1、Quanzhou is a well-known hometown for overseas Chinese and a majority of the Han population in Taiwanese. The total population in the municipality is over 6.7 million. About 9 million of Han nationality in Taiwan are originally from Quanzhou. In recent years, the number of visitors from Taiwan, Hong
2、 Kong and Macao has been increasing. They come back for pilgrimage to their visit ancestors graves, visit their families and friends, make investments and conduct business and sightseeing. This has greatly promoted the social and economic development in Quanzhou. Quanzhou is one of first 24 importan
3、t national historic and cultural cities announced by the State Council. From Tang Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty, “Citong Port” in Quanzhou was one of the major ports for foreign trade. It was the departure point of “marine silk route” and enjoyed the grand reputation of “largest oriental port”. The city h
4、as numerous famous scenic spots, cultural and historic relics. Among 399 protected cultural relics in the city, 12 are of state level and 37 are of province level.1.Chongwu Ancient TownAs a National AAAA scenic spot, it has gained the reputation of “natural film studio” and “Beidaihe in the South”.
5、It is located at Chongwu Township, the coastal jag in the east of Hui-an County.The site covers an area of 300 Mu, winding along the coastline, composed of Chongwu ancient town, Hui-an women glamour, the granite carving museum, and Earth Art. The well-preserved T-shaped city wall of Chongwu ancient
6、town is located on just the opposite of the scenic spot. It is regarded as “case of the ancient systematic civil work due to its unique architecture. The area has been listed by provincial tourism Bureau as the key construction project for tourism and announced by Quanzhou Municipal Government as th
7、e first batch of famous scenic spots, receiving over one million tourists each year. 2.Qingyuan MountainThis national key scenic spot located in the north suburb of Quanzhou is 2 km from the down town and directly accessible by bus. The sight is known as “No.1 Penglai Mountain in Fujian Province” an
8、d the “Back garden of Quanzhou”.The scenic sight covers a total area of 62 km2, consisting Qingyuan Mountain, Jiuri Mountain, Lingshan secret tomb, and Xibeiyang. Qingyuan Mountain has three national key culture relics located on 8 sites. The most attractive site is the giant granite statue of an ol
9、d gentleman, which is 5.63 meters high, 6.85 meters thick and 8.01 meters wide. Covering an area of 55 m2, it is the largest Taoist granite statue existing at present in China. In addition, there are also Islamic tombs in Song Dynasty, Qifeng rock calligraphy group on Jiuri Mountain, the granite sta
10、tue of “Sanshifu （Three-generation Buddha）”of Tibetan Buddhism of Yuan Dynasty, the giant granite statue of “Amituofu”, and the Buddhist relics of Hongyi master, the senior monk in modern history, and the Buddhist relics of Hui-an native Guanqin master monk which is brought back from Taiwan. The mou
11、ntain has gathered rock calligraphies of Taoism, Confucius, Buddhism, Muslim, Muni, as well as many fine calligraphy since Tang and Song Dynasties, hence the name of “Museum of Stone Carving”.3.Ling Mountain Sacred Tomb National key cultural relics, it is located on Ling Mountain in Fengze District
12、Forest Park. It is the best protected Muslim relics existing in China.Covers an area of 300 m2, the existing tomb is a pagoda shaped Islamic tomb, located in the north and facing the south. The tomb, measuring 2.15 meter long, 1.1 meters wide and 0.6 meters tall, is structured in three layers. On th
13、e east, west and north of the tomb are horse-shoe shaped protection cloisters for 9 chambers which are 11 meters wide and 1.04 meters deep. Inside the cloisters, there are 5 monument stones of different dynasties. In front there is a shining-green monument stone carved with Arabic language. On the r
14、ight it is the monument stone which was laid when Zhenghe came to burn joss sticks before he started the 5th voyage expedition. To the Arab world, the tomb on the Ling Mountain is the third important sacred tomb, next to Muhammads tomb in Mecca and Ari Tomb in Iraq.4. Qingjing MosqueNational key cul
15、ture relics, it is located in the middle section of Tumen Street, Licheng District, covering an area of 2500 m2.Qingjing Mosque faces the street in the South, with a pointed dome roof. The dome has three layers: inside, middle and outside. On the external wall, there is a statue on the top, which is
16、 carved with “Alcoran” in Arabic. The back wall of the mosque is carved with ancient Arabic script, recording the time of construction and repair and the builders. In the mosque, there is a stone carving of the emperors instruction about the protection of the Islamic mosque in Yongle Year 5 of Ming
17、Dynasty （1407）. On top of the mosque gate, there is a platform named “platform looking at the moon” which is built with bricks in the shape of dual-square.5.Kaiyuan TempleNational key culture relics, it is a 1000-year old temple, famous in China and overseas. Build in Wuzetian Chuigong Year 2 of Tan
18、g Dynasty （Year 686）, the temple is Located in the west street of Lincheng District, Quanzhou, Fujian Province. The temple has a history of over 1300 years, covering an area of 78,000 m2. Kaiyuan Temple is evenly laid in structure. Starting from the gate, there are the Hall of Heaven King, Praying P
19、avilion, east and west Corridors, the Precious Hall of Great Hero, Ganlujietan, and scripture store-room. The buildings are laid spectacularly and neatly in a line. Inside Kaiyuan Temple, there stood the east pagoda and the west pagoda, which are also called Ziyun couple pagodas. The east pagoda is
20、named Zhenguo Pagoda, which was made from the wood initially and later replaced by the brick at the height of 48.24 meters. The west pagoda is named Renshou pagoda, which was built from the timber sent by Wang Shenzhi, the king of Fujian. It was named “emotal pagoda”. It was replaced by brick struct
21、ure in the northern Song Dynasty and changed again to stone pagoda in the Southern Song Dynasty at the height of 44.06 meters. The west pagoda was built 10 years earlier than the east pagoda6.Luoyang BridgeA National cultural relics located over Luoyang River, 20 km northeast off Quanzhou. The const
22、ruction of the bridge started in 1053 and was completed in 1059. Its length is 834 meters and width, 7 meters, with 31 piers. On the two sides of the bridge, there are fences, on top of which there stand delicately carved lion stone statues. The bridge is also decorated with 7 pavilions, 9 pagodas a
23、nd knight statues standing at each end. With the unique architecture, the bridge is famous both at home and abroad and has gained the reputation of “No.1 bridge across the sea”.On the outside of the bridge, there are 500 carved stone railings and 28 carved stone lions, symbolizing 28 famous craftsme
24、n; and 81 Buddha statues, including the Moon Buddha. On the north of the bridge, there is a courtyard, which is known as the No.1 courtyard in the south of Fujian Province.7、Anping BridgeA national key culture relic located at Anhai Town of Jingjiang City, Fujian Province, access to the highway betw
25、een Fuzhou and Xiamen and the national road No 324. Anping Bridge extends over the bay between Anhai Township of Jingjiang and Shuitou Township of Anhai. The construction of the bridge started in Shaoxing Year 8 of Song Dynasty （1138） and completed in Shaoxing Year 22 （1152）. Made of granite piers,
26、the bridge is 2700 meters long and it was the longest bridge in the ancient times, known as “no bridge would be longer than this bridge”. The construction of Anping Bridge is unique, because the original piers were designed in three different shapes: square, semi-boat, and raft. The foundation of th
27、e bridge adopted “sunken foundation covered by wood” and wooden piles respectively according to the different earth layer. The surface of the bridge was laid with granite slates of 5-11 meters long and 4.5-25 tons each. The bridge surface was laid by utilizing the rising and falling of the tide.8.Sh
28、iniu MountainA National geographical Park and national forest park located in the territory of Dehua, in the middle of Fujian Province and the southeast part of mid Daiyun Mountain range. Shiniu Mountain is famous for its vicious cliff, strange-shaped rocks, strange-looked trees and mysterious caves
29、. In the park, there are high mountains and a dense forest, with humid climate, excellent natural environment, and bio-diversity. It is a kingdom of plants and paradise of animals.The major tourism attractions include the main peak of Niushi Mountain, Daixian double water falls, bamboo raft drifting
30、 on Taoxian Stream, rubber boat drifting on Shilong Stream, Tadou hot spring, Peach-flower Island, the relics of Fujian Provincial Committee building.9. Niumu Forest Ecological Sightseeing ZoneAs a National AAAA scenic spot and provincial natural reserve, it is located at Xiayang town, the west of Y
31、ongchun County, Quanzhou of Fujian Province. Niumu forest is the extension of Daiyun Mountain with an attitude of 1,105 meters. It is the largest and best preserved primary forest at present in South China. The main sightseeing area in Niumu forest ecological zone covers 1,000 ha, consisting over 40
32、 scenic spots. The most famous sites are the ecological and scientific popularization museum, orchid garden, Yongchun Tangerine orchard, Qingqian Liule Garden, Cuckoo Castle, board root, strangled killing, parasitic cauline flower, Fujian phoebe trees, yew, foliage, Woniutan, Zhonglidizhu, Konggulaifeng. The entertainment activities offered for tourists include cable sliding at high altitude, grass ski fashion, mock hunting, standard shooting, archery, and jungle field operation. 10.Anx
