Fuzhou

Fuzhou (Chinese: 福州; formerly Foochow) is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (lit. East of Fujian) linguistic and cultural area.

Fuzhou's core counties lie on the north (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 prefectures. Its population was 7,115,370 inhabitants as of the 2010 census, of whom 4,408,076 inhabitants are urban representing around 61.95%, while rural population is at 2,707,294 representing around 38.05 percent.

Etymology and names

In older publications, the name "Fuzhou" (福州) was variously romanized as Foochow, Fuchow, Fūtsu, Fuh-Chow, Hock Chew or Hokchew.

The Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties, a Chinese geographical treatise published in the 9th century, says that Fuzhou's name came from Mount Futo, a mountain located northwest of the city. The mountain's name was then combined with -zhou, meaning "settlement" or "prefecture", in a manner similar to many other Chinese cities. During the Warring States period, area of Fuzhou was sometimes referred to as Ye (Chinese: 冶) and Fuzhou was incorporated into China proper during Qin dynasty. The city's name was changed numerous times between the 3rd and 9th centuries before finally settling on Fuzhou in 948.

Fuzhou dialect

The Fuzhou dialect (福州話, Foochow Romanized:  Hók-ciŭ-uâ ), also known as the Foochow dialect, Hoochew, Fuzhounese (福州語,Hók-ciŭ-ngṳ̄), or Fuzhouhua, is the standard dialect of Min Dong, which is a branch of Min Chinese spoken mainly in the eastern part of Fujian Province. Native speakers also call it Bàng-uâ (平話), meaning the language spoken in everyday life. In Singapore and Malaysia, the variety is known as Hokchiu in Min Nan, Hujiu which is the Min Dong pronunciation of Fuzhou.

Like many other varieties of Chinese, the Fuzhou dialect is dominated by monosyllabic morphemes which carry lexical tones, with mainly analytic syntax. Compared with the other Chinese dialects, the Fuzhou dialect and the other Min Dong dialects are much more similar to the Min Nan dialects than to other varieties, although the two groups are still not mutually intelligible. Both Min Dong and Min Nan dialects are sometimes both called the Hokkien dialect.

Centered in Fuzhou City, the Fuzhou dialect covers eleven cities and counties: Fuzhou, Pingnan, Gutian, Luoyuan, Minqing, Lianjiang (including Matsu), Minhou, Changle, Yongtai, Fuqing and Pingtan. Fuzhou dialect is also the second local language in northern and middle Fujian cities and counties, like Nanping, Shaowu, Shunchang, Sanming and Youxi.

China

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a sovereign state in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a one-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces; five autonomous regions; four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing); two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau); and claims sovereignty over Taiwan.

Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, China is the world's second-largest country by land area, and either the third or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the method of measurement. China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes and the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometres (9,000 mi) long, and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas.