Province (pop., 2002 est.: 34,660,000), southeastern China. Located on the southeastern coast, it is bounded by the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait and Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces. It has an area of 47,500 sq mi (123,100 sq km), and its capital is Fuzhou. The province's boundaries were established during the Nan (Southern) Song dynasty (1127–1279), when it became an important shipbuilding and commercial centre for overseas and coastal trade. It declined when the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) banned maritime commerce. Its coastal cities were occupied by the Japanese in 1939–45 during World War II, and the 3rd Field Army took control of the province in 1949. In addition to being an important agricultural region, it is an area of special economic zones established in 1979 to attract foreign investment to China.

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