|
Quanzhou City
|
468-60.gif) |
|
|
Kaiyuan Temple
It is in the northwest of Quanzhou,and can be distinguished by its pair of tall pagodas and the huge grounds in which it is set.
Originally called Lotus Temple (Lianhua Si),construction of the temple began in AD686.In AD738,during the reign of the famous Tang emperor Tang Minghuang,it¡¯s name was changed to Kaiyuan.
The temple is one of the outstanding examples of Chinese architecture and art. Flying musicians are carved on pillars that support the roof of the Hall of One Hundred Pillars. The two pagodas that stand opposite each other in front of the main hall in the temple, Purple Cloud Hall, are octagonal five-tier stone buildings with exquisite carvings. Two images of Buddha are carved on each of the eight sides. Forty ancient Buddhist tales are inscribed on the walls of one of the pagodas.
There are numerous other stone carvings in the temple -- figures resembling the Sphinx, animal heads and birds, dragons and tigers. Interestingly there are columns here in ancient Greek style. Many of these rare art works were once religious decorations on other buildings in Quanzhou, later moved to Kaiyuan Temple.Qingjing Mosque (Qingjing Si)
It is one of China¡¯s only surviving mosques from the Tang dynasty.A small museum with signs in English describes the history of Quanzhou¡¯s once large Muslim community.
The Qingjing Mosque is also one of the five most time-honored, best preserved and biggest Qingjing Mosques in the Islamic world. It was designed after the mosque in Damascus, Syria, and built with pure granite. its pointed-arch portal, 20 meters high, has three layers, outer, middle and inner. The outer and middle layers are similar to the caisson ceiling in the Chinese ancient architecture. The vaulted inner layer took on the architectural style of the ancient Arab. Standing under the vault, you can realize the time-honored cultural exchange between China and foreign countries.Mazu Temple (Mazu Miao)
Meizhou Island is a small, crescent-shaped island in Meizhou Bay, near the city of Putian. The island is only about 10 square miles, but it draws thousands of visitors each year as followers of Mazu (sometimes also called Tianhou) come to pay their respects. The temple on Meizhou Island is the most important temple for Mazu worshippers because of its connection with her life and because it is on the spot where she was taken up.
The Mazu Temple,on the southeastern end of Zhongshan Lu,is dedicated to Mazu,Goddess of the Sea,who watches over fishermen. Around the third month of the Lunar New Year (23 March),the temple is packed with worshippers celebrating Mazu¡¯s birthday.
Mt.Qingyuan (Qingyuan Shan)
Literally translated as the "Pure water-source Mountain", Qingyuan Shan is famous for its springs, rocks caves and peaks. Legend has it that the name of the mountain comes from a spring made by a immortal using an iron crutch stamping into the ground.
The 5-metre-high Laojun Rock is the most representative feature of the hill. The Song-Dynasty statue represents a man with a long beard - believed to be the philosopher Laozi. He is sitting in a cross-legged position, with his left hand on his left knee and right hand on a table. It is said those who climb up and rub the statue¡®s nose are granted a long life.
There are up to 36 caves on the hill. Those which had Buddhist decorations inside which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
Other scenic spots include the Maitreya Peak (Mituo yanfeng), scattered with temples, pavilions as well as statues and tombs: There are a statue of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin), a statue of Maitreya and the tomb of Hongyi Priest, a learned monk of the modern times, who lived in this secluded place.Luoyang Bridge
Luoyang Bridge, also known as Wan¡®an Bridge, is a girder-type stone bridge. Its construction began in 1053 during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and lasted seven years. The original bridge was over 1,200 meters long and five meters wide, with 46 piers, 500 railings, 28 stone lions, seven pavilions and nine stone pagodas. The bridge was listed among other famous girder stone bridges in ancient China, even Marco Polo described it in his journey notes. Built from light grey granite, the bridge resembles a silver dragon lying above the green water.
The construction project was very demanding. To build the foundation, many of stones were thrown into the river along the central line of the bridge to form a low dam. Bridge piers were then erected on the dam. Mucilage from a large quantity of oysters raised in the water beneath the bridge was used as an adhesive to attach the base to the piers. This method, among many others, was an important scientific innovation in ancient China.
Many stone tablets from past dynasties were erected near the middle pavilion on the Luoyang Bridge, including stone statues of pagodas and warriors. The site of a former temple lies on the north end of the bridge and Caixiang Temple stands on the opposite end. Inside the temple is a stone tablet from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) with an inscription by Cai Xiang recording his Notes on Wan¡®an Bridge. With its exquisite carvings, the tablet gained the reputation of the three superbs.
Quanzhou Maritime Museum (Quanzhou Haiwai Jiaotong Shi Bo Wu Guan)
The best place to trace Quanzhou¡®s ancient maritime prosperity is the Quanzhou Maritime Museum in Fengze District. It is the only museum that reflects the history of ancient Chinese maritime transportation with two sites -- the old one in the Kaiyuan Temple and the new one in the East Lake, built in 1959 and 1991 respectively. There are over 10,000 collections, including a sanked wreck from Song Dynasty. Besides maritime collections, the museum also has many cultural and religious collections. From the hundreds of thousands of cultural relics like real boat parts, stone, wooden and iron anchors, and models of sea boats through the dynasties, the rises and falls of ancient port city Zaitun are vividly revived.
The new site, in the shape of a giant sea boat to set sail, boasts four exhibition halls: Hall of Quanzhou Port & Ancient Sea Transportation, Hall of Quanzhou Ancient Boat Models, Hall of Religious Stone Inscriptions, and Hall of Quanzhou Folk Culture. The famous statue of Vishnu (one of the three major Hindu gods) exhibited is the only Indian relic existing in China, a testimony of the Sino-India cultural exchange in the 14th century.
The Hall of Quanzhou Ancient Boat Relics in the Kaiyuan Temple boasts a giant V-shaped sunken boat of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) unearthed in 1974 from the sands of Houzhu Harbor in Quanzhou Bay, the remains of which are 24.2 meters long and 9.15 meters wide with 13 cabins. With the bows restored, the magnificent appearance of the Fujian-style ship with its raised prow and stern can once again be seen. The large round keel, the hull¡®s structure, and multiple planking conformation, the fine rigging and the oval mast step are all visible in this remarkable exhibit.
Other relics and models represent such historic events as the great mariner Zheng He¡®s seven naval missions (1405-1433) to Asia and Africa, and the national hero Zheng Chenggong¡®s warships reclaiming the sovereignty of Taiwan from the Dutch naval.
|
|
|
Photo Album of Fujian |
|
 |
|
|
|
China Packages 
