We have visited Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou (Canton), which are in the south. Today we will see the coastal cities that are in between there and Shanghai. North of Hong Kong but south of Shanghai.
This area is so important because it is a logical place for China to do so much of the trading that it does by ship. This stretch of coast was the location of the first Special Economic Zones that were designated by Deng Xiaoping. Possibly the most visible Special Economic Zone today is the Lujiazui area of Shanghai, but that was not designated as a Special Economic Zone until later.In a Special Economic Zone trading can be done with other countries without requiring the express permission of the government. More free-enterprise is permitted and foreigners are allowed ownership and investment.
China has traded by ship for a very long time. The fabled Silk Road was not only by land. Much of the trading along the road was done by sea. These cities along the coast were mostly walled because piracy and raiding by sea was an ever-present menace. This area is on the mainland directly opposite Taiwan.
The first part of this coast that we will visit, the southern part, is in Fujian Province. In this province there is yet another way to speak Chinese, aside from Mandarin and Cantonese, the dialect here is Fujianese.
Xiamen is an island city on the coast that has been designated as a Special Economic Zone. A lot of shipping is done from this city. This was one of the first Special Economic Zones in China. The first five images of Xiamen are from Google Street View.
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
https://www.google.com/maps/@24.4970245,118.1828842,3a,75y,97.5h,108.94t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNA4W4RyrhIyjOVglJrGBs3Uv7iSGcf5vFJFtAN!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNA4W4RyrhIyjOVglJrGBs3Uv7iSGcf5vFJFtAN%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-18.941883-ya298.64285-ro-0-fo100!7i6912!8i3456
Regardless of how modern these cities look, they are actually very old. Here is some traditional Chinese architecture in Licheng. The first four images are from Google Street View.
Regardless of how modern these cities look, they are actually very old. Here is some traditional Chinese architecture in Licheng. The first four images are from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@24.9082581,118.5857412,3a,75y,91.5h,104.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMbegdGnFYXAYXLYU6jYXZUOSJEMd-WM99v4Cl2!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMbegdGnFYXAYXLYU6jYXZUOSJEMd-WM99v4Cl2%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.933861-ya65.50001-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120
This is the coastal city of Quanzhou. The first three images of Quanzhou are from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@24.8744295,118.6351763,3a,75y,271.5h,92.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPvn4UwWiWH44Pwz9edlNBxaey__PeILVT2vk0!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPvn4UwWiWH44Pwz9edlNBxaey__PeILVT2vk0%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya141.5-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352
The largest city in Fujian province is Fuzhou. This is the central part of the city. The first four images of central Fuzhou are from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.0558828,119.3337558,3a,75y,124.5h,104.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNzla0A927i5MLS6j43M-mMdsdNzk2aSzn3c82K!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNzla0A927i5MLS6j43M-mMdsdNzk2aSzn3c82K%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.933861-ya249.5-ro0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120
Here is more of central Fuzhou.
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.0868464,119.2926077,3a,75y,112.5h,101t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPtZsoTuYNiJNwr02iXOkcM4XNZymvi4kmMOJAc!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPtZsoTuYNiJNwr02iXOkcM4XNZymvi4kmMOJAc%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-11-ya111.5-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120
The following four images, from Google Street View, are of traditional China in Fuzhou.
This is Minhou, to the north of Fuzhou. The first two images are from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.1446333,119.1467445,3a,75y,169.5h,92.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOEXnpUdxIIJFDJ2S0SwwFF8BjZLeQptKIPZD3T!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOEXnpUdxIIJFDJ2S0SwwFF8BjZLeQptKIPZD3T%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya169.5-ro-0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688
Moving northward along the coast, beyond Fujian province, we come to Wenzhou. The first two images are from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@28.0149293,120.6535481,3a,75y,46.5h,92.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPQCxUnrLv9TweZRPnCmxBYbhhEbW9Ex2zR6ec5!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPQCxUnrLv9TweZRPnCmxBYbhhEbW9Ex2zR6ec5%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya342.5-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120
Finally, at the end of our journey northward along the coast of southern China, we come to the area of Taizhou. This is in the Yangtze Delta, one of the great early centers of civilization. Shanghai is also in the Yangtze Delta. The first two images of Taizhou are from Google Street View.
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