Located at longitude 118°32'-120°44' east and latitude 26°18'-27°4' north, Ningde borders Fuzhou City to the south, Zhejiang Province to the north, Nanping City to the west and Taiwan Strait to the east.
The region now governs three cities (Ningde, Fu'an and Fuding) and six counties (Xiapu, Zherong, Shouning, Gutian, Pingnan and Zhouning). Covering a land area of 13,400 square kilometers and a sea area of 44,600 square kilometers, Ningde has a total population of 3,235,700, among which the population of She Nationality amounts to 200,000 (accounting for 40% of the national population of She Nationality). The native language is Min-Dong (East Fujian) dialect, while Min-Nan (South Fujian) dialect is also spoken in some coastal regions and Pu-Xian dialect in a few places. Furthermore, besides Min-Dong (East Fujian) dialect which is popular in some northern places, Wu dialect is spoken in North Shouning and Hakka dialect is spoken in Lanjian of Fu'an.
The broad lands of Ningde bear commercial crops of wood, tea, fruit and bamboo, while such native products as tea, domestic fungus, four-season pomelo, Bin-Lang taro, late-ripened leechee, late-ripened longan, apple, seedless persimmon and hairy chestnut enjoy a good market at home and abroad. It is an ideal place for developing brand-name, high-quality and specialty agricultural by-products.
The scenic spots in Ningde mainly include “Fairy Land on the Sea” Mountain Taimu in Fuding, “World Wonder” Mandarin Duck Stream in Pingnan, Baishuiyang Water Square, “No.1 Waterfall in East China” Jiulongji Waterfalls in Zhouning, Carp Stream in Zhouning that has been famous for its harmony between fish and people in the last several centuries, Chi Bank where Master Kukai of Japan landed to seek the Buddha way from Tang Dynasty, Linshui Temple that shares high reputation with Mazu Temple in S.E. Asia, Cuiping Lake in Gutian that resembles Taihu Lake, and natural harbor of Sandu'ao etc. They are all fascinating tourist attractions. Ningde is also a living concentration area of She Nationality. Villages and stockades of She Nationality still keep the romantic feeling of archaic folk customs. |