FU-AN

Pinyin Fu'an, city in northeastern Fukien sheng (province), China. It is situated on the east bank of the Chiao River, with highway communications running north into Chekiang and south along the coast to Fu-chou, some 90 miles (150 km) away. It is in an area of Fukien that was developed comparatively late, since it is somewhat less productive than the south of the province. Fu-an is above all a market for the tea produced in the area. Although tea production was neglected after the collapse of the Fu-chou tea trade at the end of the 19th century, tea today constitutes almost half of the income of the inhabitants. In the early 1950s, machine-processing plants were established at Fu-an, which also has a small engineering works. Pop. (mid-1980s est.) 10,00050,000.