Nan'an () is a county-level city of south Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Quanzhou and as of 2023, had a total population of 1,663,542. More than 4,000,000 overseas Chinese trace their ancestry to Nan'an.
History
Inhabited since the Neolithic Era, the first incarnation of Nan'an was established as a commandery in the early 500s by the division of Jin'an County under Emperor Wu of Liang. It was under the jurisdiction of the Qingyuan Circuit during the Min Kingdom and was incorporated into Quan Prefecture (泉州府) during the Ming dynasty, when it was considered one of the Three Wu Kingdoms alongside Jinjiang and Hui'an.
Following the establishment of the Republic of China, Nan'an was a part of Jinjiang Prefecture until its incorporation into Quanzhou City in 1986; it was the site of military engagements during the Chinese Communist Revolution. Nan'an was established as a county-level city in its own right in 1993.
Geography and climate Nan'an experiences subtropical monsoonal humid climate. It has an average temperature of .
The city covers an area of .
Nan'an is situated below Anxi County, adjacent to Jinjiang City to the east and Tong'an District of Xiamen to the West. Nan'an is from Xiamen. It is from downtown of Quanzhou and from the provincial capital, Fuzhou.
Islands and islets in Nan'an include: Kui Yu () Dabai Yu ( or , traditional characters: ) Xiaobai Yu ( or )
Administrative divisions The city is divided into 3 subdistricts, 21 towns, and 2 townships. The city also contains an economic development zone.
Subdistricts , , and .
Towns Guanqiao (), Shengxin (), Luncang (), Dongtian (), Yingdu (), Xiangyun, Jintao (), Shishan (), Penghua (), Matou (), Jiudu (), Lefeng (), Luodong (), Meishan (), Honglai (), Hongmei (), Kangmei (), Fengzhou (), Xiamei (), Shuitou, and Shijing.
Townships and Xiangyang Township.
Economy
Nan'an is fast developing into an economic and industrial hub for Quanzhou prefecture. Its close proximity to regional economic centres such as Xiamen, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen makes it an important investment location for foreign investments and Taiwan businessmen.
Nan'an has very strong rail infrastructure and road links making it a gateway for tourism as well as commerce.
Culture Nan'an is closely connected to the history of overseas Chinese, having been a hub of the Maritime Silk Road and a longtime economic and cultural centre for the Minnan people, with over 4 million overseas Chinese tracing their ancestry to the area Nanguan music has its origins in the area in and surrounding Nan'an. It is known as the location of numerous Taoist grand temples and Anping Bridge, a stone beam bridge and as well as the burial place of general Ming dynasty King Koxinga
The local language of Nan'an is a variety of Hokkien, part of the Quanzhou family of Hokkien dialects.
Education The Shishan campus of Quanzhou Normal University is located in Nan'an. Schools located in Nan'an include Nan'an Experimental Middle School.
Notable people Native to Nan'an Guang Ze Zun Wang, deity in Chinese folk religion Huang Dongping, professional badminton player and Olympic gold medalist Lee Kong Chian, billionaire, politician and businessman Lim Bo Seng, resistance fighter and national hero of Singapore Koxinga, king and general Li Fabin, three-time weightlifting World Champion and Olympic gold medalist Ancestral home
Huang Ru, Chinese engineer and academic Ong Beng Seng, Malaysian billionaire Wang Wenjiao, Indonesian-born badminton player known as the "Godfather of Chinese Badminton" Ye Fei, Philippine-born People's Liberation Army general and politician
References
External links
Nan'an Official Government Website