Xiamen to Quanzhou Day Tour: Kaiyuan Temple + West Street + Quanzhou Confucian Temple + Qingjing Mosque + Guandi Temple + Mazu Temple
This morning, you will depart from Xiamen for Quanzhou (about 91 kilometers, 2 hours by car). Quanzhou is a historic ancient city and commercial city with a history of over a thousand years. It is also a world-famous World Heritage city and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. From the Five Dynasties to the Song and Yuan periods, it was named "Citong City" because of the widespread planting of tung trees. It was a landmark commercial port well known to global merchants. Marco Polo called it "one of the largest ports in the world," on par with Alexandria in Egypt. Its prosperity of "ten thousand merchants from all nations amid the sound of rising seas" is still celebrated today. In addition, Quanzhou preserves relics of Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Manichaeism, and others. The inscription "Quannan Buddhist Kingdom" written by Zhu Xi is still visible, and it is known as a "World Museum of Religions."
Main attractions for today's Quanzhou one-day tour: Kaiyuan Temple, Quanzhou Bay Ancient Ship Museum (at own expense), West Street, Bell Tower, Zhongshan Street, Quanzhou Confucian Temple, Tumen Street, Qingjing Mosque, Guanyue Temple (Guandi Temple), Mazu Temple (Tianhou Palace), Luoyang Bridge (at own expense).
After arriving in Quanzhou, first visit the thousand-year-old ancient temple - Kaiyuan Temple. Kaiyuan Temple was first built in the 2nd year of the Chuigong reign of the Tang Dynasty (686 AD). It is the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian Province and one of the most representative ancient Buddhist temples along China's southeast coast. It is known as "the First Temple of Quannan Buddhist Kingdom" and "the First Ancient Temple in Minnan." In 2021, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List as a heritage site of "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China." You can follow the temple's central axis and visit in sequence: Ziyun Screen (screen wall, independent spirit wall design), Shanmen Hall (also called Tianwang Hall, where the famous couplet by Zhu Xi written by Master Hongyi, "This place was anciently called a Buddhist kingdom; the streets are full of sages," is located), Worship Pavilion (the best place to view the twin pagodas, where you can photograph the East and West Pagodas in panorama), Mahavira Hall (the pinnacle of architectural craftsmanship, using the original "reduced-column method," where diverse cultures blend perfectly, and China's oldest existing mulberry tree is also here), Ganlu Ordination Altar (one of only three remaining ordination altars in China), and Sutra Library (housing precious Buddhist texts such as Pattra-leaf scriptures from the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties).
In addition, the Zhenguo Pagoda (East Pagoda) and Renshou Pagoda (West Pagoda) on the east and west sides of the Worship Pavilion square are key attractions. They are Quanzhou's city symbols and landmark buildings, and also China's tallest and most representative existing Song Dynasty stone pagodas, known as the "King of Stone Pagodas." The East Pagoda is about 48.27 meters high, symbolizing the Saha World of the East, and the West Pagoda is about 45.06 meters high, representing the Western Pure Land. The pagoda bodies are exquisitely carved and can be called the pinnacle of Song Dynasty stone carving art, worthy of careful appreciation.
If interested, you can also visit the Quanzhou Bay Ancient Ship Exhibition Hall (at own expense, closed on Mondays), the core thematic exhibition hall of the Quanzhou Overseas Transportation History Museum, to gain a deeper understanding of the glorious history of ancient Chinese maritime civilization and the Maritime Silk Road. In addition, on the 26th day of each lunar month, Kaiyuan Temple holds a grand "Qinfo Day," which is very lively.
Then, stroll from Kaiyuan Temple to West Street and experience Quanzhou's urban charm of "half city bustle, half city immortals." West Street is 1,700 meters long and is the core district of Quanzhou's ancient city. It is also a living historical fossil witnessing thousand-year Maritime Silk Road culture. There is a saying that "West Street existed first, then Quanzhou City." Strolling along it feels like being on a street from a thousand years ago, seeing again the prosperous appearance of the "largest port of the East" in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Traditional Minnan architecture and authentic Minnan cuisine along the way are highlights not to be missed. You can also photograph the Kaiyuan Temple twin pagodas from different angles, chat with locals, listen to the famous Minnan song "Love to Win to Succeed," and learn more about Minnan culture. If it happens to be spring, you can also see the fiery red city flower of Quanzhou - tung blossoms.
Quanzhou is a famous food city in China. You can have lunch on West Street and taste diverse flavors such as misua paste, sea worm jelly, runbing rolls, fried vinegar pork, four-fruit soup, satay noodles, fist mother, mochi, and ginger duck.
After lunch, stroll to the Bell Tower. Built in 1934 and about 13.8 meters high, the Bell Tower is a landmark building of Quanzhou and perfectly blends Eastern and Western architectural aesthetics. Here, you can appreciate the charm of Tang and Song traditions and Republican-era style at the same time. The Bell Tower night view is especially beautiful and very worth seeing.
Then, you will stroll along Zhongshan Street to Quanzhou Confucian Temple (closed on Mondays). The Quanzhou Confucian Temple is the largest and best-preserved Confucian temple complex in southeast China. It is also a living museum of architectural art from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties and an important part of World Cultural Heritage. Historically, it was Quanzhou's highest institution of learning and cultivated a large number of talents: 2,454 imperial examination jinshi, 8 civil and military top scholars, and more than 20 prime ministers.
Recommended visiting route for the Confucian Temple: Pan Palace Gate Tower (Quanzhou's first reinforced concrete antique building; the plaque "Pan Palace" was written by Wu Lu, Fujian's last top scholar) → Dacheng Gate (five bays and three gates; the central gate opens only during sacrifices) → Pan Pond and Pan Bridge (Pan Pond also serves water storage and flood control functions; the 72 stone slabs on the bridge correspond to Confucius's seventy-two disciples, now a place for students to pray for blessings) → Dacheng Hall (a rare Song Dynasty double-eave hip-and-gable structure in China, the highest specification in ancient Chinese architecture, the same system as the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City).
Afterward, walk from Zhongshan Street to Tumen Street (about 400 meters) to visit the World Heritage site - Qingjing Mosque (Masjidal-Ashab). Qingjing Mosque was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty (1009 AD) and is China's oldest existing Islamic mosque. As the core religious site of the Arab merchant settlement in China during the Song and Yuan periods, it witnessed the prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road from the 10th to 14th centuries. Its architecture adopts the Syrian Damascus style and is a rare mosque in China built with granite and diabase. The existing gate tower (with Arabic Quran stone inscriptions embedded in the south wall), Fengtian Altar ruins (the original Muslim worship site), and Mingshan Hall (a Chinese-style brick-and-wood worship hall) remain. (PS: 1. When entering the mosque, please wear long pants or a long skirt. 2. Some buildings are strictly off-limits without permission.)
After the visit, walk 200 meters from Qingjing Mosque to Guanyue Temple (commonly known as Guandi Temple). This is the largest and most popular martial temple existing in Fujian Province, enshrining both Guan Yu and Yue Fei. Every year, many worshippers come to burn incense and pray for blessings. Its three halls (Wucheng Hall, Chongxian Hall, Sanyi Temple) are arranged side by side, reflecting a sacrificial system integrating Confucianism and Daoism. The ridge decorations of cut-porcelain dragon carvings and flowers, birds, and beasts reflect the exquisite decorative craftsmanship of Minnan and are very worth seeing.
Finally, visit the World Heritage site - Mazu Temple. Mazu Temple (Tianhou Palace) was first built in the 2nd year of the Qingyuan reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1196 AD). It is the only existing Mazu temple complex in China that retains Song Dynasty stone columns and beam structures. It is also the largest, highest-specification, and most widely spread Mazu temple among China's existing ancient buildings. Zheng He worshipped here before his voyages to the Western Seas, and official documents of the Yuan Dynasty first confirmed this place as the source of Mazu belief dissemination, with branch temples throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Southeast Asia. You can stroll and appreciate the axial symmetrical layout of "front hall, rear sleeping quarters," visiting in sequence the Shanmen (exquisite stone carvings and Minnan-style painted decorations), the theater stage (caisson wood carvings of the Eight Immortals), the worship courtyard (250-year-old ancient banyan tree), and the Tianhou Hall (granite platform base with reliefs of auspicious patterns such as carp transforming into a dragon) and other exquisite Song Dynasty buildings. If it coincides with sacrificial activities such as the "Flower Offering to Mazu" on her birthday on the 23rd day of the third lunar month, the sea sacrifice on the ascension day on the 9th day of the ninth lunar month, or the "Begging Turtle" folk custom on the 15th day of the first lunar month (touching the rice turtle for blessings), you can participate in praying for blessings.
Optional attractions around Quanzhou at own expense: Luoyang Bridge, about 17 kilometers away, about 1 hour by car
Luoyang Bridge (World Heritage), also known as Wan'an Bridge, is one of China's four great ancient bridges and China's oldest existing sea-crossing beam-style stone bridge. It is known as "the First Bridge under Heaven." A Quanzhou folk proverb says, "Standing like the East and West Pagodas, lying like Luoyang Bridge." Here, you can slowly admire the thousand-year-old ancient banyan at the bridgehead, the 45 boat-shaped piers and 104 stone lion decorations on the bridge deck, the "Wangu Anlan" stone inscription at the middle pavilion, and the tidal flats and mangroves on both sides, appreciating the charming beauty of "ancient bridge and red trees rising together with the tide" and taking stunning cultural landscape photos. At low tide, you can also see dense oyster shells on the piers, witnessing the bioengineering technique of "planting oysters to strengthen the foundation."
Overnight stay in Quanzhou.
🍽️ Lunch included
🏨 Quanzhou
