The birthplace of China's entrepreneurial spirit — a coastal city of dramatic karst mountains, ancient temples, island hopping, Oujiang River scenery, and China's most globally distributed diaspora.
Wenzhou (温州, Wēnzhōu) sits on the southeastern coast of Zhejiang Province, cradled between the East China Sea and the Yandang Mountains. A prefecture-level city of over 9 million people, it has been inhabited since the Eastern Jin Dynasty (c. 323 AD) and rose to prominence during the Tang and Song dynasties as a major port and commercial hub.
The city is internationally famous for the "Wenzhou Model" — a grassroots, private-enterprise-driven economic model that emerged in the 1980s during China's reform era. The city's diaspora of over 800,000 people spans Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia.
Beyond commerce, Wenzhou rewards the curious traveller: Yandang Mountain offers UNESCO-level karst scenery; Nanxi River winds through ancient Taoist villages; Jiangxin Island provides an urban green retreat; and the Oujiang River estuary opens onto island-studded seas.
Wenzhou sits on Zhejiang's southeastern coast, ~450 km south of Shanghai. The city centre lies along the Oujiang River estuary, flanked by the Yandang Mountains to the north and the East China Sea to the east.