Changle

This article is about the city. For the fungi, see Clavulina cristata. For other uses, see Changle (disambiguation).

ChangLe (simplified Chinese: 长乐; traditional Chinese: 長樂) is a county-level city of suburban Fuzhou located in east Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Administered by Fuzhou city. Changle occupies a land area of 648 square kilometers and a sea area of 1327 square kilometers. Changle was established in the sixth year of Emperor Wu-De (623 AD) during the Tang Dynasty, and it became a county-level city on February 18, 1994. Changle faces Taiwan across Taiwan Strait and is connected to Mawei Economic and Technological Zone by Min River. The city may change its present status to a district due to a government proposal.

Changle
Traditional Chinese	長樂
Simplified Chinese	长乐
Transcriptions Min - Min-dong BUC Diòng-lŏ̤h

Located 30 kilometers outside of urban Fuzhou, Changle has a total population of 680,000 and is the home to 400,000 overseas Chinese.

Outlying Village in ChangLe County

Transportation

Air

The Fuzhou Changle International Airport is a major airport located in the town of Zhanggang, Changle. This airport services the entire northern Fujian area, and it has regular scheduled flights to many domestic and international destinations.

Major Highways

Airport Express Way (Toll Road), Shenghai Express Way, Fujian Provincial Highway S201 and S203

Demographics

Overseas Changle

Natives of Changle receive large amount of financial support from overseas, due to there is a significant population of Changle immigrants overseas, particularly in the US and Canada. The focal point for the US is in New York City's East Broadway of Chinatown, Manhattan. Also, Fuzhounese is commonly used in a small section of several blocks in Flushing, Queens as well as in 8th Avenue of Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Notable Natives & Residents

• One of the well known Changle native is Shie Wan Yin (谢婉莹), whose pen name is Bing Xin (冰心),known as "The Grandma in Chinese Literacy Circle".

• Changle is also the ancestral home of Zheng Zhenduo, a master of literature.

• Naval Explorer, Admiral Zheng He (郑和)

• Electrical Engineers Wenguang Zou & Jinyan Zou, Wind Turbine Engineers.

• Chen Zhenlong who was the first person brought sweet potato to China in 1953.

Migrant Worker

Currently, there are about 200,000 migrant workers who are not born in Changle.^{[citation needed]}

Tourism & Attractions

One of the most notable attractions in Changle is the natural environment. Situated on the banks of the Min Jiang River, the region is surrounded by many mountains and hills. This also has led to many parks and trails which is a popular destination for locals. Industrialization of the region has reduced the natural beauty of some of these areas however.

Some of the tourist attractions includes Xiasha Seaside Vocational Center, Jingang Leg, Bing Xing Literacy Archieves, and Nanshan Park. A considerable amount of oversea remittances, particularly from the US, has been used to construct some of these areas, particularly the parks, over the last few years. Because of this, many of these areas are essentially new and attract a considerable amount of visitors.

• Zheng He Museum and Park (郑和博物馆)
• Jin Gang Tian (A Buddhist's Giant Leg) 金刚腿
• Bin Xin Museum (冰心博物馆)
• Qinjiang Manzu Jie (Manchurian Vallige)
• Xiasha Beach Resort
• Xianyin Palace
• Tianfei Palace
• Hexiao Street (Beneath River Street) 河下街

Culture

Local Language

Most locals are capable of speaking both Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua) and Fuzhou dialect, though Mandarin is spoken in more formal settings such as schools. Generally, those who have higher education are more capable of standard Mandarin.

Most Changle natives can speak both Mandarin and a variant of the Fuzhou dialect. However, instruction in schools is taught in Mandarin. At home, Fuzhou dialect is the norm. Older generations' Mandarin typically has a strong accent due to their mother tongue of the Fuzhou dialect, which does not distinguish between z and zh, c and ch, s and sh initials and n and ng finals.

The Fuzhou dialect (Changle/Fuzhou Hua-长乐/福州话) faces a high risk of lingual extinction due to the government policy that intended to push for the common use of Chinese Mandarin. Some locals are concerned that this would lead to gradual disappearance of their cultural identity. Though the dialect is expected to remain one of the most spoken languages in the Changle area, it is primarily spoken by the older generation. Though the younger generations are fluent to a degree because of their environment and family, generational attrition of the language will cause a continual drop in the number of capable speakers. The areas where the local dialect is the strongest is primarily in the surrounding towns and areas, which are typically less economically developed than Changle city, the Changle dialect is still the dominant language.

The younger Generation prefer pop culture, arts, music and other forms of entertainment from Hong Kong and the West. The older generation of Changleners enjoy Min Opera (闽剧), a form of Chinese opera.

Shopping and Dining

International fast food chains: KFC, McDonald's, and Walmart.

Cuisine

Due to geographic location, Changle cuisine consists of a lot of seafood, such as clams, shrimps, conch, sea snails, etc.

• Fish balls (鱼丸)
• Fish Noodles（鱼面）A noodle made from fish and starch.
• Bian Rou (扁肉）Literally means "ground meat." It is wonton soup, Fujian style. It features a thin wonton skin and a pork filling.
• Ban Mian (拌面）Noodles with a peanutbutter like sauce. Although not native to Changle, Banmian is still common all over the city.

Administration

As of 2003 Changle has two Street Committees (街道), fourteen Towns (镇), and two townships (乡):

• Wuhang Street (吴航街道)
• Hangcheng Street (航城街道)
• Meihua Town (梅花镇)
• Yingqian Town (营前镇)
• Jinfeng Town (金峰镇)
• Tantou Town (潭头镇)
• Yutian Town (玉田镇)
• Jiangtian Town (江田镇)
• Guhuai Town (古槐镇)
• Heshang Town (鹤上镇)
• Shouzhan Town (首占镇)
• Wenwusha Town (文武砂镇)
• Zhanggang Town (漳港镇)
• Hunan Town (湖南镇)
• Wenfeng Town (文岭镇)
• Songxia Town (松下镇)
• Luolian Township (罗联乡)
• Houyu Township (猴屿乡)

See also: Changle's Government

Education System

• • No.7 Junior High School（长乐七中，长乐智化中学）
  • Fujian Normal University (福建师范长乐)- Changle
  • No.1 Junior High School (Wuhan Town 长乐一中 吴航)
  • Huaqiao Junior High and Senior School (Wuhan Town 长乐侨中)
  • No.2 Junior High School (Jinfeng Town 长乐二中 金峰)
  • No.4 Junior High School (Yutian Town 长乐四中 玉田)
  • No.6 Junior High School（Ying Qian 长乐六中 营前街道）

Links

Coordinates: 25°55′08″N 119°33′23″E / 25.91889°N 119.55639°E / 25.91889; 119.55639

pin yin: chang le