the national tops in both quantity and quality.
Forests cover 52.4 percent of
Fujian's total land area, a c rate ranking first in China. Plant species are abundant. There are 1,943 kinds of woody plants, including 400 species of timber tree and 140 varieties of bamboo.
Fujian has 400 million cubic meters of timber reserved, its timber production ranking third in China.
Incomplete statistics show that there are several thousand species of terrestrial wild animals in
Fujian, including 100 species of beasts, 540 species of birds, 115 species of reptiles and 44 species of amphibians. There are also more than 5,000 kinds of insects. The Wuyi Mountain Nature Reserve is abundant in wildlife resources. It is also a world-renowned specimen base for new species of vertebrates and insects. The Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve in Longyan City is home to large numbers of birds and animals.
Fujian has five big fishing grounds which abounds in marine resources. Among the more than 3,000 species of marine organisms, 750 are fishes, accounting for 50 percent of the country's total marine fish species.
Water Resources:
Fujian is rich in water resources, and its annual rainfalls totals 201.1 billion cubic meters. More than 500 rivers in the province have their drainage area of over 50 square kilometers each. The total volume of river runoff stands at 115 billion cubic meters a year on average. The province's theoretical waterpower reserves total 10.46 million kw which can generate 91.6 billion kwh of power annually. There are 1,000 places suitable for building a hydropower station with a generating capacity of over 500 kw. Their combined generating capacity can reach 7.05 million kw and their annual power generation, 32 billion kwh, both ranking first in eastern China. The existing generating capacity accounts for only 30 percent of the province's total potential, leaving big room for development.
Fujian also has rich underground water resources. More than 100 hot springs have been discovered, their water temperatures ranging from 400C to 600C.
Tourist resources:
Fujian is rich in tourism resources, abounding with numerous places of historical and cultural interest, and beautiful scenic spots.
Fujian preserves many cultural sites from the Qin (221-207 BC), Han (206 BC-AD 220), Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. There are numerous ancient temples, pagodas, bridges and castles, as well as former residences of celebrities.
Fujian has a wide variety of navigation relics and religious legacies thanks to its long history of navigation and frequent contacts with the outside world.
There are many beautiful mountains in the province. The famous seaside resorts include Wuyi Mountain, Gushan (Drum Hill) in Fuzhou, Tailao Mountain in east
Fujian and Wanshiyan in Xiamen. The province also has many beautiful beaches, such as the bathing beach on Gulangyu Islet of Xiamen, the Luanwan Beach on Dongshan Island, the Longwangtou Beach at Pingtan and Meizhou Island at Putian. Its numerous rivers offer many picturesque water spots, including the Jiuqu (Nine-Bend) Stream in Wuyi Mountain and Jinhu Lake, the largest artificial lake in
Fujian. Northwest
Fujian is noted for danxia and karst landforms, with countless grotesque rocks and fantastic caves. The Wuyi and Meihua mountain nature reserves preserve vast expanses of virgin forests, with rich fauna and flora resources. These reserves and other scenic resorts are ideal places for enjoying the charms of nature, making holidays and conducting scientific explorations. In addition,
Fujian has a host of gardens, parks and hot springs of different types.
Colorful ethnic customs, unique local cultures and rich products also add attraction to the province's tourism resources.
Currently,
Fujian encompasses two national tourist holiday resorts, nine national scenic spots, four national nature reserves (forest parks), four national-level famous historic and cultural cities, 29 key cultural sites under state protection, 19 provincial-level scenic spots, six provincial tourist economic develop areas, and 204 cultural sites under provincial protection.
Environment and current issues:
Its environment as a whole is improving. Water quality of rivers is generally good, but pollution is serious in certain sections and in rivers and lakes in urban areas. Some reservoirs are suffering from eutrophication and most parts of offshore waters are being polluted by nutrient salts. Air quality is generally fine; smoke from burning coal remains as the dominant pollutant. Noise pollution from traffic and construction is still serious. Radiation environment is generally fine though "white pollution" has yet to be brought under effective control and the danger of pollution from hazardous wastes exists.
Total Population:Fujian had a
Population of about 34.88 million at the end of 2003, an increase of 220,000 from the end of the previous year.
Population growth rate:
The natural
Population growth rate stood at 5.85 per thousand.
Ethnicity:
Fujian is a province where many ethnic groups live in compact communities. According to the fifth
Population census,
Fujian has 48 ethnic groups, with the Han constituting the largest group and the 47 ethnic minority groups, with 580,000 people in total, comprising 1.67 percent of its
Population. The She is the largest ethnic minority group in the province, with a
Population of 350,000, accounting for more than 50 percent of its total
Population nationwide. The number of Hui people exceeds 10,000. Ethnic minority groups in
Fujian are mainly distributed in Ningde, followed by Fuzhou City and Quanzhou City.
Education:
By 2003
Fujian had 64 institutes of higher learning, 592 senior high schools, and 7,064 kindergartens. There are also 77 special schools for the handicapped.
Hometown of overseas Chinese:
Fujian is one of the hometowns of overseas Chinese. The number of
Fujian natives residing abroad totals 8.8 million. They live in more than 90 countries and regions across the world, mainly in Southeast Asia.
Fujian-
Taiwan Ties:
Fujian faces
Taiwan across the sea. The people on the two sides of the Straits are closely linked because they have the same ancestors, speak the same dialect and share the same customs and cultural traditions. People from
Fujian began to move to
Taiwan more than 1,700 years ago. In the 17th century, large numbers of
Fujian people migrated to
Taiwan in order to escape from wars and natural disasters. When Zheng Chenggong, a heroic general, recovered
Taiwan from the Dutch colonialists during the late Ming and early Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, he took with him tens of thousands of
Fujian officers and men and their families to the island. These
Fujian immigrants brought with them production techniques, cultural traditions, native dialect, customs and religious beliefs; they lived and multiplied there generation after generation, making special contributions to the social, economic and cultural development of
Taiwan. According to statistics published in
Taiwan, people of
Fujian origin comprise 80 percent of
Taiwan's 20 million
Population. The number of
Taiwan compatriots living in
Fujian also exceeds 10,000.
Highways:The length of
Fujian's highways totaled 54,876 km at the end of 2003, of which expressways stretch for 727 km.
Waterways:
Fujian has 327 port berths, including 35 deepwater berths catering to 10,000-ton vessels and larger ones. The ports' comprehensive handling capacity exceeds 45 million tons. The Fuzhou and Xiamen ports rank among the nation's top 10 container ports. Motor vessels in operation total 3,530, with a shipping capacity of 1.38 million tons. It's connected by waterway with all ports nationwide, including those in
Hong Kong,
Macao and
Taiwan, and over 60 ports in 40 foreign countries.
Airway:
Fujian has four airports: the Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, Changle International Airport in Fuzhou, Jinjiang Airport in Quanzhou, and Wuyishan Airport in Nanping.
