Quanzhou, a prominent city of Fujian Province, is located in southeast. It consists of four districts (Licheng, Fengze, Luojiang, and Quangang) and administrates three county-level cities (Jinjiang, Shishi, and Nan’an), five counties (Hui’an, Anxi, Yongchun, Dehua, and Jinmen) and an economic & technological development zone (Quanzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone). The total area reaches 11,015 square km and its population is 7,620,000 excluding Jinmen County. 98.2 percent of them are Han people. The minority nationalities account for 1.8 percent. Putonghua is the common language in Quanzhou, and the local people also speak Minnan Dialect, which is quite difficult to understand.
Quanzhou City features multiple terrains. It has rolling hills, river valleys, plains, and basins. It has 455 mountains, whose elevation is above 1000 meters. Daiyun Mountain, the main mountain range inside Quanzhou City, stretches from the northeast to the southwest. Its chief mount has an elevation of 1,856 meters. Quanzhou is close to the sea and it has four harbors, 14 ports and 208 islands. The total length of its winding coastline is about 421 km. The climate in Quanzhou varies. The region to the northwest of Daiyun Mountain features a warm climate throughout the year. And the region to the southeast of Daiyun Mountain features a hot and moist climate with short-term drought. The average annual temperature is between 19.5 degrees centigrade to 21 degrees centigrade. Quanzhou has sufficient rainfall and sunshine and is rich in water. About 35 rivers go through the city. Therefore, agriculture and fishery develop well in Quanzhou. Oolong tea, longan, and orange are largely planted in Quanzhou.
Quanzhou is among the first 24 famous historical & cultural cities acknowledged by the State Council. With a long history, it has got a solid cultural foundation, which speeds up the development of tourism. It has 20 prominent historical sites directly under state-level protection, 40 sites under-provincial level protect, and more than 600 historical sites under municipal or county level protection. It has the oldest mosque of China in existence. It has Manichaean Buddha Statue, which is unique in the world. Meanwhile, Quanzhou is rich in intangible historical and cultural heritage, which contributes to the beauty of the city. Traditional operas handed down from generation to generation have been well protected including Liyuan Opera, Gaojia Opera, Dacheng Opera, and Jiali Opera, etc. Some of them are widely known both at home and abroad, such as Nanyin, the oldest musical form of China in existence, and Marionette Opera, etc. Besides, as the birth land of South Shaolin Wushu, Quanzhou has flourishing Wushu culture. Abundant human landscape, folk custom of local color, and beautiful and fantastic natural landscape make Quanzhou an attractive international tourist city.
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