Wenzhou, city and port, southeastern Zhejiang sheng (province), southeastern China. It is situated on the south bank of the Ou River, some 19 miles (30 km) from its mouth. The estuary of the Ou River is much obstructed by small islands and mudbanks, but the port is accessible by ships of up to about 1,000 tons. The Ou long provided the main transport artery for the mountainous southeastern section of Zhejiang.
The settlement was first given the name Wenzhou in 675 ce. In 999 the Song dynasty sanctioned Wenzhou to be a foreign-trade port. At that time it had a flourishing shipbuilding industry, and its papermaking and lacquerware craft were well known. In 1132 an inspection post was set up in Wenzhou to administer and stabilize foreign trade. Wenzhou’s port was again opened to foreign trade as a treaty port in 1876, and for a while there was a considerable tea trade; however, the port never played a large part in China’s foreign trade, and there was no foreign settlement. Wenzhou’s trade flourished again during the early part of the Sino-Japanese War, as from 1937 to 1942 it was one of the few ports left in Chinese hands; trade subsequently declined toward the end of the war, however. Not until 1955 was sea transport along the Zhejiang coast fully restored, after which Wenzhou rapidly recovered.
Wenzhou, with its tradition as a commercial city, its dense population, and the scarcity of cultivated land in the region, long has been home to those highly skilled at doing business. Its citizens started their own household businesses and workshops in the early 1970s, and their efforts redoubled later in the decade as China officially began to liberalize economic policy and to move toward more of a market system. This became known as the “Wenzhou model”; there are now tens of thousands of Wenzhou merchants doing business around the country and abroad.
In 1984 Wenzhou was designated one of China’s “open” cities in the new policy of inviting foreign investment, and there was considerable economic growth. Local products now include ceramics, machinery, chemicals, electronics, processed foods, and wearing apparel; shipbuilding is also important. The region’s transportation infrastructure has been greatly improved. A branch rail line, completed in the late 1990s, links the city with the Zhejiang-Jiangxi trunk line at Jinhua. Expressways northeast to Ningbo and northwest to Jinhua opened for traffic in the early 21st century. Newer and larger port facilities also have been constructed, including docks near the mouth of the Ou River with berths capable of accommodating 10,000-ton ships. The city’s airport, on the seacoast, provides scheduled flights to many cities in the country. Pop. (2002 est.) city, 573,469; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 2,350,000.