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Fujian Province

Chinese Sparrowhawk Tachyspiza soloensis ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA Website

Fujian is a province in South China covering 121,400 km2 (46,900 square miles) with a population of 41.5 million. It is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Quanzhou, with other notable cities including the port city of Xiamen and Zhangzhou. Fujian is located on the west coast of the Taiwan Strait as the closest province geographically and culturally to Taiwan; as a result of the Chinese Civil War, a small portion of historical Fujian is administered by Taiwan, Romanised as Fuchien.

While the population predominantly identifies as Han, it is one of China’s most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces. The dialects of the language group Min Chinese are most commonly spoken within the province, including the Fuzhou dialect and Eastern Min of Northeastern Fujian province and various Southern Min and Hokkien dialects of southeastern Fujian. The capital city of Fuzhou and Fu’an of Ningde prefecture along with Cangnan county-level city of Wenzhou prefecture in Zhejiang province make up the Min Dong linguistic and cultural region of Northeastern Fujian. Hakka Chinese is also spoken in Fujian, by the Hakka people. Min dialects, Hakka, and Standard Chinese are mutually unintelligible. Due to emigration, much of the ethnic Chinese populations of Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines speak Southern Min (or Hokkien).

Minhou – ©flyfishchen CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

It has the second highest GDP per capita of all Chinese provinces after Jiangsu. Fujian is considered one of China’s leading provinces in education and research. Two major cities in the province ranked in the top 45 cities in the world (Xiamen 38th and Fuzhou 45th) by scientific research output.

The province is mostly mountainous and is traditionally said to be ‘eight parts mountain, one part water, and one part farmland’. In terms of agricultural land, Fujian is hilly and farmland is sparse. Rice is the main crop, supplemented by sweet potatoes and wheat and barley. Cash crops include sugar cane and rapeseed. Fujian leads the provinces of China in longan production, and is also a major producer of lychees and tea. Seafood is another important product, with shellfish production especially prominent. The northwest is higher in altitude, with the Wuyi Mountains forming the border between Fujian and Jiangxi. It is the most forested provincial-level administrative region in China, with c.63% forest coverage. Fujian’s highest point is Mount Huanggang in the Wuyi Mountains, with an altitude of 7,077 feet.

Wuyi Mountains – ©老过 CC BY 2.5 CN via Wikimedia Commons

Fujian faces East China Sea to the east, South China Sea to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the southeast. The coastline is rugged and has many bays and islands. The Min River and its tributaries cut through much of northern and central Fujian. Other rivers include the Jin and the Jiulong. Due to its uneven topography, Fujian has many cliffs and rapids. Fujian is separated from Taiwan by the 180 kilometres-wide Taiwan Strait. Some of the small islands in the Taiwan Strait are also part of the province. The islands of Kinmen and Matsu are under the administration of the Republic of China.

Fujian contains several faults, the result of a collision between the Asiatic Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The Changle-Naoao and Longan-Jinjiang fault zones in this area could cause major earthquakes in the future. Fujian has a subtropical climate, with mild winters. In January, the coastal regions average around 7–10 °C while the hills average 6–8 °C. In the summer, temperatures are high, and the province is threatened by typhoons coming in from the Pacific. Average annual precipitation is 55 to 79 inches.

Birding Fujian

The provincial capital of Fuzhou lies on the Min River whose estuary has a wide expanse of sandbars and mudflats. As well as waterfowl in the winter, Dalmatian Pelicans are regularly recorded. In summer a variety of terns can be seen, including the critically endangered Chinese Crested Tern. The birds seen at the Min River estuary appear to be the same group that actually nest on the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands, about 30km east of the mainland. Breeding waders include the dealbatus form of Kentish Plover, ‘White-faced’ Plover. Fujian’s second coastal city is Xiamen, formerly known as Amoy. Robert Swinhoe shot the type specimen here of the bird now known as Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel.

Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Inland Fujian has been little-visited by foreign birders, except for Wuyi Shan, a National Nature Reserve based around the highest peaks in eastern China, on Fujian’s northwest border with Jiangxi Province. The legendary Lazarist Missionary Armand ‘Pere’ David spent two months studying the birds and other wildlife from a base in Kuadun. (David’s greatest claim to scientific glory was his securing of the first specimen of Giant Panda in Sichuan a few years later.) Today, Wuyi’s scenery and famous tea are great attractions for the tens of thousands of domestic tourists who visit annually. Some of the best birding on the mountain is done along a narrow track that leads to the summit of Huanggang Shan, the highest peak in the Wuyi range. (Also accessible from the Jiangxi side.) Cabot’s Tragopan, Elliot’s Pheasant and White-necklaced (Rickett’s) Hill Partridge may be seen, but is usually only heard.

Elliot’s Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Fujian is a relatively prosperous and outward-looking province. A growing number of keen local birdwatching groups, such as Fujian Birdwatching Society and Xiamen Birdwatching Society co-ordinate birding of this still relatively under-watched area. Blyth’s Kingfisher has been found at Longxi NNR, perhaps the easternmost record of this ‘difficult-to-find’ species. Elsewhere Scaly-sided Mergansers can be found on some inland rivers. The spectacular Sultan Tit was rediscovered in the province after an absence of records for eighty years. The rare and secretive White-eared Night Heron has also been found at a couple of inland sites.

Fujian is well off the beaten path of the Lonely Planet crowd, and has few Chinese endemic species. Nevertheless, it is still a rewarding place for both birder and general interest visitor.

This page is sponsored by Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

This page is sponsored by Alpine Birding

Contributors
Number of Species

  • Number of bird species: 607

    (As at May 2025)
Checklist

  • Avibase

    PDF Checklist
    This checklist includes all bird species found in Fujian , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them.

  • E-Bird

    PDF Checklist
    This checklist is generated with data from eBird (ebird.org), a global database of bird sightings from birders like you. If you enjoy this checklist, please consider contributing your sightings to eBird. It is 100% free to take part, and your observations will help support birders, researchers, and conservationists worldwide.
Useful Reading

  • Birding South East China

    | By Tim J Woodward | Tim Woodward | 2006 Paperback | 423 pages, 88 colour photos, 160 maps | ISBN: 9789628508426 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Birds of China

    | By Liu Yang & Chen Shuihua | Princeton University Press | 2023 | Flexibound | 672 pages, plates with 4000 colour illustrations, colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780691237527 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Guide to the Birds of China

    | By John MacKinnon | OUP | 2022 | Edition 2 | Paperback | 513 pages, 164 plates with colour illustrations; colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780192893673 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • HKBWS Field Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong and South China [English / Chinese]

    | By Hong Kong Birdwatching Society | HKBS | 2022 | Edition 9 | Paperback | 372 pages, plates with colour illustrations | ISBN: 9789627508342 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Organisations

  • Fujian Bird Watching Society

    Website
    FBWS, whose full name is the Bird Watching Society of Fujian Wildlife Conservation Association, is an independent organization under the leadership of Fujian Wildlife Conservation Association…

  • Fujian Environmental Education Society

    Information
    Fujian Environmental Education Society, abbreviated as FJEES, was established on March 18, 2017. It is a provincial-level, academic, and non-profit social organization voluntarily formed by units engaged in environmental education in Fujian Province, as well as research experts and scholars. The society currently has over 300 members, covering nine cities in the province and Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Area.

  • Xiamen Bird Watching Society

    Information
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • NF Fuzhou National Forest Park

    ArticleSatellite View
    ...And one that offers a chance to see some species that one can never get in Shanghai, such as Red-headed Trogon or Silver Pheasant, or a variety of bulbuls? And maybe a place that in winter is warmer than Shanghai? Time to go to Fuzhou National Forest Park...

  • NNR Wuyi Mountains

    InformationSatellite View
    Forty-nine vertebrate species are endemic to China and three are endemic to the Wuyi Mountains. The latter are the bird David's parrotbill (Neosuthora davidiana), Pope's spiny toad (Vibrissaphora liui), and the bamboo snake Pseudoxenodon karlschmidti (family Colubridae). Other known endangered species in the area include South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), hairy-fronted muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons), Sumatran serow (Capricornis sumatraensis - a goat antelope), Cabot's tragopan (Tragopan caboti), Chinese black-backed pheasant (Syrmaticus ellioti), Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus), and the golden Kaiser-i-Hind (Teinopalpus aureus - a swallowtail butterfly).

  • NWP Minjiang River Estuary Wetland

    InformationSatellite View
    Minjiang River Basin has outstanding universal value in terms of natural beauty, geological landform, biological and ecological processes, as well as biodiversity, which have been recognized internationally.
Sightings, News & Forums
Guides & Tour Operators

  • Alpine Birding

    Local Tour Operator
    About 607 bird species have reported in history in the province. Among bird species in Fujian, winter residents rank first with around 178 species, resident birds come second with 169 species. Moreover, passing migrants can also reach 123 species.

  • Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

    Tour Operator
    Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA is the specialists in bird photography tours on the Asian continent with a portfolio of 50 bird photography tours across 26 countries and a particular specialism in bird photography in China including Fujian Province.

  • BirdQuest

    Tour Operator
    EASTERN CHINA – In pursuit of specialities from South China northwards to the Manchurian steppe

  • China Bird Tour

    Local Tour Operator
    Fujian area include: Fuzhou Forest Park (Botanic Garden), Emeifeng Mountain/NR and other northern mountain areas. The highlights include: Spoon Sandpiper, Relic Gull, White-necklaced Partridge, Ellion's Pheasant, Cabot's Tragopan, Koklass Pheasant, Pale-headed Woodpecker, Blyth's Kingfisher, Spotted Wren Babbler, Moustached laughingthrush

  • Rockjumper

    Tour Operator
    China - Southeast in Spring
Trip Reports

  • 2015 [05 May] - Craig Brelsford - Emeifeng

    Report
    From 30 April to 3 May 2015, and again from 28 to 31 May 2015, Elaine and I birded Emeifeng, a mountain in Fujian, China.

  • 2016 [05 May] - Devaram T

    Report
    Emeifeng is one of the key location in China which has easy accessibility to see the endemic gamebirds like Cabot’s Tragopan and Elliot’s Pheasant. The plan of seeing the Gamebirds and other woodland birds had an unanimous vote among the squad and it was decided to hit the place when the migration starts to tail-off in Shanghai.

  • 2017 [04 April] - Summer Wong

    Report
    ...In Fuzhou Forest park, we got a pair of Grey-head Parrotbill, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Indochinese Yuhina, Slaty-backed Forktail, Fork-tailed Sunbird. A singing Asian Koel on the tree top was spotted in long distance...

  • 2019 [12 December] - Dev

    Report
    Cabot’s Tragopan and a Weekend full of Endemic Pheasants in Fujian

  • 2021 [02 February] - Mark Havenhand

    Report
    ...Emeifeng in February was reaching approx. 22°C (72°F) in the valleys, 10°C (50°F) at the summit. Above 1100 m (3,610 ft.) was essentially still winter, with little bird, insect or plant life. Below 500 m (1,640 ft.) was spring, with all three showing plentiful life...

  • 2025 [01 January] - Nigel Adlam

    PDF Report
    ...Eventually Clive spotted one sitting on a rock along the stream, and we all saw it well. Little, White-crowned and Slaty-backed Forktails, Whitecapped and Plumbeous Redstarts, and a family of Chinese Bamboo Partridges also made sure we had plenty to watch...

  • 2025 [03 March] - Summer Wong

    Report
    Photo rich
Other Links

  • Birding Fujian

    Webpage
    Located on the southeast coast of China, Fujian Province covers 124,000 square kilometers of land territory and 136,000 square kilometers of ocean territory with 3,751 kilometers of rugged coastline. Fujian Province has numerous islands, bays, and intertidal mudflat areas. Being in the subtropical area, Fujian has abundant rainfalls and mildclimate enjoys rich and diversified wildlife resources.

  • Birdwatching in Xiamen

    Website
    Xiamen bird watchers have formed the Observe Birds Association (OBA), and each March the OBA promotes

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