Contents
Fuzhou
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
福州
Hók-ciŭ
— Prefecture-level city —
福州市
Black and White Pagoda of Fuzhou;
traditional Foochow-style architecture: gate of a mansion, fireproof wall and facade decoration in the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys in Fuzhou;
Nickname(s): 榕城 (Banyan City), 三山 (Three Hills)
Coordinates: 119°18′23″E / 26.07611°N 119.30639°E / 26.07611; 119.30639
Country China
Province Fujian
County-level divisions 13
Government
- CPC Secretary Yuan Rongxiang
Area
- Prefecture-level city 12,000 km2 (4,633.2 sq mi)
Population (2009)
- Prefecture-level city 6,830,000
- Density 569.2/km2 (1,474.1/sq mi)
- Urban 2,710,000
- Metro Density 775.7/km2 (2,009/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code 350000
Area code(s) 591
GDP (2008) CNY 228.4 billion
- per capita CNY 33,615
License plate prefixes 闽A
Local dialect Fuzhou dialect of Min Dong
Website www.fuzhou.gov.cn
Fuzhou (
Hokchew (help·info) in the native Foochow language and Fuzhou (help·info) in Mandarin Chinese), Chinese: 福州; pinyin: Fúzhōu; Wade-Giles: Fu-chou; Foochow Romanized: Hók-ciŭ; EFEO: Fou-Tcheou; also seen as Foochow, Fuchow, Fuh-chau, Fuh-Chow, Hock Chew or Hokchew in earlier Western documents, is the capital and the largest municipality of Fujian (福建) province, People's Republic of China.
The city is also referred to as Rongcheng (榕城; Foochow Romanized: Ṳ̀ng-siàng) which means "city of banyan trees".
Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (闽东, lit. East of Fujian) linguistic and cultural area.
Fuzhou's core counties lie on the north (or left) bank of the estuary of Fujian's largest river, the Min River. All along its northern border lies Ningde, and Ningde's Gutian County lies upriver. Fuzhou's counties south of the Min border on Putian, Quanzhou, Sanming and Nanping municipalities.
Culture
The City of Banyans is distinct from the mainstream inland cultures of central China, and in details varies from other areas of Maritime China
Language and art
Besides Mandarin Chinese, local residents of Fuzhou (Fuzhou people) also speak Fuzhou dialect, a language that is considered to be the standard form of the Min Dong dialect.
Min opera, also known as Fuzhou drama, is one of the major operas in Fujian Province. It enjoys popularity in Fuzhou area, and neighboring parts of Fujian such as the northeast and northwest areas where the Fuzhou dialect is spoken, as well as in Taiwan and the Malay Archipelago. It became a fixed opera in the early 20th century. There are more than 1000 plays of Min opera, most of which originate from folk tales, historical novels, or ancient legends, including such traditional plays as "Making Seal", "The Purple Jade Hairpin" and "Switching Fairy Peach with Litchi".
Religion
The two traditional mainstream religions practiced in Fuzhou are Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Traditionally, many people practice both religions simultaneously. The city is also home to many Buddhist monasteries/Taoist temples and Buddhist monks.
Islam and Christianity are practised to a lesser degree.
Apart from mainstream religions, a number of religious worship sites of various local religions, are situated in the streets and lanes of Fuzhou.
The origins of local religion can be dated back centuries. These diverse religions incorporated elements such as gods and doctrines from other religions and cultures, such as totem worship and traditional legends. For example, Monkey King, originated to monkey worship among local ancients, gradually came to embody the God of Wealth in Fuzhou after the novel Journey to the West was issued in Ming dynasty.
As the most popular religion in the Min River Valley, the worship of Lady Linshui (临水夫人) is viewed as one of the three most influential local religions in Fujian, the other two being the worship of Mazu (妈祖) and Baosheng Dadi (保生大帝).
Local cuisine
Fuzhou cuisine is one of the four traditional cooking styles of Fujian cuisine, which in turn is of the eight Chinese regional cuisines. Dishes are light but flavourful, with particular emphasis on umami taste, known in Chinese cooking as "xiānwèi" (traditional Chinese: 鮮味; simplified Chinese: 鲜味), as well as retaining the original flavour of the main ingredients instead of masking them. In Fuzhou cuisine, the taste is light compared to that of some other Chinese cooking styles, and often have a mixed sweet and sour taste. Soup, served as a indispensable dish in meals, is cooked in various ways with local seasonal fresh vegetables and seafood. Cultural snack food is also an important part of Fuzhou culture. Production of raw materials according to classification can be divided into many classes: Powder, starch, dry fruit, meat and seafood, etc., especially rice, beans, sugar, most famous as the main raw material. The red, white rice cakes during the Chinese New Year, fifteenth of the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival of the dumplings, the winter solstice of the twist, are the traditional foods enjoyed by the masses of Fuzhou. In recent years, poly-Spring Garden Hotel in Fuzhou, "Tai Chi taro" Aetna building, Hot Deals Forum's "Ding edge paste", "meatball," "Fish Balls", "meat Yan bian" and received the "Chinese Famous Snacks "title.
Special crafts
Bodiless lacquerwares (脱胎漆器), paper umbrellas (纸伞) and horn combs (角梳) are the "Three Treasures" of Fuzhou traditional arts. In addition, bodiless lacquerwares, cork pictures (软木画) and Shoushan stone sculptures (寿山石雕) are called "Three Superexcellences" of Fuzhou.
Gender roles
Fuzhou males are perceived in the rest of Fujian province as being rather subservient in sex-relations, the stereotypical image being that of a husband following his wife around a shopping area, holding many bags. This has led to the Fujianese maxim (or cultural rule of thumb) "Don't marry a Fuzhou woman".[1] Whatever the truth of these perceptions, Fuzhou males do seem rather more given than men in other cities to compensatory counter-type behaviour towards female strangers, such as cutting queues, stealing taxis and even flashing, for which the local term is liuniaoxia (遛鸟侠, from liuniao, to take the (pet) bird out for a stroll (ie to the park, as done by retirees all over China) + xia, action hero).[2]
History
The exact foundation date of the city is not known. The province's pre-Han history is sketchy: it is known that the Yue Kingdom (in present-day Zhejiang, to the north) fell to that of the Chu in 306 BC; the legend is that a branch of the Yue royal family fled south to found upon the natives the reign of the Minyue (闽越). During the ensuing century of independence from central China, their major centre was not here but far up the Min watershed in Wuyishan City.
The first city wall of Fuzhou was built in 202 BC when Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, gave permission to Wuzhu (无诸), the king of Minyue, to set up his capital in Fuzhou. The city was named Ye (冶), meaning "the beautiful". The city name has changed many times, but the city itself has been continuously occupied since 202 BC and has never suffered major destruction by wars or natural disasters.
The Minyue was annexed by Han in 110 BC.
Han Dynasty to Song Dynasty
