Situated on the southeastern coast of China, Fujian, due to waves of migration from other parts of China and the assimilation of numerous foreign ethnic groups, is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces.
Mainly distributed in Ningde, Fuzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian, ethnic minority groups live in compact communities. According to the seventh population census, Fujian has 48 ethnic groups, with the Han constituting the largest group. Of a total population of 41.5 million, approximately 580,000 people belong to 47 ethnic minority groups. The She, an ethnic group scattered over mountainous regions in the north, is the largest ethnic minority group in the province. It has a population of 350,000 in Fujian, accounting for more than 50 percent of its total population nationwide.
As is true of other provinces, the official language in Fujian is Mandarin, which is used for communication between people of different localities. Still, native Fujian peoples converse in their native languages and dialects. Most varieties spoken in Fujian are assigned to a broad Min category. In addition, there are also speakers of Gan Chinese, Wu Chinese and Hakka Chinese across the province.
The region is also known for its strong educational tradition. During the ancient times, many of China's prominent statesmen and scholars came from the province. Of note are the philosopher and historian Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the 17th-century statesman Hong Chengchou as well as the 17th-century military leader Zheng Chenggong.
(Photos via CFP)