Zhangzhou is located on the lower reaches of the Jiulong River in the southeast of Fujian Province. It was one of China's chief ports for foreign trade in early times and is still a distribution center for commercial cargoes on the Jiulong River. The area around the city is rich in oranges, tangerines, bananas, shaddocks, longans, litchis, pineapples, and many others fruits. Zhangzhou has a developed food-processing industry.

Glossy Ganoderma hill (Zhishan)

Standing in the northwest of the city, this hill was named for the purple glossy ganoderma, a medicinal herb, said to be growing on its slopes. The hill is the highest peak in Zhangzhou. Many temples were built on the hill since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), but most of the buildings were desolated over the years and there remain only three pavilions: Ganlu, Xianzhen, and Rihua.

South Hill Temple (Nanshansi)

A well-known Buddhist monastery in the south of Zhangzhou, this temple was first built during the Tang Dynasty, and the existing buildings were reconstructed during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The temple has magnificent buildings and spacious compounds. At the shrine of the main hall, there is a statue of the Buddha made of pure white marble. The five-meter statue of Maitreya in the center of the hall was carved from a huge single piece of stone during the Tang Dynasty.