Zhangzhou

Zhangzhou (ˈdʒæŋˈdʒoʊ) is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and (with Quanzhou) surrounding the prefecture of Xiamen. Zhangzhou is the atonal pinyin romanization of the city's Chinese name , using its pronunciation in Standard Mandarin. The name derives from the city's former status as the seat of the imperial Chinese Zhang Prefecture. The same name was romanized as Changchow on the Chinese Postal Map and Chang-chou in Wade-Giles. Other romanizations include Chang-chow. It also appears as Chang-chu,Chiang-chew, or Chiang Chew from the city's local Hokkien name Chiang-chiu. This name appeared in Spanish and Portuguese Jesuit sources as Chincheo, which was anglicized as Chinchew. By the 19th century, however, this name had migrated and was used to refer to Quanzhou, a separate port about east-northeast of central Zhangzhou. Zhangzhou proper lies on the banks of the Jiulong River in southern Fujian about from central Xiamen, whose urban core has grown to form a single urbanized area with it. The prefecture of Zhangzhou comprises the southeastern corner of the province, surrounding Xiamen. The prefecture of Quanzhou lies to its northeast, Longyan to its northwest, and Shantou in Guangdong to its southwest. Zhangzhou has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with mild to warm winters and long, very hot and humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . The frost-free period lasts 330 days. According to Odoric of Pordenone, Zhangzhou was a prosperous city twice the size of Bologna. During the early Qing, Zhangzhou was the primary Fujianese port trading with Portuguese Macao and Spanish Manila. For a time, the Portuguese maintained a factory in the city. During the late Qing, Zhangzhou remained a center of silk, brick, and sugar production with about a million people and extensive internal and maritime trade.