Happiness Establishment in the Southeast

Situated in the southeastern of China, Fujian (福建) comprises nine prefecture-level cities, including Fuzhou (福州), Xiamen (廈門), Quanzhou (泉州), Putian (莆田) and the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone (平潭綜合試驗區). It covers 124,000 km² of land area and 136,000 km² of maritime territory, with nearly 42 million population.

Historically known as “Min (閩)”, the province used to have “seven Min tribes” accommodating in the area during the Zhou dynasty, until it was created as a superprefecture “Fujian” in the Song dynasty. This province is mountainous except for some narrow coastal plains, traditionally described as “eight parts mountain, one part water, and one part farmland (八山一水一分田)”. 

Fujian possesses the second-longest coastline in China, featuring a 258 km natural deep-water shoreline. With its maritime heritage, it is one of the earliest foreign trade hubs, being the starting point of Maritime Silk Road in Quanzhou in Song and Yuan dynasties (which was inscribed as a UNESCO heritage in 2021), and serving as the departure point of Zheng He's voyage in Fuzhou.

Besides Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China, Fujian is home to several world heritage sites, such as Fujian Tulou (福建土樓) which comprises of 46 earthen houses constructed between the 15th and 20th centuries; and Kulangsu (鼓浪嶼), which is a tiny island with a mixture of architectural styles including Veranda Colonial and Amoy Deco Style.

Mount Wuyi (武夷山) is where the most expensive rock tea “Da Hong Pao (大紅袍)” founded, with a few original bushes remain. Fujian is the second-biggest raw tea output and the highest total tea industry value in China. On the other hand, Fujian cuisine is one of the Eight Great Cuisines. Traditional snacks like Fuzhou fish balls, Oh Chien and Lumpia should not be missed.

Separated by the Taiwan Strait, the narrowest distance between Fujian and Taiwan is 126 km from Pingtan Island to Taiwan Island. While the official language of China is Mandarin, Min (or Hokkien) is one of the seven major dialect groups. Yet, Min is further divided into sub-dialects. Southern Min was brought to Taiwan during the 17th century by Han settlers from China.

With over 20 million diaspora over the world, Fujian is one of the most famous hometowns of overseas Chinese. I guess either it is a way to chase happiness, or to spread happiness…

Three tenths are fated by Heaven.

(三分天注定)

Seven tenths depend on your mettle.

(七分靠打拼)

You have to fight to win.

(愛拼才會贏)

——Yeh Hsien-hsiu, Effort is the Only Road to Success