The first map below shows Taiwan, and part of Fujian (Province), which includes Xiamen, Zhangzhou, and Fuzhou.  My hometown, Shima (town), Longhai (County, now City), is 21 kilometers south of Zhangzhou (City). 

The second map below is the detailed map of Shima by Nine-Dragon River.  If we go to Xiamen, the two-hour boat trip would flow along the river, then out to the sea.

The written language we use in the hometown as well as in most parts of China is, well, Chinese ("Simplified Chinese" in mainland China, "Traditional Chinese" in Taiwan and Hongkong). The official spoken language for the whole country is Mandarin, and is referred to as 普通话 in mainland China, and as 国语 in Taiwan.  But most locals do not speak Mandarin except on formal or official setting, or when to people from other regions.  Most locals, when they trade or chat, would speak their own dialect.  In my hometown, it's 闽南话，or "Southern Fujianese".  It's also the dialect for people in Xiamen and Taiwan.  In Fujian Province alone, there are several major dialects and very many variants.

Wikipedia on-line encyclopedia has some articles discussing the intricacies of the Chinese language: link 1 | link 2

下面的第一幅地图是台湾海峡一角，可见台湾，以及福建省的厦门、漳州、福州等地名。我的家乡龙海石码就在漳州以南21公里处。

第二幅地图则是在九龙江畔的石吗镇。我们如果去厦门，就坐船沿江而下，直到江流汇入大海。

中国大部分地区使用的文字是中文。大陆用简体字，台湾和香港用繁体字。统一的口语是大陆所称的“普通话”和台湾所用的“国语”。但各地自有各地的方言。我们的家乡话的是闽南话，跟厦门和台湾的方言一样。