Wenzhou
Wenzhou Overview
Chinese Name: 温州 English IPA: /'wendʒəʊ/ Location: In the south east of Zhejiang province Population (city): 9.17 million Language: Mandarin, Wu language Zip code: 325000 Tel code: 0577 Time zone: UTC+8
Historically, Wenzhou was a prosperous foreign treaty port, which remains well-preserved today. It is situated in a mountainous region so it was easily isolated from the outside world around the country, which makes the local culture and language very distinct not only from the rest of China but from neighboring areas as well. Wenzhou is also known for its emigrants who leave their native land for Europe and the United States, with a reputation for being entrepreneurs who start wholesale, restaurants and and retail businesses in their adopted countries. As a national famous historical and cultural city, Wenzhou is known for its landscape of the southeast. It was called as “Dong’ou” 2,000 years ago and got its current name “Wenzhou” in Tang Dynasty. Wenzhou first started in the development of China’s private economy and it was in the forefront of reform and opening up. At the beginning of the reform and opening up, it is known as “Wuchuan in the south and Wenzhou in the north” that shows how famous it is in the country. Wenzhou culture belongs to Ouyue culture, and Wenzhou dialect was named one of the most obscure dialects in China.
Highlight
- Fengshui of Wenzhou City: The geographical establishment and development of Wenzhou was designed by Guopu who is the father of Fengshui philosophical system in the period of Jin Dynasty, mainly on the basis of Fengshui philosophical system along with Twenty-Eight Mansions, and Five Elements that develop and manage architecture and geography as a whole in metaphoric terms of “invisible forces” that unite the universe, earth, and humanity together. Wenzhou is the only city in China designed by the founder of Fengshui philosophical system, Guopu.
- Birthplace of Chinese Opera: During the Northern Song Dynasty in the 12th century, Nan Opera which is also called Wenzhou Opera and Yongjia Opera, was produced in Wenzhou as the earliest form of traditional Chinese Opera in China. In the early stage of development, Nan Opera developed and matured rapidly along with the prosperous economic activities that were taking place in Wenzhou influenced by Yongjia School of Thought. As a prosperous treaty port in Southern Song Dynasty, Wenzhou expanded the influence of Nan Opera greatly. Since then, Nan Opera gained its great impact in China and achieved its peak in Yuan Dynasty and remained a prominent status in Ming Dynasty.
- Birthplace of Earliest On-Stage Role-Distribution System of Chinese Opera: On the stage setting of a Nan Opera performance, there are usually 7 role distribution elements which are Life, Denier, Ugliness, Clarity, Finale, Exterior and Attachment, with the main drama plot developed around Life and Denier complemented usually by Ugliness, Clarity, and Finale. This stage setting system of Nan Opera, which is invented in Wenzhou with seven-element role distribution principle, is the earliest complete on-stage role distribution principle system in the history of Chinese Opera.
- China’s Jerusalem: Wenzhou has been a hub of Christian missionary activity for centuries. Today it remains an important center of Christianity in China. Because of its large concentration of Christians, the city has been dubbed the “Jerusalem of the East” or “China’s Jerusalem” in some media reports.
Other Destinations in Wenzhou
Wenzhou Attractions
Wenzhou is abundant in both natural scenic spots and cultural sites that you could choose to visit like Yendang Mountain, Nanxi River, Fei Yunhu Scenic Spot, Tongling Mountain, Jiangxinyu, Wanghailou in Tongtou, Yaoxi, Yuhailou, etc. [...]
Wenzhou Tours
There are various tourist sites in Wenzhou so that you might need to make some plans in order to visit all places that you like. What’s more, good tour packages are capable of saving your time on the way. For instance, you could spend one day visiting Yendang Mountain Scenic Spot and Wuma Street, and Jiangxinyu, Changhong Entertainment Park and Wangjiang Road for another day. [...]
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Climate & When to Go
Wenzhou belongs to tropical climate zone so that it has four distinctive seasons and abundant rain. The average temperature there is between 17.3 and 19.4 degree Celsius. The average temperature in the coldest month, January, varies from 4.9 to 9.9 degree Celsius. And the hottest month is in July whose Ave temperature varies from 26.7 to 29.6 degree Celsius. Therefore, it is neither too hot in summer nor quite chilly in winter. [...]
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Transportation
The Wenzhou Longwan Airport serves the Wenzhou area, with scheduled flights to major cities in mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macau. New direct air route to Taipei and Cheju Island of Korea have been opened in 2012. The Airport is situated on the southeast of Wenzhou city proper, 20 km away from the city center. It’s been graded as nation’s Category B civil airport, serving a population of 20 million spanning areas of Wenzhou, Taizhou and Lishui [...]
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Festivals and Activities
In addition to blessing activities and brassica juncea rice eating, there are other activities as well. First, “Qiaoshi” Eating, it falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. And “Qiaoshi”, which is in Chinese pinyin, is made from rice power and sesame. Then, Sanyuesan, which is impacted by She people there, is different from the Sanyuesan festival in other cities. People would eat steamed black rice during this festival. [...]
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Travel Tips
For shopping, when you buy some souvenirs, you’d better choose regular supermarkets or shops. For belongings, please keep your belongings within your sight when you go to somewhere that is crowded like train stations, bus stops, etc. For dressing, please remember to take suitable closes for different seasons. And in the summer, take some sun cream with you, and some daily use things like umbrellas. For food, Wenzhou offers raw seafood so you may need to take some stomach [...]
Useful Maps
Maps help a lot on the way to travel, especially when we get to some new places. Therefore, we have prepared some Wenzhou maps like Wenzhou Location Map, Wenzhou City Map, Wenzhou Attraction Map Scenic Spots Around Wenzhou that might help you plan your travelling better. [...]
Wenzhou Accommodation
Nowadays, tourists are quite easy to find all kinds of hotels and inns with different levels in most cities in China. You could book online or just check in after your arrival. But what you need to pay attraction is that if you choose to go some tourist sites during peak tourism season, you’d better book your hotels in advance or keep an eye on your accommodation from time to time. [...]
