Fuzhou

Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian province on the southeast coast of China, on the Min River near its mouth. Banyan trees planted along its streets since the Song dynasty gave it the nickname Rongcheng, the City of Banyans.

The town began in the 2nd century BC as Ye, the capital of the Minyue kingdom under its king Wuzhu. It received the name Fuzhou in 725 under the Tang dynasty, and in the following centuries it grew into a port for silk and porcelain. In the 1840s it was opened to foreign trade, and clipper ships loaded black tea at its wharves for London. Yan Fu, who translated Western books on science and economics into Chinese, and the writer Bing Xin were born in Fuzhou.

Sanfang Qixiang, a quarter of three lanes and seven alleys from the Tang and Song periods, keeps whitewashed walls and wooden family halls of scholars and officials. Yongquan Temple, on the slopes of Drum Mountain east of the center, was founded in the 10th century and keeps two glazed pagodas of the Song period. The Black Pagoda, a granite tower on Wushan hill, dates from the Tang dynasty. West Lake Park was dug in the 3rd century as a reservoir. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a soup of seafood and meat slow-cooked in a jar of rice wine, was created in a Fuzhou restaurant in the Qing dynasty.

Rockchip, a chip design company based in Fuzhou, makes processors for tablets, set-top boxes and smart displays. Jasmine tea from the city is scented by mixing tea leaves with fresh jasmine blossoms several times. Shoushan stone, a soft colored stone from the hills north of the city, is carved into seals and figures.