Taiwan is a populous island and Fujian the even more populous Chinese mainland province on the opposite side of the Taiwan Strait. Both are mountainous. Taiwan, a bow shaped nation aligned more or less north-south, is dominated by the Chungyang Range(4) along its uncurved eastern side.
Fujian's border with Jiangxi(5) to the west is marked by the Wuyi Mountains. Also parallel to the coast and going through the center of the province are--from southwest to northeast--the Boping, the Daiyun and the Donggang mountains. Fujian's coast--unlike Taiwan's--is deeply indented, with numerous small islands.
The majority speak Min Chinese(6), with a significant mainland minority speaking Kejia(7) Chinese, and another signficant and prominent island minority speaking Putonghua(8) Chinese. All three of languages share the same written language. Religion in both places is mostly a syncretic blend of Mahayana Buddhism, Confuscianism, Taoism, and folk religions. This accounts for more than nine in ten Taiwanese but an uncertain, though probably lesser proportion, in Fujian, where aetheism is encouraged by the communist government.
There are 11 large cities. Taiwan's capital, T'aipei(9), sits on a dried lake bed not far from the island's northern end. Kaohsiung(11), on the southwest coast, fronts the South China Sea and is the center of the nation's iron and steel, shipbuilding and petrochemical industries. Roughly halfway between these two, still on the west side is Taichung. A fourth city, Fuzhou (Foochow), Fujian's capital, now also has an industrial character, but was historically known for its three handicraft 'treasures': horn combs, umbrellas and a type of lacquer ware.
People have presumably lived here for as long as they have lived in the rest of East Asia--for most of the last 100,000 years.
Thousands of years ago in this area and beyond proto-Austro-Tai languages were spoken. Some speakers migrated east to--or were already present in--Taiwan, where Proto-Austronesian subsequently evolved.
The Chinese and their religious blend arrived in Fujian in large numbers in the first millenium C.E. and this migration continued across the strait into Taiwan, with a last wave coming with a boost in numbers and status for Putonghua speakers when the losing Nationalist faction in the 20th century civil war fled to the island. The Min migrations extended beyond this area, both along the Guangdong(11) coast, and by sea to Singapore and Bangkok(12).
Taiwan was--before Sinification--the origin for the Austronesian peoples. About 6,000 years ago four dialects emerged and gave rise to separate language groups. The Paiwanic Group, the Atayalic Group and Tsouic Group are still spoken by small local minorities. The fourth group was proto-Malayo-Polynesian and left to the southeast via the Batan Islands.
The Hakka people are descendents of northern migrants who arrived after the Min were established.
Around Fujian:
northeast
east, from the north
east, from the center
southeast
southwest
northwest
Around Taiwan:
north
east
south
southwest
west
(1) Or Tai-wan in an alternate transliteration from Chinese; also known as Formosa.
(2)Also transliterated from Chinese as Fu-chien. It could be translated as Prosperity Found and is also known as Fukien. Here it is does not include the Paracel, Spratley or Dongsha (Tungsha) Islands.
(3) Transliterated from Chinese as Zhongguo or Chung-hua. These could be translated as the Middle Kingdom or Middle Land.
(4) Zhongyang in an alternate transliteration from Chinese.
(5) Or Chiang-hsi in an alternate transliteration from Chinese. It could be translated as River West and is also known as Kiangsi.
(6) Some people regard all the spoken forms of Chinese as one language, mostly because of the comon written form. Others would regard Min Chinese as several languages. Min is also called Hokkien, Fukien, Teichew, Teochiu, Chiuchow, Chaozhou, Taeciw, Swatonese and Taiwanese.
(7) Also known as Hakka or 'guest' Chinese.
(8) Also known as Beijing dialect or Mandarin Chinese.
(9) Taibei in an alternate transliteration from Chinese.
(10) Gaoxiong in an alternate transliteration from Chinese.
(11) Also transliterated from Chinese as Kuang-tung. It can be translated as Wide East and is also known as Kwangtung.
(12) Krung Thep in Thai.