Fuqing, Fujian

Chinese Name: 福清 (fú qīng)
Population: 1,366,853
Area: 2,430 square kilometers (938 square miles)
Location: on the southeast coast of Fujian Province, southeast China
Area Code: 0591
Zip Code: 350300
GDP (2018): CNY110.21 billion (USD 16.7 billion)   

Fuqing China lies on the southeast coast of Fujian Province, to the south of Fuzhou City and west on Putian City, also the closest mainland city to Taiwan Strait. It is under jurisdiction of Fujian Province but managed by Fuzhou City. The coastal location makes it a good place to taste fantastic seafood and enjoy beautiful island scenery. Famous for producing beach shoes and plastic inflatable toys, Fuqing is a well-developed county-level city, being selected as one of the top 100 Chinese counties in 2019. Besides the good economy, it owns the largest nuclear power plant in Fujian Province.   

As a coastal city, Fuqing Fujian offers a variety of tourism options. You can not only see island scenery, the forest parks, ancient bridges, ancestral buildings and old temples all worth a visit. 2-3 days are necessary to cover all the highlights of the city.

The first stop you can visit Shizhu Mountain, a Taoism mountain famous for strange rocks and elegant bamboo. It’s also one of the best 10 attractions in Fujian Province. Another attraction that should be put into your bucket list is undoubtedly Dongbi Island, where you can taste fresh seafood and enjoy the sunrise and sunset. Sometimes there will be folk-custom activities held there like flying Kongming lanterns. It is worth a try to experience the local culture and customs. Mt. Lingshi National Forest Park is an ideal place for hiking because of the beautiful scenery and primitive forests. If you want to visit an ancient temple in Fuqing Fujian, then you cannot miss the South Shaolin Temple, which is a counterpart of the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province. If you are interested in picking strawberries and enjoying some gardens, Tiansheng Farm Village is a good place to visit. If your time is enough, the Ye’s Ancestral Temple and Longjiang Bridge are also arresting spots.

The best time to visit Fuqing is autumn and early winter, from October to November. Near to the East China Sea, Fuqing has a subtropical monsoon climate so that it is hot and rainy in summer, mild and drier in winter. The average temperatures of October and November in Fuqing are about 25℃ (77 ℉) and 21℃ (70℉), neither too hot nor too cold.

In the spring of Fuqing, March to April, it rains very frequently but most is light rain, and the temperature changes greatly. In May and June, it's the rainy season and always has rainstorms. As for the summer, July to September, it is very hot and humid and the highest temperature can be over 35C. Summer is also the typhoon season when it is better to avoid visiting. 

Fuqing is about 60 km from the capital city of Fujian Province, Fuzhou City, so travelers can take a flight to Fuzhou Changle Airport and then take 9 direct shuttle buses to Fuqing which has no airport. It is also easy to access from Fuzhou by bus for about 1 hour to Fuqing. High speed train is also one of the main transportation ways. More than 20 pairs of bullet trains are operated between Fuzhou and Fuqing, taking less than 30 minutes for a single way.

As for transportation within the city area, no metro is available and the main mean of transportation depends on buses and taxis. The bus line 823 passes through the city center, very convenient for travelers to get to the downtown area. It charges CNY8 for the first 3 km of Fuqing taxi and CNY1.8/ km for subsequent distance. Of course, you can also use the Chinese cab-hailing app DiDi.

The best Fuqing food to try includes the 4 traditional snacks (Fried Oyster Pancake, Kompyang, Taro Cake and Fuqing Fish Ball), Gaoshan Mountain Goat, and Fish Head en Casserole.

Fried Oyster Pancake
The traditional snack is cooked by rice milk and soybean milk mixed with the filling of chopped oyster, lean meat cabbage and nori. Then fried in oil to golden on both sides, it boasts the crispy outer skin and moist flavor of filling.

Kompyang
It is a kind of sesame-seed roasted bread in hemispherical shape, being a little bit like a hamburger but far more crispy.