Fuzhou

Xiamen

Fuzhou, alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (lit. Eastern Fujian) linguistic and cultural area. Fuzhou lies on the north (left) bank of the estuary of Fujian's largest river, the Min River. All along its northern border lies Ningde, and Ningde's Gutian County lies upriver. 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%. In 2015, Fuzhou was ranked as the 10th Fastest Growing Metropolitan Areas in the world by Brookings Institution. Fuzhou is listed as No.20 in China Integrated City Index 2016's total ranking, a study conducted by National Development and Reform Commission.

Xiamen (UK: sh(y)ah-MEN, US: -⁠MUN; 厦门, 厦門, 廈門), alternately known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation [e˨˩ mŋ̍˨]), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang, and Xiang'an. Altogether, these cover an area of 1,699.39 square kilometers (656.14 sq mi) with a population of 3,531,347 as of 2010. The urbanized area of the city has spread from its original island to include parts of all six of its districts, with a total population of 1,861,289. This area connects to Quanzhou in the north and Zhangzhou in the west, making up a metropolis of more than five million people. The Kinmen Islands (Quemoy) administered by the Republic of China lie less than 6 kilometers (4 mi) away. Xiamen Island possessed a natural harbor in Yundang Bay, but Fujian's international trade was long restricted to Quanzhou or to Guangzhou in Guangdong. Due to the siltification of Quanzhou's harbor, the British insisted that Xiamen be opened to foreign trade in the treaty that ended the First Opium War in 1842. Under the Qing, both before and after the war, there was a large-scale emigration of Chinese from southern Fujian who spread Hokkien-speaking communities to Singapore, Malaysia (especially in Penang), Indonesia (Medan and Riau Province) and the Philippines. The overseas Chinese continue to support Xiamen's educational and cultural institutions. As part of the Opening Up Policy under Deng Xiaoping, Xiamen became one of China's original four special economic zones opened to foreign investment and trade in the early 1980s. Its former harbor was enclosed using land excavated during the city's expansion, however, the city remains an island connected by bridges to the rest of mainland China.The city is known for its mild climate, Hokkien culture and Gulangyu Island, as well as its relatively low pollution. In 2006, Xiamen was ranked as China's second-"most suitable city for living", as well as China's "most romantic leisure city" in 2011.