Nan'an is located on the southeastern coast of Fujian province. It has been the centre of the 3 Wu Kingdoms. Nan'an history dates back 1700 years. Nan'an has been the economic and cultural centre for Minnan people.The city covers an area of 2,036 square kilometres (786 sq mi). Nan'an is situated below Anxi County, adjacent to Jinjiang to the east and Tong'an District to the West. Nan'an is 97 kilometres (60 mi) from Xiamen. It is 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Quanzhou and 220 kilometres (140 mi) from the provincial capital, Fuzhou

Nan'an experiences subtropical monsoonal humid climate. It has an average temperature of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F). It has 349 days which is frost free.

Nan'an is fast developing into an economic and industrial hub for Quanzhou prefecture. Its close proximity to economic centres such as Xiamen, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen makes it an important investment location for foreign investments and Taiwan businessmen.

Nan'an has very strong rail infrastructure and road links making it a gateway for tourism as well as commerce.