Quanzhou Things to Do

This temple is old and very interesting and has a nice serene atmosphere to it. I don't think the style is typical in fact it looked a little more "western" than other temples we have visited. The walls of the pagodas are faced in murals which reminded me a bit of India or of Angkor Wat. The gardens are lovely and peaceful,with old people playing cards and ma jong.and the whole place has a relaxed feel to it. There are two large pagodas,and some huge imposing statues as you enter the place,and there is also a large rather emaciated looking Buddha statue in one of the halls.

I don't know why this temple is not so famous as the Kaiyuan Si because we found it to be very interesting.The temple is very old and has an ornate roof in the typical style of South Fujian with colourful animals and dragons. Outside are many people selling incense and praying. There are also a great many beggars whom we found rather pushy,more so than in other places in China that we have visited. Nevertheless the Temple is worth a quick look.

We had heard that Arab traders used to live in Quanzhou in Marco Polo's time and hailing from the Middle East we were curious to see a Chinese Mosque. It was not quite as ornate or fascinating as the Buddhist temples we have seen but it was interesting and dates from over 1,000 years ago. Many parts have been rebuilt.

We went round the little Overseas Chinese Museum which was free of charge and in my view rather interesting (maybe not for everyone)
It describes the history of the Chinese who left Fujian Province to escape slave labour conditions as "coolies" for the Westerners and traveled to other parts of South East Asia such as Philippines,Vietnam and Malaysia to seek their fortune.Many of them became successful businessmen but didn't lose their ties to their Country of Origin and some came back to use their wealth in the service of the community. The museum is not very big but we found it to be enlightening and a pleasant experience.

The West Lake Park is located in the north-west part of the city. It was called the "North-west Ocean" which was composed of three famous bridges, three sections of water and four small isles. Inside of this park there is the biggest lake in Quanzhou city. Here a lot of trees, flowers, birds and very quiet. best place for relaxing.
Open time 8:00-17:30

A very old and famous pair of giant stone pagodas surrounded by temples and wonderful gardens and trees. Very big territory so you can walk here a long time. Unfortunately it is not possible to go inside of towers.
Closed at 17 o'clock.

One of the oldest Mosques in the world and the only one build in that century.
Territory is very small, you will no see much there. Just some ruins, small mosque model, mango tree )
asmission is 10 rmb

Qingyuan Mountain is main attraction in Quanzhou, it is one of the national park in China. It covers area more than 56 sq.m. The mountain situated at the north part of Quanzhou.
Here you can see the biggest statue in China of philosopher Lao Tse (Laozi). There is a legend that if you can touch his nose you will be the happiest person (his nose is very high ))

Also you can find here Islamic Holy Tombs from the Tang dynasty (618-907), "Maritime Silk Route" (the grouped stone inscriptions on Jiuri Hill),Tibetan Buddhist stone "Three Lives Buddha".

To be more exact, it's called the China Museum for Fujian-Taiwan Kinship, in Chinese it's the Min3 Tai2 Yuan2 Bo2 Wu4 Guan3. This's the only museum in mainland China that focuses on Taiwan. It opened in end-May 2006 and there's also a new Quanzhou Museum beside it. Admission is free.
Actually, if you're able to see the entire museum compound from above, you'll realise that it resembles the Chinese character "tai", as in Taiwan. :) Since I doubt any of us can fly, look at http://www.fjsen.com/images/2008-09/16/xin_0809051611200302074712.jpg for an example.
There're interesting exhibits on folk customs (traditional musical instruments used in Fujian nanyin music, elaborate puppets and such) and the history of Fujian-Taiwan Kinship -- with loads of the obligatory proclaimations of "Taiwan's bond to the Motherland is everlasting" and etc.
Extremely unique and huge painting of a tree in the front atrium which was made partly by exploding gunpowder.
Shallow water-filled area in square in front of the museum where locals gather to dip their feet in the cool water on a hot summer's day.
The museum opens daily at 0900. The last admission is at 1600, guards start chasing people out at 1630, and the museum closes at 1700.

One of the first bridges built over the sea, Luoyang Bridge is about 1000 years old. It has 834m long and 7m wide, with a lot of stone carvings.

It's nearly half way between Quanzhou and Chongwu. The visit ould be done the same day as Chongwu. Eg. when returning to Quanzhou ask the bus driver to stop near the bridge. When you decide to leave the place, go where the bus stopped and wait for a a bus that goes to Quanzhou (learn the Chinese writing of Quanzhou) and hitch it with your hand.

This one day trip offers the opportunity to visit a huge tea market and an interesting temple located in the mountains near Anxi.
For more informations read my Anxi/Fencheng pages

The museum has four exhibition halls: Quanzhou Overseas Communications, Quanzhou Religious Sculpture, Ancient Chinese Sailboats Models, and Quanzhou Customs and Culture. The Maritime Museum gives an excellent portrayal of the city throughout the ages.

If you like sacred mountains, Qingyuanshan is an interesting option. Of course it not as spectacular as Huangshan or Taishan, but the atmosphere is quieter: no crowd, no harrassing steet vendors, a kind of spirituality. You have also good views on Quanzhou. By climbing, you cross some Buddhist temples, Daoist shrines and Islamic tombs. At the top you find a lake (dam) with a restaurant. The climb is a bit tough.
At the bottom of the mountains there a big statue of Lao Tse (Laozi), worth to see.

As almost everywhere in Chinese cities, the ancient houses were destroyed and replaced by modern, but not very exciting, buildings. In Quanzhou a little group of ancient houses remain and it's a nice place to wander. Some of the houses are inhabited by a Muslim local minority.

A Mosque that survived the destroying forces - but very ruined in fact. It is 1000 years old and it's quite fascinating because completly un-chinese. It offers the possibility to dream about the ancient harbour of Quanzhou when it was the starting point of the maritime silk road.
A little museum details the history of Islam in Quanzhou.
When you wander the ruins you'll notice an amusing chinese-islamic architectural mix.