Fuzhou
China
Sister City Since 1994
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The Sister City relationship established in 1994 and over the past 30 years, our cities have mutually benefited from a variety of cultural, educational and sports exchanges. We have hosted at least 40 delegations from Fuzhou.
A few of our programs:
Dragon Boat Race at the Maritime Fest, September 2001 – fierce competition between the Fuzhou and Tacoma government executive teams led by the respective mayors.
Tacoma Sister Cities International Music Festival, July-August 2006 – eleven (11) young musicians from Fuzhou attended.
The Tacoma-Fuzhou Trade Office Exchange Program was launched in April 2008. The City and the Port each committed $100,000 for the 18-month pilot project, which is going strong to this date.
The Fuzhou Ting in the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park – donated by Fuzhou and constructed by Tacoma crew during September 2010 to April 2011, the traditional Chinese structure has become a unique landmark and cultural attraction in Tacoma.
Educational Exchanges between the education institutions in Fuzhou and their counterparts in Tacoma (University of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran University, Bates Technical College, and Lincoln High School).
Tacomans visited Fuzhou and participated in a dragon boat race in 2000, the International Sister Cities Conference in 2004, friendship visit in Fuzhou APCC and Committee in 2011, etc.
A Tacoma delegation attended the 2013 Annual China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in September 2013 held in Xiamen, China (approximately 180 miles southwest of Fuzhou). The delegation made a trip to Fuzhou after the CIFIT and was received at a banquet on September 11, 2013, where the delegation presented the Fuzhou Ting Project at the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park, discussed the prospective of economic and cultural exchanges with Fuzhou officials, and responded Fuzhou’s inquiries about the EB5 program, Tacoma’s market conditions and residential development, among other issues.
Visit of President Xi Jinping’s to Lincoln High School in 2015.
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Our Current Committee Chair:
Professor Greg Youtz, PLU
Past chairs and Members:
Jason Tatman, David Morse, Susan Westberg, Ann Martin, and Jose’ Landrie
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About Fuzhou
Fuzhou in Chinese is “有福之州” (yǒufúzhīzhōu), meaning “a city with good luck.Fuzhou, formerly romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China.Fuzhou lies on the north (left) bank of the estuary of Fujian’s largest river, the Min River. Its population was 7,115,370 inhabitants as of the 2010 census, of whom 4,408,076 inhabitants are urban representing around 61.95%, while rural population is at 2,707,294 representing around 38.05 percent.Fuzhou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) influenced by the East Asian Monsoon; the summers are long, very hot and humid, and the winters are short, mild and dry. In most years, torrential rain occurs during the monsoon in the second half of May.Fuzhou is undoubtedly the province’s political, economic and cultural center as well as an industrial center and seaport on the Min River. Manufactured products include chemicals, silk and cotton textiles, iron and steel, and processed food.Bodiless lacquerware, paper umbrellas and horn combs are the “Three Treasures” of Fuzhou traditional arts.Facts
Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian Province and has a population of 7,660,000 people.The name Fuzhou means a city with good luck.The city is sometimes referred to in Chinese by the poetic nickname Rongcheng which means the Banyan City.The founding of the walled city of Ye in 202B.C. is considered the traditional founding date of the city of Fuzhou.Fuzhou has a humid subtropical climate. The summers are long, very hot and humid. The winters are short, mild, and dry.Fuzhou cuisine is on of the four traditional cooking styles of Fujian cuisine which is one of the eight Chinese regional cuisines.Fuzhou’s first metro line has opened linking the southern part of the city and the north above the river. Two other lines are under construction.Fuzhou was one of the five original Chinese treaty ports under the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842Hwa Nan Women’s College in Fuzhou has a working partnership with Tacoma’s University of Puget Sound.