Live Your Best Lives
Bai Yansong once said during an event, "Quanzhou is a city that I often tell my friends, that you must visit at least once in your lifetime." This sentence touched the heart and revealed the fate between him and Quanzhou. He further explained: "Because what is available elsewhere is also available here, and what is not available elsewhere may also be available here." Yes, Quanzhou, this is a city you must visit at least once in your lifetime.
Here, you can feel the strong friendship between Fujian and Taiwan; here, you can see the Luoyang Bridge, a representative of the Central Plains culture known as one of the "Four Ancient Bridges in China"; here, you can come face to face with the "Xiapu Girl" and the "Hui'an Girl", two of the three major fishing girls in traditional China; here, you can hear the anti-Japanese war drums from the southeast coast, as well as the ancient Nanyin melodies; you can even see various religious buildings from around the world, because Quannan Buddhist Kingdom is China's first "East Asian Cultural Capital" and is also known as the "World Religions Museum."
Quanzhoucheck the details
Quanzhou, also known as Licheng, Citongcheng, and Wenling, is currently the economic center of Fujian Province and one of Fujian's three major urban centers. It is also a renowned hometown of overseas Chinese and the ancestral home of Taiwanese compatriots. Located on my country's southeastern coast, Quanzhou faces Taiwan across the sea. In ancient times, Quanzhou Port was known as the "Greatest Port in the East," rivaling the Port of Alexandria in Egypt. Approved by the State Council, Quanzhou was one of the first 24 historical and cultural cities announced, earning it the reputation of "Zou Lu by the Sea" and "City of Light."
5094 recommendations, 4347 visits
Once upon a time, Quanzhou, also known as "Licheng," was so small it was even jokingly called "two towers in the east and west, one street in the north and south." Today, if you visit Quanzhou's old town, Licheng District, you'll still find its narrow streets well-equipped and filled with the atmosphere of everyday life. Numerous time-honored restaurants and famous delicacies are hidden away, waiting to be discovered.
Why is Quanzhou called a city full of the flavor of life?
A large part of the reason may be because of these street food stalls, such as noodle soup, fried vinegar meat, braised noodles, sweet fruit, fish rolls, beef soup...
【Noodle Soup】
Originating from Quanzhou, Fujian, mī-gua-kôo is a local snack in southern Fujian and Taiwan. The dish is in a paste-like form and is made from thin noodles and sweet potato starch.
The plain noodle soup has nothing in it, but the family-style soup has a lot of things added to it, such as fried vinegar meat, fried fish rolls, tofu rolls, pig blood, squid, large intestine, small intestine, sausage... Of course, you can't forget to add a serving of fried dough sticks. Pay attention to the hotness of the first bite. The taste of pepper made me think it was spicy soup, a nourishing product that warms the stomach in winter and relieves heat in summer.
【Fried Vinegar Pork】
The grandmother who runs the decades-old shop said that in order to make fried vinegar pork delicious, in addition to using fresh ingredients, it also needs to be marinated using the ancient method of adding garlic, salt, MSG, sugar, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, vinegar and other sauces, and finally evenly coated with sweet potato starch and finally scattered into the oil pan for frying. This kind of fried vinegar pork is the most authentic.
In Quanzhou Market, it seems like everything can be fried, and they all taste perfect!!!
【Earthworm Jelly】
This is a snack that looks a bit creepy, but is actually nutritious and has a crispy texture.
It is made from a kind of delicious worm whose scientific name is Sipunculus spp., which grows on mudflats. After multiple processes such as cleaning, boiling and cooling, it is rich in gelatin and is a favorite snack among people in southern Fujian.
【Braised Noodles】
Quanzhou braised noodles do not mean noodles made from braising liquid, but rather noodles made from braising liquid made from various ingredients mixed with noodles. The essence of a delicious bowl of Quanzhou braised noodles lies in the braising liquid.
【Dongxing Beef】
Speaking of beef, apart from the delicious beef from the grasslands, the beef balls from the Chaoshan area seem to be the most famous. Perhaps because Quanzhou is close to Chaoshan, the beef in Quanzhou is also super crispy and soft and melts in your mouth.
【Bian Shi】
"Bianshi" is actually the ancient name for dumplings. The Qinhuai River area in Jiangsu and Fujian, due to their ancient cultural heritage, has retained the ancient name "bianshi." It's called "wonton" in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, "chaoshou" in Sichuan, "baomian" in Hubei, and "wonton" in Guangdong.
Peanut Soup
This delicacy originated in Quanzhou and later spread to other coastal areas of Fujian and even overseas. The peanuts are crispy yet not brittle, melting in your mouth. The broth is milky white, sweet, and refreshing, nourishing and moistening the lungs. A bowl in the morning, paired with a fried dough stick, is warm and refreshing. If it's not sweet enough, add a little sugar.
【Love Agarwood】
At first I couldn't tell the difference between four-fruit soup and agar-agar. When I got to the store, I asked the boss for one portion of agar-agar and one portion of four-fruit soup. The boss said, then just give me one portion of four-fruit soup with agar-agar as the main ingredient.
Agar-agar is also an ingredient in the four-fruit soup, 7 yuan per portion, and an additional 1 yuan for takeout. I feel like I can eat three portions a day in the summer!
I remember a poem: "The relics of Qingyuan were used to build the country, and the Shaolin style is everywhere in Quannan." The Southern Boxing, Southern Song and Southern Opera are called "Three Nans of Quanzhou" and have become the favorite traditional entertainment projects of Quanzhou people.
It is said that it takes 24 incense sticks to complete the entire worship process in Guandi Temple, and there are different routes.
The process of drawing lots in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is very different. First, you need to take two pieces of wood and ask for Guan Di's approval. If one side comes up, the other side comes up, indicating approval. Then you can draw lots. After receiving the lot, you need to ask Guan Di again to see if it is yours. If the two sides come up, you need to draw lots again. Finally, you can interpret the lot. The amount of incense and money you want to spend is optional.
Quanzhou Museum
The museum houses basic displays such as "Quanzhou History and Culture", "Quanzhou Nanyin, Opera Art", as well as exhibitions such as "Quanzhou Ancient Calligraphy" and "Quanzhou Folk Collections". It is also the location of the "World Multicultural Exhibition Center" established by UNESCO.
China Fujian-Taiwan Relations Museum
Located not far from the Quanzhou Museum and close to West Lake, the building's unique design concept of "round heaven and square earth" inherits the distinctive brick-and-stone architectural techniques of traditional Fujian and Taiwan architecture. Its alternating red and white colors create a natural and harmonious atmosphere, fully embodying the humanistic spirit and regional characteristics of both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Quanzhou Overseas Transportation History Museum
The Overseas Transportation History Museum consists of two areas: Kaiyuan Temple and Donghu New Hall. It is a museum dedicated to reflecting the history of ancient maritime transportation. It takes the history of the medieval Citong Port, namely Quanzhou Port, as its axis, and reproduces China's ancient maritime culture with unique maritime relics.
Quanzhou is also known as "Cytonia City" because of the vibrant blossoms of the Erythrina tree. Thanks to the flourishing Maritime Silk Road, the erythrina tree, native to India and Malaysia, entered Fujian during the Tang and Song dynasties and settled in Quanzhou. Today, the erythrina tree has become Quanzhou's city tree.
I came here because of its reputation. The architectural style of Jinjiang's red brick ancient houses was originally located in the "Liuqing" ancient house in the traditional block of Wudian City. It is a typical traditional southern Fujian building. As I walked along, I could see words such as Donghui and Liufang on their door lintels.
Today, this ancient house has a lintel with the words "Liu Qing's New House". It is said that the owner Zhuang Ming'an placed his long-cherished wish for this ancient house to have a "long history", so he named it after his nickname "Liu Qing". Now the old house has a new look, and it is hoped that this ancient house can last forever.
"Red bricks and white stones, double-tools, bricks and stones with swallowtail ridges, carved beams and painted rafters rising from the imperial palace, stone carvings and wood carvings combined." This is the most traditional cultural feature of ancient buildings in southern Fujian.
This most beautiful Starbucks in Wudianshi boasts a standard five-bay, two-entrance, three-story, ridge-roof brick, stone, and wood structure, utilizing both through-beam and raised-beam structures. It features a double-sided guardhouse, a stone courtyard, a courtyard-front room, and surrounding walls. The red brick walls, window grilles, and carved eaves of the historic house have been preserved to the greatest extent possible. Even the booths are furnished with stone tables and benches, creating a seamless integration into the park's atmosphere.
It only takes more than an hour to drive from Quanzhou to the small seaside town of "Shishi". The two words "Ju Ruo" come from "The Book of Songs", which means: In this beautiful land, I promise you a beautiful journey.
It is really appropriate, but when I asked the boss about the meaning of the word "Ju Ruo", the boss just said that it was just a spur of the moment idea. It was really a wonderful unexpected result.
Juruo, which covers an area of 3,000 square meters on the seaside, is shaped like a pink three-story castle with purple, yellow, white and blue as the main colors. The interior is full of geometric space elements, cacti, agaves, and staircases of different heights. With bright sunshine and just the right shooting angle, every photo is definitely a blockbuster.
Ancient Chinese martial arts were often divided into southern fists and northern kicks. I had always only known the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, and Quanzhou's Southern Shaolin Temple had no recollection of it. This trip to Quanzhou, to the Shaolin Temple at the eastern foot of Qingyuan Mountain, felt like a paradise.
I didn’t expect that the powerful Southern Shaolin has such a secluded place. You can do valley yoga in the early morning or learn a set of Shaolin boxing, enjoy three vegetarian meals, and listen to the heavenly Buddhist music.
If you want to stay a night in Southern Shaolin, the Shangke Hall on the back mountain of Shaolin Temple is definitely the best choice. Each room has a Zen theme and no TV, allowing you to feel completely relaxed.
Dehua's white porcelain is very famous, so Dehua is also known as the Porcelain Capital, and it has a 400-year-old dragon kiln.
As I approached the "Yue Ji Kiln", I found it was a simple and dilapidated tile shed with firewood piled up in a mess. The arched kiln built of red bricks was clearly visible. If it weren't for the weathered "Yue Ji Kiln" plaque reminding me that this was a century-old kiln, I wouldn't even have thought that this was the dragon kiln that was once prosperous with firewood.
Due to the epidemic, Yueji Kiln did not open the fire this year. It is said that there are caramel-colored kiln walls inside the kiln, and a glass-like light can be seen under the light of a flashlight.
According to data, over 200 ancient porcelain kiln sites from various dynasties have been discovered in Dehua, most of which are "dragon kilns" (kilns were built sloping along the mountainside, with the head down and the tail up, consisting of a kiln head, a kiln bed, and a kiln tail. The kiln head had a separate fire chamber, the kiln tail housed a chimney, and the kiln chamber was stepped, with symmetrically arranged firewood holes on either side of each step, and a kiln door every few steps to facilitate the loading and unloading of porcelain). Dragon kilns used the oldest wood-fired firing method. Today, only three dragon kilns in Dehua are still capable of firing porcelain. Yueji Kiln is the oldest and the only one still using wood-fired firing.
I didn’t expect that in Yongchun, Fujian, there is a “China Incense Capital” with a history of incense making for more than 300 years. I heard that nearly 1/4 of the incense used for worship in the country comes from Dapu. The incense produced here is burned all over China, and some are even exported overseas.
The incense-making technology of Dapu can be traced back to more than 300 years ago. The descendants of Pu Shougeng, a wealthy Arab merchant who once served as the Maritime Customs of Quanzhou, moved to Hankou Village, Dapu Town, and brought the incense-making skills to Dapu. After continuous improvement and development, and after many raw materials unique to China were added according to local conditions, the incense here became famous.
The culture of incense is vast and profound. Compared to perfumes that often cost thousands of yuan, Chinese incense extracted from natural plants is diverse in variety and function. A skilled perfumer can complete the twisting of a stick of incense in just 3 seconds, with a very sophisticated technique.
Meizhou women, Xiapu women and Hui'an women are known as the three major fishing women in Fujian. They are a major folk wonder along the coast of central and southern Fujian. They are representatives of southern Fujian women who are hardworking, enterprising, filial to their parents and respectful to the elderly, and uphold morality and kindness.
The Crab Women possess a unique cultural charm, with clothing and headdresses that differ significantly from those of the Han Chinese. The houses where these women have lived for generations are called "oyster shell houses." They wear distinctive and beautiful clothing, crowned with "hairpin flower headbands," and have dedicated themselves to Mazu for generations. Their attire and homes reveal memories of the maritime culture of the Song and Yuan dynasties.
To this day, most of the women in Xiapu Village still maintain the fine traditions of their ancestors. Many of them are actually descendants of Arabs. The Maritime Silk Road facilitated closer exchanges between China and the rest of the world, and many Arabs intermarried with local people. Today, Xiapu Village has many descendants of Southeast Asians and Arabs.
Hui'an women have a unique dress. They wear colorful headscarves, yellow gardener's pointed hats, short tops that reveal their navels, and long, loose pants. Therefore, they are nicknamed "feudal heads, democratic bellies, thrifty clothes, and wasteful pants."
There is also a Hui'an Women's Folk Customs Park and a Hui'an Women's Wedding Customs Exhibition Hall, right on the beach.
Quanzhou, a city you must visit at least once in your lifetime, is worth your visit!
