Overview

Longyan City, bordering Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Quanzhou City in the east, Meizhou City of Guangdong province in the south and Ganzhou City of Jiangxi Province in the west, is an important communication center of Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangxi province. Endowed with rich natural resources, it is a zone of transition and an economic corridor between the coastal area and inland area.

Longyan is a well-known hometown of Hakkas (a sub-group of Han ethnic group, which in ancient times migrated from the north to the south in China) and other overseas Chinese. Minxi County of Longyan city is one of the major origins and concentrated communities of Hakkas. The county, with a long history, is characterized by colorful and distinctive Hakka culture, architecture, and folk customs. Tingzhou, a famous historical and cultural city of China, is reputed as "The Capital of Hakka" and its Tingjiang River is known as "The Mother River of Hakka". The traditional Hakka residential building—Yongding Earth Tower is crowned as "a miracle in the history of world architecture" for its unique style and art. ?Lishi Grand Ancestral Hall, which was built in the 16th ruling year of Emperor Daoguang, Qing dynasty in Shanghang County, is reputed as "The Supreme Headquarters of Family Li in Southeast Asia".? ?

Administrations: Longyan City administers Xinluo District, Zhangping City at the county level and five counties: Changting, Yongding, Shanghang, Wuping and Liancheng; it covers 134 towns (in the form of community offices) and 1902 villages (represented by committees of local residents), with a total population of 2.86 million among whom 234 thousand residents are living in the urban area.