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Putian History
Long time ago, Putian was called Xinghua Region. Putian County was established in 568 AD during the Southern Dynasty era. There are another area called Xianyou County that was built in 699 AD in the Tang Dynasty period. Later, both of the counties were referred to Xinghua Region in the Song and Ming Dynasties. In 1949, Xinghua were renamed as Jinjiang Prefecture and finally, Putian Prefecture was founded in 1983.
Putian also popular as hometown of overseas Chinese. Emigration overseas of Putian origin started in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). According to statistics, overseas Chinese and foreign nationals originating in Putian about 600,000, and reside in more than 40 countries, 90 percent of them in Southeast Asia.