Longyan (; Hakka: Liùng-ngàm; Longyan dialect: Lengngia) is a prefecture-level city in south-western Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong to the south and Jiangxi to the west. History In 736 AD, (the Tang dynasty), the prefecture of Tingzhou was established in western Fujian, or Minxi (), administering Changting, Huanglian and Xinluo counties. Six years later Xinluo was named Longyan for the nearby cavern, a famous scenic site. Due to the ancient conflicts in central China and aggression from northern tribes, many Han people moved from central China to Longyan. in 1734, the Hokkien-speaking counties of Longyan city and Zhangping were ceded from Zhangzhou to form the Longyan Prefecture within the Hakka peasant Tingzhou prefecture, a typical Hakka peasant socitiey culturally distinct from the Minnanese by the imperial court. In 1913, it reverted to its former name Longyan County and in 1981, Longyan City was established. Minxi was a strategic base during the Chinese Civil War. It's said that tens of thousands of people were recruited from the Hakka peasantry from the western Longyan joined the PLA during the Chinese Civil War, and nearly every Hakka family had someone sacrificed lives on behalf of CCP side especially during Mao's early purges in Tingzhou and Ganzhou which killed roughly 700,0000 Hakka people and some ethnic minorities. There are more than 26,000 locals that took part in the Long March which in total is carried out by 86,000. Moreover, during 1955 and 1968, 68 people from Longyan were awarded Brigadier General or above, which accounts for 82% of all generals from Fujian province at the time, therefore, Longyan is also named after "The Home of Generals". Environment Unlike many Chinese cities, the forest coverage of Longyan reaches an unusually high 77.9%, which is unparalleled in Fujian province. Meihuashan National Nature Reserve, a part of the China Biosphere Reserve Network, is located in Longyan. Goby Rhinogobius longyanensis was first described from Longyan and named after it. Presumably also the prehistoric bivalve Claraia longyanensis got its name from Longyan. Geography and climate Longyan is situated in the upper reaches of the Jiulong and Ting Rivers. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Sanming to the north, Quanzhou to the east, Zhangzhou to the southeast, Meizhou (Guangdong) to the southwest, and Ganzhou (Jiangxi) to the west and northwest. Longyan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with short, mild winters, and long, hot and humid