Changle

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

Changle 长乐市
County-level city
Changle Location in Fujian
Coordinates:
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Fujian
Prefecture-level city	Fuzhou
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)

<phonos file="Chang2le4.ogg">Changle</phonos> (simplified Chinese: 长乐; traditional Chinese: 長樂; pinyin: Chánglè, Foochow Romanized: Diòng-lŏ̤h) is a county-level city located in eastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Another Changle (昌乐市) is located in Shandong province. Administered by Fuzhou City, it is occupies a land area of 648 square kilometres (250 sq mi) and a sea area of 1,327 square kilometres (512 sq mi). 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. The city faces Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait and is connected to Mawei Economic and Technological Zone by the Min River. The city may change its present status to a district due to a government proposal.

Located 30 kilometres (19 mi) outside of urban Fuzhou, Changle has a total population of 680,000 and is the home to 400,000 overseas Chinese.

Transportation

Air

The Fuzhou Changle International Airport is a major airport located in Zhanggang Subdistrict (formerly, Zhanggang Town) of 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

Railways

Presently, there are virtually no railways in Changle. (The Fuxia Railway skirts the western edge of the county-level city, but has no stations there). The closest railway stations are in Fuzhou.

However, in November 2012 a plan has been approved for an 88.5-km-long railway from Fuzhou to Pingtan Island. The railway will run across Changle, and will have 3 stations with the county-level city (Changle, Changle East, and Songxia (松下)). It is expected that the work would start by the end of 2012, and would take about five and a half years.

Demographics

Overseas Changle

Natives of Changle receive large amount of financial support from overseas, due to there being 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)

• Chen Zhenlong who was the first person brought sweet potato to China in 1593.

Migrant workers

Currently, there are about 200,000 migrant workers who are not born in Changle.

Tourist attractions

One of the most notable attractions in Changle is the natural environment. Situated on the banks of the Min 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 Archives, 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 Tui Park (A Buddhist's Giant Leg) (金刚腿公园)
• Bin Xin Museum (冰心博物馆)
• Qinjiang Manzu Jie (Manchurian Vallige) (琴江满族村)
• Xiasha Beach Resort (下沙海滨度假村)
• Xianyin Palace (显应宫)
• Tianfei Palace (天妃宫)
• 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, Popeye's, 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 Subdistrict (吴航街道)
• Hangcheng Subdistrict (航城街道)
• Zhanggang Subdistrict (漳港街道)
• Yingqian Subdistrict (营前街道)
• Meihua Town (梅花镇)
• 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)
• Hunan Town (湖南镇)
• Wenling 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

Colleges

• Fuzhou College of Foreign Studies and Trade, Changle Campus (Shouzhan Town) 福州外语外贸学院长乐校区，首占

High schools

• 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，吴航
• No.2 Junior High School (Jinfeng Town) 长乐二中，金峰
• Changle Junior High School (formerly known as 'Changle Normal School', Wuhan Town) 长乐高级中学(原为长乐师范学校)
• No.3 Junior High School (Guhuai Town) 长乐三中，古槐
• No.7 Junior High School (Jiangtian Town) 长乐七中(或称长乐智化中学)，江田
• No.4 Junior High School (Yutian Town) 长乐四中，玉田
• No.6 Junior High School (Yingqian Town) 长乐六中，营前

External links

• Changle News (Chinese)