SAN-MING

Pinyin Sanming, city in west-central Fukien sheng (province), China. San-ming lies along the Sha River, a southern tributary of the Min River, the valley of which provides the chief southwest-to-northeast route through central Fukien. Westward and southwestward routes fan out into the mountainous interior of Fukien, and to the south there is a good route via the valley of the Chiu-lung River to Amoy. Situated in a sparsely populated inland district with vast stretches of virgin forest, San-ming remained a small local market centre until 1956, when the opening of the railway linking it to Kiangsi province in the north and Amoy in the south brought about considerable growth. The presence of excellent iron ore and coal at Lung-yen and Chang-p'ing on the railway to the south led to the establishment of an iron and steel plant there in the late 1950s. Pop. (1990) 160,691.