Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. As of the 2010 census, about 3,039,500 live in the Wenzhou city proper; the area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100. The prefectural area borders Lishui to the west, Taizhou to the north, and looks out to the East China Sea on its eastern coast.
Wenzhou was a prosperous foreign treaty port, which remains well-preserved today. It is situated in a mountainous region and, as a result, has been isolated for most of its history from the rest of the country, making the local culture and language very distinct not only from the rest of China but from neighbouring areas as well. It is also known for its emigrants who leave their native land for Europe and the United States, with a reputation for being entrepreneurs who start restaurants, retail and wholesale businesses in their adopted countries. People of Wenzhou origin make up a large number of ethnic Chinese residents of Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Africa