Sanming ( zh, s=, p=Sānmíng,

Foochow Romanized Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Mindong linguistic and cultural region. Fuzhou's population was 8 ...

: Săng-mìng), also known as Minzhong ( zh, s=闽中 , t=閩中 , 中=Mǐnzhōng , links=no), is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

in western

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

province, China. It borders

Nanping Nanping; historically known as Yanping ( zh, s=延平, poj=Iân-pêng is a third-tier prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province of China, Province, China, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde to the east, Sanming to the sou ...

City to the north,

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

City to the east,

Quanzhou Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, wi ...

City to the southeast,

Longyan Longyan ( zh, s=龙岩 , t=龍巖, p=, poj=Lêng-nâ or Liong-nâ, l=dragon rock; Hakka: ''Liùng-ngàm''; Longyan dialect: ''Liông-nâ iɔŋ˩nã˩') is a prefecture-level city in south-western Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong t ...

City to the south and the province of

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

to the west. Sanming lies between Wuyi and Daiyun mountains.

Geography and climate

The prefecture level city of Sanming has a total area of , of which 82 percent of this extension is composed of mountainous areas, 8.3 percent of

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

and 9.7 percent of water or other type of terrain. Sanming is well known by its beautiful nature landscape with different landforms, including unique

Danxia Landform The Danxia landform () is a set of landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "consist of a red Bed (geology), bed characterized by steep cliffs". It is a unique type of petrography, petrographic geomorphology found in Chi ...

and abundant

Karst topography Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

. The most famous spots include global

geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which Sustainability, sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant s ...

Taining Golden Lake in Taining County, Yuhua Cave in Jiangle County and Goose Cave in Ninghua County.

Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, Sanming has a population of 2,503,338, 70,687 inhabitants less than in 2000 Census (the average annual population growth for the period 2000-2010 was of -0.28%). The emigration of population from Sanming to other areas of Fujian is a constant process, even encouraged by government politics since the 1960s.

Administration

The

of Sanming administers 2

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, 1

county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

, 8

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. The information here presented is in km² and using data from 2010 Census.

History

In 1940 Sanyuan County was established. In 1956, Mingxi and Sanyuan Counties were combined to Sanming County, then in 1960 it was replaced with Sanming city.

Environment and tourism

Sanming has four well preserved and protected National Parks. The city was labeled as the most "green" city of the most "green" province in China. Da Jin Hu, which is the most famous tourist spot in Sanming, is also well known as Taining Gorden Lake

Geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which Sustainability, sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant s ...

marked by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. The Geopark is famous for its unique

. The lake situated inside Taining County at the south end of Wuyi Mountain is the major State-level place of scenic beauty with the length of 60-plus kilometres and water area of more than 50 thousand mu. The best tour season of Taining Jinhu Lake is from April to October each year. Besides, there are quite a number of places of historic interest and scenic beauty which include the State-level Taining Jinhu Lake, Yong-an Taoyuan Cave--------Linying Stone Forest, and the provincial level Jiangle Yuhua Cave, Sha Xian Qixian Cave, Ninghua Tian-er Cave and Meilie Ruiyun Mountain in Sanming. The natural reserves in Jiangle Longxi mountain, Xingkou Geshikao, Shaxian Nanmu Forest and Yong-an Tianbao Rock have been well known for the rare animals. The ancient architectural structure in Taining, Shibi Village, the originating place of the Hakkas in Ninghua and the birthplace of Zhu Xi in Youxi have all been noticeable both in China and overseas. Yong-an Taoyuan Cave, situated by Yan River on the north of Yong-an City, is a major State-level place of scenic beauty with an area of 10 kilometres. Linying Stone Forest, a marvellous spectacle located in Dahu Village northwest of Yong-an City, is a State-level major place of scenic beauty with a total area of . The architectural structure group built in the ancient Ming Dynasty situated at the center of the urban district of Taining County is a State-level cultural relics under protection, having a high value in studying the ancient Chinese architecture, especially that in the Ming Dynasty. The city is served by Sanming Shaxian Airport. Sanming University is the sole university in Sanming.

Cuisine

Local food style in Sanming City normally includes various snacks especially the famous Sha County Snacks. Sha County snack is one of well-known snack styles in China, which can be found in hundreds of cities around mainland China.

Sha County Shaxian District (), formerly Sha County, is a District (China), District of Sanming, Fujian, Fujian Province, China, People's Republic of China. Shaxian District is the hometown of Shaxian delicacies, which are considered part of the food heritag ...

snacks have a long history and are known to be living artifacts of the Han people's food culture. Currently, 39 varieties of

snacks have been labeled as "Famous Chinese Snacks" and 63 kinds as "Famous Fujian Snacks." The China Cuisine Association awarded Sha County the title of "Snack Culture City" in China on December 8, 2006. The production process of

snacks was listed in Fujian

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

in 2007, and has been declared a national intangible cultural heritage. Representing Fujian, Sha County snacks are also available on the Chinese Food Street at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. Besides

snacks, Yong'an snacks and Ninghua County snacks attract local people a lot as well.

Twin towns – sister cities

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

, United States

References

External links

Government website of Sanming
{{authority control Cities in Fujian Prefecture-level divisions of Fujian National Civilized City