Things to do in Fújiàn
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Heavenly King Hall
Entering the temple through Heavenly King Hall you are met by the tub-bellied Milefo (Laughing Buddha), flanked by four heavenly kings. The classical Chinese inscription reads: 'When entering, regard Buddha and afterwards pay your respects to the four kings of heaven'.
Behind Milefo is Wei Tuo, protector of Buddhist monasteries, who safeguards Buddhist doctrine and relics. He holds a stick that points to the ground, indicating that the temple is rich and can provide visiting monks with board and lodging (if the stick is held horizontally it means the temple is poor and is a polite way of saying 'find somewhere else to stay').
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Húlǐ Shān Fortress
Across Daxue Lu, south of the university, is this gigantic German gun artillery built in 1893. You can rent binoculars to peer over the water to the Taiwanese-occupied island of Jīnmén (金门), formerly known as Quemoy, claimed by both mainland China and Taiwan. Boats (Y106 to Y126) do circuits of Jīnmén from the passenger ferry terminaloff Lujiang Lu.
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Nánpǔtuó Temple
On the southern side of Xiàmén, this Buddhist temple was originally built over a millennium ago but has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Its latest incarnation dates to the early 20th century, and today it's an active and busy temple with chanting monks and worshippers lighting incense.
The temple is fronted by a lovely lotus-flower-filled lake. In front of the courtyard is the twin-eaved Big Treasure Hall (Dàxióng Bǎodiàn), presided over by a trinity of Buddhas representing his past, present and future forms. Behind rises the eight-sided Hall of Great Compassion (Dàbēi Diàn), in which stands a golden 1000-armed statue of Guanyin, facing the four directions.
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Xiàmén University
Next to Nánpǔtuó Temple and established with overseas Chinese funds, the university has well- maintained grounds featuring an attractive lake. It's a good place for a pleasant, shady stroll. The campus entrance is next to the stop for bus 1.
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Sundance Kid
Xiàmén also has an assortment of restaurants serving Western-style dishes. One of the more popular places is Sundance Kid, which dishes up an eclectic assortment of dishes, including pizzas, seafood and roasted mutton with vegetables. There's also free internet and live entertainment on the weekends.
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Great Compassion Hall
The Great Compassion Hall contains four statues of Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy). Worshippers cast divining sticks at the feet of the statues to seek heavenly guidance.
The temple has an excellent vegetarian restaurant in a shaded courtyard where you can dine in the company of resident monks.
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Gōngdé Sùcàiguǎn
Near the university, good, cheap, attractive restaurants line Siming Nanlu and Yanwu Jie. A decent vegetarian restaurant is Gōngdé Sùcàiguǎn . Try the monks' vegetables (罗汉斋; luóhàn zhāi).
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Overseas Chinese Museum
A fascinating and ambitious celebration of China's communities abroad, with models, street scenes, photos and props. Close to the university.
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Great Heroic Treasure Hall
In front of the courtyard is the Great Heroic Treasure Hall, a two-storey building containing three Buddhas that represent Buddha in his past, present and future lives.
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Dàfāng Sùcàiguǎn
This vegetarian restaurant near Nánpǔtuó Temple has gone upmarket. Formerly the domain of a budget-conscious crowd, the temple has priced them out with a very wide range of vegetarian dishes including hotpots and mock meat. Try the tiěbǎn hēijiāo niúpái (铁板黑椒牛排; vegetable 'beef' strips with pepper).
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World Trade Centre
Next to the train station, there is an excellent open-air food court on the 5th floor, with a variety of small fast-food restaurants to choose from.
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Huángzéhé Peanut Soup Shop
Very popular restaurant with basic service and seating, famed for its delectably sweet huāshēng tāng (花生汤; peanut soup; Y2) and popular snacks including zhūròu chuàn (猪肉串; pork kebabs; Y3) and xiǎolóngbāo (小笼包; Shanghai dumplings; Y3 for four). You need to purchase coupons that you hand over when you order food.
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Xiàméi
This village dates to the Northern Song dynasty, and boasts some spectacular Qing-dynasty architecture from its heyday as a wealthy tea-trading centre. To reach Xiàméi, hop on a minibus (Y4) from Wǔyí Shān city for the 12km journey. Minibuses also run to Xiàméi (Y3) from the Wǔyí Shān Scenic Area.
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Wǔyí Shān Scenic Area
Enter the area via Wǔyí Gōng, about 200m south of the Wǔyí Mountain Villa, near the confluence of the Chóngyáng Stream and the Nine Twists River. Trails within the scenic area connect all the major sites. A couple of good walks are the 530m Great King Peak (大王峰; Dàwáng Fēng), accessed through the main entrance, and the 410m Heavenly Tour Peak (天游峰; Tiānyóu Fēng), where an entrance is reached by road up the Nine Twists River. It's a moderate two-hour walk to Great King Peak among bamboo groves and steep-cut rock walls. The trail can be slippery and wet, so bring suitable shoes.
The walk to Heavenly Tour Peak is more scenic, with better views of the …
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West Lake Park
In the northwest of Fúzhōu, this park with a large artificial lake is a popular hang-out for locals on the weekends. The park is modelled on Hángzhōu's West Lake. This is a fab little spot for chilling out, or you can hire a paddleboat (Y20 to Y50 per hour) if you're feeling energetic.
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Qīngjìng Mosque
This stone edifice is one of China's only surviving mosques from the Song dynasty, built by Arabs in 1009 and restored in 1309. Only a few sections (mainly walls) of the original building survive, largely in ruins.
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Nine Twists River
One of the highlights for visitors is floating down the river on bamboo rafts (zhúpái) fitted with rattan chairs. Departing from Xīngcūn (星村), a short bus ride west of the resort area, the trip down the river takes over an hour. The boat ride takes you through some magnificent gorge scenery, with sheer rock cliffs and lush green vegetation.
One of the mysteries of Wǔyí Shān is the cavities, carved out of the rock faces at great heights, which once held boat-shaped coffins. Scientists have dated some of these artefacts back 4000 years. If you're taking a raft down the river, it's possible to see some remnants of these coffins on the west cliff face of the fourth mea…
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Maritime Museum
On the northeast side of town, this museum explains Quánzhōu's trading history and the development of Chinese shipbuilding. There are wonderfully detailed models of Chinese ships, from junks to pleasure boats.
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Lucky Full City Seafood
You'll have to either be really lucky (or wait at least 30 minutes) for a table at this popular dim sum restaurant. You will, however, leave really full after digging into roast meats, chār shāo bāo and shāo mài; English and picture menu available. Catch a taxi here: the driver will know where it is.
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Liji Mudan Fishball
Pull up a bench and order some local specialities: shark fishball noodles (鲨鱼丸粉丝; Y8) and a serve of oyster omelette (海蛎煎; Y15). Slurp it down and order a second serve.
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Kāiyuán Temple
In the northwest of the city is one of the oldest temples in Quánzhōu, dating back to AD 686. Surrounded by trees, the temple is serene and famed for its pair of rust-coloured five-storey stone pagodas, stained with age and carved with figures, which date from the 13th century. Behind the eastern pagoda is a museum containing the enormous hull of a Song-dynasty seagoing junk, which was excavated near Quánzhōu in 1974. The temple's Great Treasure Hall (Dàxióng Bǎodiàn) and the hall behind are decorated with marvellous overhead beams and brackets. The main courtyard is flanked by a row of wizened banyan trees; one is 800 years old! Take bus 2 (Y2) from Wenling Nanlu.…
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Jǐnxiùzhuāng Puppet Museum
Has displays of puppet heads, intricate 30-string marionettes and comical hand puppets. There are over 3000 puppet heads, though at times the service is rather wooden.
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Jade Hill Scenic Area
This rocky hill park in the centre of Fúzhōu rises above a snow-white statue of Mao Zedong (毛主席像; Máo Zhǔxí Xiàng) playing 'traffic cop'. Check out the seven-storey White Pagoda (白塔; Bái Tǎ), built in AD 904. At the foot of Jade Hill are the wretched remains of Fúzhōu's Ming dynasty city wall (明代古城墙遗迹; Míngdài Gǔchéngqiáng Yíjì); originally boasting seven gates, the wall was pulled down for road widening.
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Guandi Temple
This smoky and fabulously carved temple is southeast of the mosque. It's dedicated to Guan Yu, a Three Kingdoms hero and the God of War, and inside the temple are statues of the god and panels along the walls that detail his life.
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Gǔcuò Cháfāng
This lovely teahouse in the alley behind the Guandi Temple has a refreshing old-time courtyard ambience, hung with red lanterns, paved with flagstones and laid out with traditional wooden halls and bamboo chairs. There are puppet shows every Friday (8.30pm, Y15 to Y50).
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