FUJI or FUJIYAMA, a celebrated quiescent volcano of Japan, standing 7o m. W.S.W. of Tokyo. It rises to a height of 12,395 ft. and its southern slopes reach the shore of Suruga Bay. It is a cone of beautifully simple form, the more striking to view because it stands isolated; but its summit is not conical, being broken by a crater some 2,000 ft. in diameter. (See JAPAN.) one of the three maritime provinces of south China situated between Chekiang on the north and Kwangtung on the south. Its western boundary follows the crest of the high ranges which form the water-parting between the Kan section of the Yangtze basin and streams flowing eastwards to the China sea. These ranges effectively separate it from its western neigh bour Kiangsi and form the boundary zone between Mandarin, spoken in that province, and the Fu-kien dialects, of which there are about seven main varieties. Topographically isolated on the landward side and with a distinct group of languages, Fu-kien has marked individuality. The province is mountainous and, apart from its border ranges, is crossed by several ridges with the S.W. N.E. axis characteristic of the eastern portion of the south China highlands. A longitudinal system of drainage parallel to these ridges has been tapped by coastal streams of which the most im portant is the Min, which drains two-thirds of the province. These streams are navigable for large vessels only for compara tively short distances inland but small junks penetrate far up stream and they are invaluable for floating down timber. The climate is sub-tropical, although the winters are cool on the hills, and the rainfall high and well distributed seasonally, with, how ever, a marked maximum during the summer monsoon. (Foo chow, c. 6o in. per year.) This implies a rich vegetation and favourable conditions for crop production in the valleys, where two crops of rice are harvested, the first in June and the second in September. The forests are still of great importance and, as a source of timber, Fu-kien is only rivalled by Manchuria and Hunan in all China. The most important woods are fir. pine and rosewood, mostly floated in the form of big rafts down to Foo chow, a great timber emporium. The camphor of Fu-kien, how ever, formerly very important, has been altogether eclipsed by that of Formosa, and the European market for tea, exported from Foochow, is now comparatively insignificant. Yet Fu-kien remains a great tea-growing province with a large home market. A special feature is its production of flower-scented teas, for the manu facture of which there are nearly 5o factories in Foochow. Of recent years this has called into existence a large flower-growing industry. There is also a large manufacture of paper from bam boo pulp. In addition to its agricultural and timber resources, Fu-kien has considerable and varied mineral wealth, including coal, iron, copper, gold, silver, graphite and good clay for porcelain. Mines are scattered widely over the province. Foochow, on the navigable lower Min and the outlet for the northern and central interior, is the capital of the province and the largest city. Amoy, where another system of valleys finds its contact with the sea, is the great regional centre for the south. There are several smaller intermediate ports and in the extreme north Funing is open to foreign trade.
The great majority of the population of Fukien, estimated at 20,000,000, lives in the coastal zone, where the density is very high. There is close contact with the Chinese communities of Malaya and other districts of the Far Eastern Tropics to which the Fu-kienese emigrate in considerable numbers.
The situation of Fukien immediately opposite Formosa, Japan's chief base for trade and influence in the maritime provinces of south China, gives the province strategic importance. In the con cessions of 1915 Japan obtained from the Chinese Government an undertaking not to give permission to foreign nations to con struct on the coast of Fukien dockyards, coaling stations for mili tary use, naval bases, etc., nor itself to borrow foreign capital for the purpose of setting up such establishments.