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| Our group at the Arch Entrance of Peitian Village Picture: John Ong |
Besides
tulous and Wuyishan, our holiday in Fujian included visits to ancient villages
and other scenic spots. Three of the ancient villages we visited were Peitian
village, Xiamei village and Caizhishen (in Quanzhou). Each ancient village has
its individual features and is interesting in its own way.
Peitian
Ancient Village
Peitian Village is located on the foot of Guanzhai
Mountain of Longyan’s Liancheng County, west of Fujian Province. The history of
the village dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty, some 800 years ago.
Called the Forbidden City of the South, it has Ming
and Qing styled buildings. There were 30 magnificent houses, 21 ancestral
halls, 6 academy of classical learning, 2 memorial archways and a kilometre
long ancient street paved with cobbled stones.
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| Local guide at entrance to Peitian Village |
Historically, in 1344, the Wu family clan emigrated from Northern China to Peitian. They worked hard on the limited land and created a splendid Hakka culture and the Hakka house building structure surrounded by the mountains and a river. Today, there are about 300 households with a population of 1400 in the village with the same surname “Wu”.
Below are photos of some of the things that interested me. I was surprised that some of the buildings were still in good condition. Below are some of the articles or items in the village that interested me. I was surprised that some of the buildings were still in good condition. Many homes have moral sayings on the walls - these were good guides for the younger generation.
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| Jade design window |
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| Study Hall |
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| Well - a source for drinking water |
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| Intricate wood carvings on walls |
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| Cobbled stones of animals and plants |
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| Moral sayings: frugal (left) and filial piety (right) |
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| Moral sayings: honest (left) and just (right) |
Visiting Peitian Village gave me an idea of how people in ancient
times live. During those times, it was common to have poems or words
with good moral sayings pasted on the walls. These were fitting guides to
the members of families staying in the homes.
However, in Malaysian homes in modern
times, people prefer to hang paintings or family photographs on the walls
of their homes, for aesthetic pleasure.
Xiamei Village
Xiamei Village is located in the mountains 6 km east
of Wuyishan City and is part of the Wuyishan World Heritage Site (Refer:
Fascinating Fujian 2). This was where the Ancient Tea Road began.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, Neoconfucianist Zhu Xi
lectured here. Since then, it generated many great minds and culture.
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| River Dangxi runs through this quaint village |
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A river, the Dangxi, runs 900 m West to East through
the village, with the Ancestor Bridge built over it. On both sides are stone-paved roads and old
houses. Long benches with wooden planks have been built against the railings by
the river.
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| Members taking a rest on benches placed on either side Photo: John Ong |
Xiamei Village is quiet and peaceful. We walked
through the old lanes and were brought back in time to Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing
(1644 – 1911) dynasties. Most of the
buildings were well preserved and featured the sculpture of exquisite brick,
stone and wood carvings, which was one part of the Wuyi World Cultural Heritage.
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| Wood carvings on roof |
Built in 1790, the Ancestral Hall of Zou's Clan
was the largest and most elegant building in the village. It had exquisite
brick carvings, wood carvings or stone carvings on nearly every part of the
building.
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| Ancestral Hall of Zou's Clan with exquisite brick carvings |
Xiamei Village became an administrative district in 998 AD. The trading of tea was very active in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 ) and Xiamei became the trading hub of the Wuyi area, with the Dangxi river as the connecting line.The ancient Tea Road extended from northern Fujian to Moscow, and later to other parts of Europe.
We were invited to taste the local wuyi tea at one of the shops. As we sipped tea, we felt calm and rested. It was like being transported back to the ancient times. How nice if we could just drink tea like that every day, without a care in the world, without the stress of modern life!
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| Come and join in - tea is good for you |
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| Everyone sipping tea |
Before long, we had to leave. That moment in time was ephemeral - it lasted for a short while. We had to move on.
We continued walking along the rows of shops and watched the local people as they carried on with their daily life - drying foodstuff, doing handicraft or selling food.
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| A worker weaving kitchenware and furniture from bamboo |
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| Members were thrilled to see Preserved mustard greens (mui choy) drying in the sun Picture: John Ong |
Venturing further in, some of us found walls made of mud that were still standing strong.
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| Some of the houses were made of mud walls |
Viewing ancient villages gave us a better perspective of life. We learn to appreciate history and things that are old and priceless. They inspire us to learn from the past and remind us that old is gold.
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| Fujian map showing the places we visited |
After visiting Xiamei Village, we took a flight to Xiamen Island.
In Xiamen City, we stayed in the 5-Star Xianglu Grand Hotel.
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| Xianglu Grand Hotel | |
We went for a City tour in Xiamen, and then visited other scenic spots in Xiamen. Following that, we took
a day trip to Quanzhou, and another day visit to Gulangyu Island.
Xiamen
City Tour
Jimei is a small town on the side of the bank facing
north Xiamen Island. With both Gaoji Causeway and Xingji Causeway meeting
there, Jimei is the sole gateway into Xiamen.
Jimei is the hometown of Mr Tan Kah-Kee, who
contributed immensely to develop education in Xiamen. He built 12 different
kinds of schools including Xiamen University, a science centre, gymnasium,
library, hospital and a navigation club. Mr Tan’s buildings are constructed in his unique
blend of Western and Chinese architecture, using red bricks, white stone and
glazed tiles.
On our city tour of Xiamen city, we walked along the streets and viewed the various educational institutions (from afar) started by Tan Kah Kee.
We visited the Jimei Tan Kah Kee Memorial Park, Hulishan Fortress and South Putuo Temple.
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| A street in Xiamen City |
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| Xiamen City: looking across the river - Xiamen schools and University |
Tan Kah Kee was a Chinese businessman, community
leader and philanthropist. In recognition of his contribution to education and
society throughout his lifetime, many places and establishments in China and SE
Asia were named after him, including the Tan Kah Kee Memorial Park.
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| Mr Tan Kah Kee |
Tan
Kah Kee Memorial Park
We spent some time at the Tan Kah Kee Memorial Park. We visited the Tan Kah
Kee Memorial Hall, looking through and learning from a whole gallery the life
history of this great philanthropist.
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| Tan Kah Kee Memorial Park |
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| Gallery on the Life History of Tan Kah Kee |
Hulishan
Fortress
Situated on the south of Xiamen Island at the top of
Huli Hill, this fortress was built in 1894, during the Qing Dynasty (1636 –
1912) to protect the island from invasion. This is a key national historical
and cultural site.
Hulishan Fortress was constructed as part of a
Westernisation phase (1861-1895) during the Qing Dynasty. Xiamen was a historic
battleground and the fort played an important role in resisting foreign
aggressors.
The rectangular fort, made of granite rocks,
occupies 13,000 square metres. Guess what its solid base is made of? The answer: a mixture of camphor
tree sap, liquid brown sugar, glutinous rice, clay and sand.
We watched a 16-minute “Army Training
Performance”, where actors, dressed in red and yellow suits, used historical
military equipment from the Ming and Qing Dynasties to perform drills and
shootings to music.
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| Actors staging an army performance |
We then viewed a
well-preserved 280 mm Krupp Cannon, the world’s largest coastal artillery of
the 19th Century.
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| Krupp Cannon - the world's largest coastal artillery of the 19th Century |
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| Krupp Cannon in Chinese |
A group of 4-year old children, dressed in yellow uniforms was on a school visit too. They brightened up the surroundings with their bright uniforms.
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| 4 year old school children in yellow uniforms |
At the the Rongguang Museum, we viewed cannons, guns,
swords and unusual natural stones on displayed, including some models of soldiers at a meeting.
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| Model soldiers at a meeting in the museum |
South
Putuo Temple
South Putuo Temple is a Buddhist temple. First built during the Tang
dynasty (618 – 907), it was destroyed in the warfare during the Ming dynasty (1368
– 1644) and was rebuilt during the Qing dynasty (1662 – 1722).
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| South Putuo Temple |
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South Putuo Temple - guarded by elephants and lions
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| Another section of the South Putuo Temple |
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The temple covers 30,000 square metres, with 4 main
buildings on the north-south axis. This includes Devajara Hall, Mahavira Hall,
Dabei Hall and a Pavilion built in 1936 in which Buddhist scriptures, Buddha
images from Burma, ivory sculptures and other works of art are stored. The many
rooms flanking the main buildings include dormitories, libraries and study
rooms for monks. 2 newly built Longevity Towers which have 11 layers in the
style of Buddhist buildings of South Asia, enriched the scenery of the Temple.
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| Inside temple - ferocious Heavenly Kings |
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| Inside temple - Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) |
We had a very satisfying vegetarian lunch in South Putuo Temple. The
9 healthy dishes with poetic names, were creatively displayed. It was the best vegetarian meal we had tasted in Fujian.
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| Best vegetarian restaurant in South Putuo Temple Picture: John Ong |
9 scrumptious vegetarian dishes are shown below:
Quanzhou
We travelled to Quanzhou for a day tour. Quanzhou
is a famous historical and cultural city. It was once an international port
city on the maritime Silk route. It has ancient temples and mosques and the
Museum of Maritime Commerce. The highlight is a Song dynasty ship recently
excavated from the harbour.
We walked inside the ship and learnt how the
courageous Chinese survived hardship as they travelled overseas to seek their
fortune.
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| A Song Dynasty Ship |
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| On the deck of the ship |
Kai Yuan Temple
In Quanzhou, we visited the Kai Yuan Temple. This is the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian. With
a history of 1300 years, Kai Yuan Temple was built in 868 (during the reign of
Wu Zetian ). Measuring over 40 metres high, the 2 pagodas there are the highest
stone pagodas in China.
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| Kai Yuan Temple - largest Buddhist temple in Fujian |
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| Inside the temple - Roof with artistic carved angels |
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| The majestic East Pagoda |
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| With Candy at the highest Stone pagoda in China - East Pagoda |
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Our group at the East Pagoda Photo: John Ong
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| Members at the West Pagoda Photo: John Ong |
Most of the temple’s architecture has special
artistic features of the Tang (618-907), the Song (960-1279), the Yuan
(1271-1368), the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. Nearly all the carvings were carved with
greenish-gray granite, which was widely available in the nearby hills and used
in the region’s local architecture. In 1983, it was designated as a national temple.
We took a walk around the KaiYuan Monastery. I was
attracted to a wall showing the "Tan" animal. It was built in 1741 in
the Qing Dynasty. It has a dragon's head, a deer's horns, a lion's eyes, a
bear's body, a snake's scales, a horse's hoofs and an ox's tail. Candy (our tour guide)
explained that this animal wants everything, showing its "greed"-
this is a trend of our society today.
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| "Tan" animal |
Caizhishen
Ancient Village
In Quanzhou, we visited an ancient village called Caizhishen Ancient Village. This village is located 20 km from Quanzhou city.
Occupying 3 hectares, this Chinese-style village consists of ancient buildings in
rectangular blocks with 16 remaining residential buildings.
Built by an
overseas Chinese Chua Qi Chang from the Philippines, it is also known as Chua
ancient dwellings. Built in the late Qing period (1862-1911) together
with the Tulous, they are representative of Fujian’s traditional residential
architecture.
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| Our group at Caizhishen Ancient Village Picture: John Ong |
Every building is a piece of art by itself because
of the abundance of beautiful carvings and calligraphic inscriptions. The
wooden carvings, clay, bricks and stone carvings of people, animals, flowers
and landscapes express the art of Minan (South Fujian) techniques, together
with influence from Western architecture.
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| Entrance to Caizhishen Ancient Village |
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| Narrow alley between two rows of houses |
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| Local guide explaining the types of bricks used |
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Stone carvings of animals on walls
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| Exquisite wood engravings on wall dividers |
Of notable significance was a calligraphic writing on the wall that advises
brothers to unite together as a good example to the next generation.
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| A calligraphic piece of moral advice for the next generation |
3
Gulangyu
Island – Island of Pianos
We visited Gulangyu Island, on the southeastern
coast of China, taking the ferry with the local people, from the terminal in Xiamen. Gulangyu Island was crowded with visitors from all parts of the world but mainly the local Chinese.
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| Map of Gulangyu Island |
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| The automatic gates at the Ferry terminal in Gulangyu Picture: John Ong |
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| Our group arriving in Gulangyu Island Picture: John Ong |
The beaches, varied architectural buildings and many scenic areas on the island kept us spellbound. This island is famous
for its natural beauty, colonial style architecture, ancient relics and a
myriad of interesting museums.
Gulangyu Island has historic significance as an
international port. It was settled in 960 during the Song dynasty. During later
Ming Dynasty, troops of national hero Zheng Cheng Gong were stationed there.
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| Gulangyu Island - Stone statue of hero Zheng Cheng Gong Picture: John Ong |
After the Opium War in 1842, 13 countries including
Great Britain, France and Japan established consulates, churches and hospitals,
turning the island into a common concession. In 1942, Japan occupied the island
until the end of the War of Resistance against Japan.
A few outstanding buildings are shown below:
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| Buildings with Western Influence |
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| Western design buildings |
Candy took us to the most attractive spots: Shuzhuang
Garden and the Piano Museum
Shuzhuang
Garden
First built in 1913, this garden was once a
private villa of the prestigious local squire Lin Erjia. It was donated to the
country in 1955 and became a public park. The garden was built according to the
natural landform in ingenious layout, which creates a charming view of “garden
on the sea and the sea in the garden”. Its name Shuzhuang (another name of Lin
Erjia) was named after the founder Lin Shuzang.
After donating to the country, the Garden was
gradually equipped with many new facilities and spots by the government.eg
Piano Museum.
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| Owner of Shuzhuang Garden: Lin Erjia |
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| Superb scenery with Sunlight Rock at the highest point |
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| Myriad of colourful plants in the garden |
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| Bewitching landscape |
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| Artistic winding bridge |
Piano
Museum
This museum houses the lifelong collection of pianos
from the collector Hu Youyi, who was born on Gulangyu Island but lived in
Australia for many years. It is the only museum in China dedicated solely to
pianos.
The Piano Museum depicts the culture and history of
pianos. It exhibits more than 100 ancient pianos collected from America,
Australia, Britain, Austria and France. I was elated to have this rare opportunity to see the oldest piano, the biggest
vertical piano, the earliest corners piano, the tallest upright piano in the
world and many more.
However, I was disappointed that photos were not allowed to be taken, although it was quite a novelty to view the
priceless invaluable pianos.
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| Entrance to the Piano Museum |
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| Statue of Huyouyi : Owner of Piano museum |
Cultural
Shows
1. The Legend of Minnan
Fujian has many cultural shows for tourists. We
attended The Legend of Minnan. This show highlighted young boys leaving home, sailing through rough seas - to Asean countries like
Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore - to seek their fortune. They then come back to Fujian to help develop the Province.
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| Audience seated at the Legend of Minnan Show |
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The show used 3-dimensional effects, with real actors and virtual scenes,
played cleverly to harmonise a composite story. High technology and many actors
work together to produce a very entertaining performance. Photos below
show the history and culture of the Min Nan People. "Min Nan" is the
local name for Fujian people.
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| A mother reluctantly says goodbye to her son |
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| The son encounters the perils of the rough sea |
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| Sea dragon |
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| Development in Fujian |
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| Ancient Village in Fujian |
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| Success in Fujian |
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| Celebration |
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| Religion comes to Fujian |
2. Min Nan Magic Cultural Show
The Min Nan Magic Cultural Show was a spirited Min Nan show, with many puppets taking part. Filled with action that reflects the folkloric traditions of Fujian in South China, it eulogizes the Min Nan culture and its people all over the world.
The elaborate sets change frequently to accommodate entertaining puppet shows, spirited dancers in traditional costumes and Southern Shaolin Kong Fu Show. Dramatic music played in the background and 3D lasers illuminate the stage in bright, ever-moving colours – it was a splendid performance.
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| Dazzling dancing |
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| Pleasing puppetry |
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| Colourful costumes |
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| Fantastic and first-rate laser effects |
Fujian has much to offer - history and culture of ancient villages, prominent historical figures, tempting temples, appealing scenery and flavourful food. It is commendable that many Fujian people who worked hard and prospered in the South-east Asian countries, returned to their roots in Fujian to help develop their ancestral village in education and cultural projects.
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Our 11-day holiday came to an end all too soon. Our Fujian tour of tantalising tulous, wonderful Wuyishan, ancient villages and many scenic spots was fascinating. We learnt a lot about the history and culture of the Fujian people. We had a great holiday in a great place with some great people.
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