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Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Sanming, Nanping, Longyan, Ningde, Putian, Zhangzhou, Wuyishan, Jianou, Dehua, Shaxian, Changting, Yongan, Lianjiang, Pingtan Did you know Fujian ranks first in China for forest coverage? You might think it’s only natural. Fujian is “eight parts mountains, one part water, one part farmland”—lots of hills, lots of trees. But here’s what you might not know: in 1934, Fujian’s forest coverage was only 18%. 18% is less than Beijing today (about 44%). ...

Guangze, Shaowu, Shunchang, Jian’ou, Nanping, Futun Creek, Fuling, Zhima, Nakou, Shaikou, Weimin, Yangkou, Dabugang, Eighteen Rapids Can you imagine—a river that once sustained an entire region? Stretching 285 kilometers, the Futun Creek flows through Guangze, Shaowu, and Shunchang before merging into the Min River at Nanping. Before roads and railways, it was the sole artery connecting the mountainous interior of northern Fujian with the outside world. In 1780, during the Qianlong era, the Shaowu section alone had 12 docks, with over 100 boats passing daily. ...

Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan’an, Huian, Yongchun, Anxi, Tong’an, Fuqing, Putian, Yongding, Xianyou, Datian, Changting, Shaowu, Mawei, Gulangyu Have you ever been to school? To most Chinese today, the question sounds absurd. But a hundred years ago, in Fujian, being able to attend school was a luxury. The people who changed that were a group of Fujianese living far from home. One Man’s Obsession In 1894, the 20th year of Guangxu’s reign. A man named Tan Kah Kee from Tong’an established a small school called the “Tizhai Academy” in Jimei. ...

In 1517, Lin Zhao’en was born into an elite family in Putian. His grandfather, Lin Fu (1474-1544), earned his Jinshi degree in 1502 and rose to become the Vice Minister of War and Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi. Lin was a child prodigy, passing the local civil service exam to become a Xiucai at age 15 in 1532. However, a pivotal shift occurred in 1546. At age 30, frustrated by his failure in higher-level imperial examinations and disillusioned by the rigid Neo-Confucianism of the time, he burned his scholar’s robes and abandoned the traditional career path. He turned his focus to Buddhist metaphysics and Taoist longevity practices, seeking truth outside the Confucian canon. ...

Fuzhou, Sanming, Youxi, Jianyang, Shaxian, Longhai, Xianyou, Zhangpu, Lianjiang, Minhou, Nan’an, Tong’an, Sanya (Hainan), Vietnam (Champa) The rice in your bowl might have come from a seed that changed the fate of a nation. In 1988, inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, a middle-aged scientist from Sanming received the highest honor—the First Class National Science and Technology Progress Award. His name was Xie Hua’an. The variety he held in his hands was called “Shanyou 63.” ...

In December 1930, the Shaowu-Guangze highway opened. Zheng Da Ti stood by the roadside, watching the first Ford truck pass. He knew the transportation landscape of Northern Fujian was about to change forever. Before this, commodity flow in Northern Fujian relied entirely on the Futun Creek river system—the treacherous “Eighteen Rapids” that barely functioned during dry seasons. Ox carts and human porters offered efficiency so low it was despairing. The “Da Ti Motor Vehicle Passenger and Freight Transport Station” Zheng founded was one of the few private transport institutions in Northern Fujian to operate its own fleet. Starting with two Ford trucks, expanding to five by 1932, then converting to charcoal-burning vehicles during the war—over twenty years, he sustained the “lifeline” connecting the mountainous interior to the outside world. ...

In the 16th-century global trade network, the Jiulong River was the “capillary” connecting the Ming Empire to global silver flows. After analyzing 16 historical sources including the Wanli Zhangzhou Prefecture Chronicle and Zhangzhou Agricultural Reclamation Chronicle, I discovered that Zhangzhou’s water system was not merely a natural river network—it was a sophisticated “hydraulic machine” composed of natural channels, artificial dikes, and monolithic stone bridges. From the original waterways of 1381 to the crisscrossing dike-fields and stone bridges of the late Wanli era, this system transformed from a “natural landscape” into a “global logistics platform.” ...

Geographic Connections Shouning County, Xiadang Village, Xixi, Kingdi Township, Luanfeng Bridge, Yangmeizhou Bridge, Wan’an Bridge (Shouning), Qiancheng Bridge, Aoyang Town, Minjiang River, Jiaoxi. II. “No Bridge Is Not Flying”: The Geographic Landscape of Late Ming Shouning Shouning, located deep within the Jiufeng Mountains at the Fujian-Zhejiang border, formed a unique bridge culture due to its position at the “Peak of Ten Thousand Mountains.” During his tenure, the Ming Dynasty literary giant Feng Menglong left precious digital records. ...

The stones of Quanzhou speak. From the foundations of Yacheng in 722 AD to the Mani Buddha in 1339 AD and modern digital modeling, these granite carvings tell a global history. When I cross-referenced the Quanzhou Architectural Records and Quanzhou Religious Records, I discovered: these silent stones carry the pinnacle craftsmanship of ancient Chinese artisans in the maritime age. Geographic Links Cao’an at Huabiao Mountain (Jinjiang, world’s only Mani Light Buddha) Jiuri Mountain (Nan’an, Song Dynasty wind-praying inscriptions) Kaiyuan Temple (West Street, Zhenguo and Renshou Pagodas) Luoyang Bridge (Spanning Luoyang River) Anping Bridge (Longest ancient cross-sea stone bridge) Tianhou Temple (Southern city, Minnan stone carving showcase) ...

Geographic Links Huabiao Mountain (Also known as Wanshan Peak, located in Luoshan, Jinjiang, the site of Cao’an) Cao’an (A Manichaean temple founded in the Song Dynasty, housing the world’s only Mani stone statue) Longquan Well (Located below Cao’an, the water source for monks, featuring Song Dynasty inscriptions) Jinjiang River (The river surrounding Huabiao Mountain, a historical water route for believers from Zayton to Cao’an) Houzhu Port (The core foreign trade district of ancient Quanzhou, the entry point for Manichaeism from Persia) I. Origins: From Persian Light to the Localization of Zayton Cao’an Manichaeism, founded by the Persian prophet Mani in the 3rd century AD, centers on the “Two Principles and Three Moments”—the ultimate struggle between Light and Darkness. Over centuries, it found its final sanctuary in Quanzhou’s Zayton Port, undergoing a profound local transformation. ...