Nanputuo Temple
Nanputuo Temple has a history dating back to the Tang Dynasty. It was expanded during the Ming Dynasty and renovated during the Qing Dynasty. Facing the harbor and worshipping Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy), the temple is akin to the Guanyin Temple on Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang Province, hence its name "Nanputuo" (literally, "South Putuo"). It's South Fujian's Buddhist Mecca.
The temple is nestled snugly at the foot of five soaring peaks–the Bell Peak (the First Peak), the Second Peak, the Middle Peak (the Third Peak), the Fourth Peak, and the Drum Peak (the Fifth Peak). Seen from a distance, the peaks resemble five sedentary elders with long beards, the lush trees being their beards and the mist being their sleeves.
Yuanqian Community of Qingjiao Village
Scenic features
Customs and festivals
Yuanqian Community of Qingjiao Village in Haicang District is the first Fujian-Taiwan ecological and cultural village in Xiamen City. Located at the intersection of Xiamen and Zhangzhou, Yuanqian Community is a main birthplace of Baosheng Ciji Culture, the second most popular folk belief in Taiwan and it is also the hometown of Yan Siqi, the pioneer of Taiwan. Close to Yuanqian Community stands the Qingjiao Ciji Palace ranking among the fourth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level where Wu Zhenren, a renowned doctor in Northern Song Dynasty is enshrined and worshiped.
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Zeng Qinzhao, the Managing Vice Chairman of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM), ever exclaimed that “mountains and rivers make one feel nostalgic”. Stepping into Yuanqian Community of Qingjiao Village in Haicang District, people will feel just like entering the lotus land as portrayed by Tao Yuanming. He also expressed that just like many other businessmen from Taiwan, he felt the long-lost nostalgic sentiments here.
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Cultural exchange has greatly stimulated the tourism in Yuanqian Community as abundant cultural accumulation has developed Yuanqian Community into a popular tourist attraction. Tourists from both sides of Taiwan Strait may get together in Yuanqian Community to share the common feelings.
Shopping and specialty
Zeng Qinzhao, the Managing Vice Chairman of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM), ever exclaimed that “mountains and rivers make one feel nostalgic”. Stepping into Yuanqian Community of Qingjiao Village in Haicang District, people will feel just like entering the lotus land as portrayed by Tao Yuanming. He also expressed that just like many other businessmen from Taiwan, he felt the long-lost nostalgic sentiments here.
Travel Tips
Cultural exchange has greatly stimulated the tourism in Yuanqian Community as abundant cultural accumulation has developed Yuanqian Community into a popular tourist attraction. Tourists from both sides of Taiwan Strait may get together in Yuanqian Community to share the common feelings.
Features Aspect
With the most existing ancient dwellings in Xiamen City including 39 distinctive ancient dwellings such as extremely exquisite and large-scaled Old House of Yan’s Family and Dafudi, Yuanqian Community is truly the heaven for lovers of ancient dwellings. All the ancient dwellings are sparkling with new vitality after renovation. Dafudi has become the lecture hall for Chinese Studies of Community Academy to provide over 10 courses including southern Fujian nursery rhymes, puppet show performance, Yan’s Family culture, handcraft, and parent-child story-telling session. Ancient dwellings will also be developed into coffee houses, private home cuisine restaurants, guesthouses, cultural creativity workshops and museums so as to better carry forward traditional culture. At ordinary times, Jishengyuan Pineapple Sightseeing Plant, fruits and vegetable fields rented by citizens and Shiwen handmade noodle restaurants are crowded with visitors from different places.
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Xiangshan Mountain Scenic Spot
Scenic features
Customs and festivals
As a main tourist attraction in Xiangshan Mountain, Xiangshanyan Temple is an ancient temple with a thousand-year history which was firstly built in the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1127). Possessing hundreds of monks and nuns during a period of great prosperity, Xiangshanyan Temple mainly worships Master Qingshui and ranks as the largest temple in Xiang’an as well as the pilgrimage site for believers from Xiamen, Kinmen and surrounding areas. Taiwanese Opera, Puppet Show, Chegu Opera, Chest Pat Dance and other distinctive folk art performances in Xiangshan Temple Fair attract hundreds of thousands of tourists for sightseeing and pilgrimage.
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Xiangshan Mountain possesses numerous natural wonderful landscapes and famous historical sites including Immortal Fountain inexhaustible for a thousand year, Free Life Pond for perpetual turtles, Forest of Steles for generations and Training Ground of ancient Song Jiang tactics. Xiangshan Mountain also possesses gorgeous landscapes just like a poetic painting with 24 mountains such as Lion Mountain, Ghost Mountain, Elephant Mountain and Lishan Mountain overlapping each other and stretching for ten miles, ancient and famous trees such as royal poinciana, Erythrina variegate, Bombax ceiba, banyan and Pinus massoniana in flourishing and verdant distribution, various charming flowers such as jasmine, Michelia figo, Bougainvillea speetabilis, sweet osmanthus competing with each other for beauty and fascination, pavilions, terraces and towers casting beautiful and interesting reflections, winding and secluded ancient paths in the mountain with two 5-kilometer long wooden trestles looking like black dragons coiling around the mountain. Walking along the path and climbing onto the mountain to view the integrated splendid landscapes at the foot, tourists will certainly be indulged in such an amazing scenic spot.
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Shopping and specialty
Xiangshan Mountain possesses numerous natural wonderful landscapes and famous historical sites including Immortal Fountain inexhaustible for a thousand year, Free Life Pond for perpetual turtles, Forest of Steles for generations and Training Ground of ancient Song Jiang tactics. Xiangshan Mountain also possesses gorgeous landscapes just like a poetic painting with 24 mountains such as Lion Mountain, Ghost Mountain, Elephant Mountain and Lishan Mountain overlapping each other and stretching for ten miles, ancient and famous trees such as royal poinciana, Erythrina variegate, Bombax ceiba, banyan and Pinus massoniana in flourishing and verdant distribution, various charming flowers such as jasmine, Michelia figo, Bougainvillea speetabilis, sweet osmanthus competing with each other for beauty and fascination, pavilions, terraces and towers casting beautiful and interesting reflections, winding and secluded ancient paths in the mountain with two 5-kilometer long wooden trestles looking like black dragons coiling around the mountain. Walking along the path and climbing onto the mountain to view the integrated splendid landscapes at the foot, tourists will certainly be indulged in such an amazing scenic spot.
Travel Tips
Features Aspect
As a place endowed with natural blessings and sages with abundant cultural accumulation, Xiangshan Mountain is a famous mountain integrating religious culture of “Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism”. Xiangshan Mountain enshrines and worships Master Qingshui, Zhu Wengong, Buddha Shakyamuni, City God, Mother Buddha and Guan Gong which is extremely excellent to be rated as an religious ashram. On the left side of Xiangshanyan Temple stands the “Huiguowengong Ancestral Temple” (also known as “Xiangshan Academy”) which is built to eulogize Zhu Xi’s talents and knowledge.
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Tong'an Confucian Temple
Scenic features
Customs and festivals
Tong'an Confucian Temple is a symbol of ancient Tong'an, bearing the profound historical and cultural deposits of Tong'an. The Confucian Temple maintains the features of ancient buildings of southern Fujian in the Qing Dynasty. Facing Dongxi River and leaning close to ancient city walls, Halberd Gate features a height of 4.4 meters which is higher than the main gate of Quanzhoufu Confucian Temple with Qingyun Road right under the walls and four dragon stone pillars at the front porch. With a double-eave gable and hip roof, Dacheng Hall possesses 8 supporting round stone pillars in distinctive shapes with square bottom, octagonal middle section embossed with different patterns such as “kettle” doors in each side and scalloped conical top. Inherited from the original Confucian Temple firstly built in the Five Dynasties, this type of pillars is unique in Fujian Province.
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Tong'an Confucian Temple was renovated and transformed into a museum in 1990 to display major historical sites of ancient Tong'an from the Neolithic Age to the founding of the PRC as well as achievements of ten outstanding country squires and famous officials (Su Song, Wu Tao, Lin Xiyuan, Hong Chaoxuan, Cai Fuyi, Lin Junsheng, Wu Bida, Chen Huacheng, Wu Ruifu and Tan Kah Kee).
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Shopping and specialty
Tong'an Confucian Temple was renovated and transformed into a museum in 1990 to display major historical sites of ancient Tong'an from the Neolithic Age to the founding of the PRC as well as achievements of ten outstanding country squires and famous officials (Su Song, Wu Tao, Lin Xiyuan, Hong Chaoxuan, Cai Fuyi, Lin Junsheng, Wu Bida, Chen Huacheng, Wu Ruifu and Tan Kah Kee).
Travel Tips
Features Aspect
Tong'an Confucian Temple is equipped with a stone sculpture exhibition ground known as “Terra-Cotta Warriors in Tong'an” displaying over 500 stone sculptures collected across Tong’an District as well as a memorial archway entitled “Xing Xian Yu Cai” (cultivating virtuous and talented people), a Guanlan Pavilion on the ancient walls and a green stone sculpture Drawings of Confucius’ Saint Deeds recording Confucius’ life stories. Covering a floor space of 6,432 square meters and a building area of over 1,400 square meters, Tong"an Confucian Temple features the central axis of Halberd Gate, Patio (porches at both sides), Altar and Dacheng Hall from southeast to northwest with Su Song Ancestral Temple firstly built by Zhu Xi and Lin Xiyuan Ancestral Temple built in the Ming Dynasty in the south and Guanlan Pavilion, Panchi Pool and Xing Xian Yu Cai Memorial Archway in the north.
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Liantang Villas
Scenic features
Customs and festivals
As an ever significant port and an important starting point of “Maritime Silk Road”, the plain buildings in the ancient Cangjiang Town still maintain their previous styles and features. Built during the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, Liantang Villas covers a floor space of about 30,000 square meters and a building area of over 8,000 square meters. Dwellings, schools and ancestral temples in Liantang Villas are distributed like the shape of the character “Pin” establishing the largest ancient architectural complex of styles of southern Fujian in Xiamen. Featuring functions of dwelling, education and worship, Liantang Villas is the living fossil for studying dwelling culture and life in ancient China.
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In addition to Liantang Villas, different business streets of various features in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China coexist well in the ancient Cangjiang Town. Huanggong Bridge and the ancient stele at the bridge head in the Song Dynasty still stand there. Ruiqing Palace in the Song Dynasty for worshiping Baosheng God held by the Patrol Division of three cities in the Ming Dynasty has been included as one of Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the Municipal Level. A stone stele in the Palace which is written by Lv Shiyi, a famous celebrity in Fujian and Taiwan, has attracted the attention from both sides of Taiwan Strait
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Shopping and specialty
In addition to Liantang Villas, different business streets of various features in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China coexist well in the ancient Cangjiang Town. Huanggong Bridge and the ancient stele at the bridge head in the Song Dynasty still stand there. Ruiqing Palace in the Song Dynasty for worshiping Baosheng God held by the Patrol Division of three cities in the Ming Dynasty has been included as one of Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the Municipal Level. A stone stele in the Palace which is written by Lv Shiyi, a famous celebrity in Fujian and Taiwan, has attracted the attention from both sides of Taiwan Strait
Travel Tips
Features Aspect
Liantang Villas possesses numerous splendid and exquisite artworks such as brick carving, wood carving, porcelain carving, stone carving, mud carving and colored painting and many gilded wood carvings are still sparkling to this day with clearly visible and vivid clothes, ornaments and hair of painted characters. The brick carving is extremely excellent to be rated as the top in Fujian Province with great value in both appreciation and protection. The brick carvings in the Villas are visible around the patio and the wainscoting of the hall, mainly covering pines, bamboos, bananas, plums, orchids, chrysanthemums and peonies in the patio, and various flowers and beasts in the hall among which the carving of Hundred Flowers Painting, Hundred Beasts Painting and Splash-ink Landscape Painting features excellent painting skills and carving techniques.
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