Wenzhou

Wenzhou (pronounced ; Wenzhounese: Yuziou �y^33–11 tɕiɤu^33–32 ), historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China. Wenzhou is located at the extreme south east of Zhejiang Province with its borders connecting to Lishui on the west, Taizhou on the north, and Fujian to the south. It is surrounded by mountains, the East China Sea, and 436 islands, while its lowlands are almost entirely along its East China Sea coast, which is nearly in length. Most of Wenzhou's area is mountainous as almost 76 percent of its surface area is classified as mountains and hills. It is said that Wenzhou has 7/10 mountains, 1/10 water, and 2/10 farmland. At the time of the 2010 Chinese census, 3,039,500 people lived in Wenzhou's urban area; the area under its jurisdiction (which includes three satellite cities and six counties) held a population of 9,122,100 of which 31.16% are non-local residents from outside of Wenzhou.

The city, then known as Yungkia (, ''Yǒngjiā''), was a prosperous foreign treaty port, which remains well-preserved today. It is situated in a mountainous region and, as a result, has been isolated for most of its history from the rest of the country, making the local culture and language very distinct not only from the rest of China but from neighbouring areas as well. The city is also the native land of many emigrants to Europe and the United States, with many of these Wenzhounese emigrants being entrepreneurs who start restaurants, retail and wholesale businesses in their adopted countries. Wenzhou people make up a large number of ethnic Chinese residents of Italy, where in some regions such as Tuscany, they comprise 90% of all Chinese residents. Significant concentrations of Wenzhounese people can also be found across New York City as well as in France and Spain.

History

Ancient history

Wenzhou has a history which traces back to about 2500 BC, when it became known for its pottery production as one of the cities of origin of celadon in ancient China.

Wenzhou was the capital of the ancient Dong'ou Kingdom which existed from 191 BC until it was conquered by Minyue Kingdom in 138 BC.

Imperial China

In the early second century BC, shortly after the destruction of the Qin dynasty, military and political leader Zou Yao () of Wenzhou helped the emperor Gaozu of Han, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, defeat the prominent warlord Xiang Yu of the Qin Dynasty. After the victory, emperor Hui of Han, the second emperor of the Han dynasty named Zhou Yao the King of Dong'ou (Wenzhou), and under the administration of Emperor Hui, Wenzhou became the capital of the Dong'ou Kingdom in the modern-day area of southern Zhejiang.

Around 760AD, the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of Tang first used the current name of Wenzhou because of the city's mild weather.

The city walls were built in the tenth century, and the seven gates were erected in 1598.

Modern era

Throughout its history, Wenzhou's traditional economic role has been as a port giving access to the mountainous interior of southern Zhejiang Province. In early European sources, the name Wenzhou- Fu or -Foo was often transcribed Ouen-tcheou-fou or Wen-tcheou after the accounts of French-speaking missionaries. In 1876, Wenzhou was opened for tea exports, but no foreign settlement was ever established there. Between 1937 and 1942, during the Second Sino-Japanese War (i.e., World War II), Wenzhou achieved importance as one of the few ports still under Chinese control. It declined in the later years of the war, but began to recover after coastal trade along the Zhejiang coast was re-established in 1955.

Fengshui of Wenzhou

Wenzhou is the only city in China designed by Guo Pu (), the father of the Fengshui philosophical system. During the Jin Dynasty, Guo Pu organised Wenzhou on the basis of the Fengshui philosophical system along with the Twenty-Eight Mansions, and the Five Elements. These philosophies develop and manage architecture and geography as a whole in metaphoric terms of "invisible forces" that unite the universe, earth, and humanity together.

Throughout its history, Wenzhou has avoided numerous militant activities that were originally set out to invade the city of Wenzhou. However, none of them were successful, and this protection is concluded to be the result of the Fengshui development of the city.. During the Northern Song Dynasty, when the Fangla Revolution took place in the now Zhejiang province, the invading army surrounded Wenzhou for over 40 days, but the mountainous isolation blocked the army's movement and the army ended up retreating.

Wenzhou is still considered to possess the best Feng Shui conditions and nature of all the Chinese cities. Other cities considered to possess excellent Fengshui nature are Beijing, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Kunming, Hengyang, and Shenzhen. However, none of these cities is designed entirely on the basis of philosophy of Fengshui or designed by the father of Fengshui, Guo Pu. People from all over China usually refer to the accomplishments and influence of Wenzhounese as a result of Wenzhou's Fengshui development by Guo Pu.

Guo Pu

When Guo Pu climbed to the top of West Guo Mountain () in Wenzhou, he saw the range of mountains of Wenzhou shaped as a dipper and the city itself shaped as a key. Wenzhou is still nicknamed the "Dipper city" based on the popular geographical saying "mountains as dipper, city as key" (). Legend has it that during the time when Wenzhou was being established and developed, a white deer was seen in the city with a flower in its mouth, therefore Wenzhou is also known as "Deer City" (). Today, the Lucheng District is the name of downtown Wenzhou and the White Deer theater located at downtown is the most popular theater among the locals .

Guo Pu is honoured today by the renaming of West Guo Mountain, where he stood to observe the city, into Guo Gong Mountain. At the bottom of Guo Gong Mountain, a temple was also built and named Guo Gong Temple. In 2003, the local government constructed a statue of Guo Pu in downtown Wenzhou.

Geography

With jurisdiction over four districts, two county-level cities and five counties, Wenzhou covers a land area of and sea area of . The population of the prefectural level city is 9.12 million including 2.30 million urban residents, divided among 3 county-level cities and 4 districts.

Most of Wenzhou's landscape is mountainous, with many mountain tops reaching altitudes in excess of , for example in the Yandang Mountains, a coastal mountain range dominating the eastern part of prefecture. Another dominating landscape element is the Ou River, the largest river in Wenzhou prefecture. There are some coastal plains, notably around the mouth of the Ou (where the city proper of Wenzhou is located), the Nanxi River, a tributary of the Ou, and further south, around the mouth of the Feiyun River (in Rui'an, a county-level city). Coastal plains are used intensively for agriculture but also host much of the population and industry.

The long coastline gives the city abundant marine resources and has many islands. Dongtou, one of the districts in Wenzhou, has also been called the "County of One Hundred Islands." Dongtou County was renamed as Dongtou District in September 2015 following the State Council-sanctioned administrative region adjustments.

Wenzhou boasts wonderful landscapes with rugged mountains and tranquil waters, including three state-level scenic spots, namely the Yandang Mountains, the Nanxi River and the Baizhangji Fall-Feiyun Lake, and two national nature reserves, the Wuyanling Ridge and the Nanji Islands

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