Discover QuanzDiscover Quanzhouhou

1.1.General General IntroductionIntroduction

2.2.Places of Places of InterestInterest

3.3.Cultural Cultural SpecialtiesSpecialties

4.4.DelicacyDelicacythe flower of erythrina

1.1.General Introduction:General Introduction: Quanzhou is an ancient city, located on the reach of Jin

River in the southeast of Fujian by the sea. It covers an area of 11’015 square kilometers. The population is over 8 million in 2010. Quanzhou was known as the “Oriental First Port” in Song Dynasty; it was also well-known as the “City of Light” four years before Marco Polo reached this mysterious continent. Quanzhou, the start of the Maritime Silk Road, was a commercial and cultural crossroads, a great melting pot, with people of all nations and faiths living together peacefully----a true light in that era.

1.1.General Introduction:General Introduction: Local people speak a variant of Hokkien which is similar

to Amoy and Taiwanese. In Mandarin Chinese this dialect is called "Minnan Hua", which can be translated as "the language of South Fujian". It is essentially the same dialect spoken in Xiamen and Zhangzhou, and it bears little similarity with the official Chinese Mandarin. People whose ancestry from Quanzhou city, now live overseas, especially in southeast Asia, also speak Hokkien at home most of time. Quanzhou is a time-honored city of civilization and a famous hometown for numerous overseas Chinese and Taiwan compatriots.

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： TianhoTianhou Templeu Temple

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： TianhoTianhou Templeu Temple

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： ZhongZhongshan Streetshan Street

Arcade

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： KaiyuaKaiyuan Templen Temple紫云屏

大雄宝殿

甘露戒坛

藏经阁

飞天

Depository of Buddhist Texts

Purple Clouds Screen

Great Buddhist Hall

Buddhist Angels

Ganlujie Altar/Sweet Dew Altar of Precepts

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： KaiyuaKaiyuan Templen Temple 据传说，桑园财主黄守恭

先生梦见有一位僧人向他募地建寺，黄先生扔了一片羊毛回答道：“如果桑树会开出白色的莲花的话，我就把地捐出去。”三天后，满园桑树都开了雪白的莲花。黄先生说：“这真是奇妙！”，于是把地捐了出去。

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： KaiyuaKaiyuan Templen TempleAccording to the legend, Mr. Huang Shougong, own

er of a mulberry field, dreamed that a Buddhist monk asked him to donate the land for a temple. Mr. Huang threw out a fleece. “I’ll donate the land if this mulberry tree blossoms white lotus flowers.”

Three days later, white lotus flowers bloomed on the mulberry tree. Mr. Huang said, “what a miracle!” and donated the land to the temple.

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： KaiyuaKaiyuan Templen Temple

The Twin Pagodas [pəˈgəudə]

They are the tallest stone towers in China.

The East Pagoda: 48.24m

The West Pagoda: 44.06m

The Twin Pagodas are the best preserved stone pagodas in China. They were first built of wood and stone, then brick, and later stone. They have survived more than 1000 years of earthquakes and tourists, thanks to their Song Dynasty reconstruction, which took 22 years.

The East Pagoda (Zhen Guo ---- “nation-protecting” ), was built of wood in 670AD.

The West Pagoda (Ren Shou ---- “merit and longevity”) was built in 916. All of the five story structures are caved top to bottom with vivid relief sculptures and worriors.

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： ChengChengtian Templetian TempleChengtian Temple is one of Quanzhou’s three greatest Buddhist Temples (the other two are Kaiyuan and Chongfu). It was first built in the Tang Dynasty, and renovated in the 30th year of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty.

大雄宝殿前有两口“放生池”，池旁有两座“飞来塔”。关于这两塔的来历，也有一段神话传说。相传当年有一名台湾游方和尚双手托着两座塔，四方化缘。一天，双塔不翼而飞。后来佛祖托梦给他，说他只有找到宝刹，找到真正的立身之地，双塔方能回归。后来，这位台湾的和尚到泉州找到承天禅寺后，到该寺定居。不久，果然双塔飞来，耸立在大雄宝殿前，由此取名“飞来塔” 。

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： ChengChengtian Templetian Temple

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： Ashab Ashab Mosque Mosque 艾苏哈卜清净寺艾苏哈卜清净寺

mosque  [mɔsk]   n. 清真寺 a building in which Muslims worship

Ashab is not only one of China’s ten most famous temples but also one of Islam’s top ten holy places. The 2500 ㎡ Ashab Mosque was built in 1009 AD; it was built of blue and white granite, and has a Fengtian altar 奉天坛 , Mingshan Chamber 明善堂 , and Prayer Hall 礼拜殿 .

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： GuandGuandi Templei Temple

Just east of Ashab Mosque is the ancient temple dedicated to heroic generals Guan Yu and Yue Fei. This “general” purpose temple seems to sprawl forever, incense smoke wafting through the dark recesses hosting other idols of 24 famous generals. Cultural relics include Zhu Xi’s inscription, “Righteousness”.

Sprawl: 蔓延

Recess: 壁龛

2. Places of Interest2. Places of Interest ：： QingyuaQingyuan Mountainn Mountain

The Song Dynasty Old Stone Saint is China’s oldest Taoist sculpture, and the largest (5.1m high by 7.3m wide). Legend claims that if you rub his nose you’ll live 120 years; rub his eye and you’ll reach 160. folks used to say you’d die early if you rubbed his mouth, but such down in the mouth talk didn’t exactly bolster tourism, so now locals brightly mouth off, “rub mouth, get good luck!” 1000 years of rubbing Lao Tzu the wrong way was rubbing his nose away, so a few years back they fenced him off and hired a guard so no one else can take Lao Tzu for granite.

West Lake Park

East Lake Park

China Fujian-Taiwan Relationship Museum

中国闽台缘博物馆

3. Cultural Specialtie3. Cultural Specialties:s:

Porcelain;Porcelain;

Puppet show;Puppet show;

Tea;Tea;

KongfuKongfu

瓷器与中国有观点认为中国的英文“ China”是来自瓷器“ china”，而瓷器一名又是得自“昌南”，即中国古代瓷器的主要产地之一。但事实正相反，英文中的瓷器一词 china是从中国一词 China转化来的。不过这也从侧面说明了瓷器与中国传统文化密不可分的关系。现在英语国家通常将陶瓷器统称为“ porcelain”，而“ china”主要指精瓷，如“ fine china”、“ bone china”。

Puppet showPuppet showThe art evolved over the past two to three thousand years and reached its peak in Quanzhou, which has the only Chinese puppets that boast their own musical style performed on unique musical instruments, with over 300 songs and tunes written for the over 700 traditional puppet shows. When operated by a master puppeteer, 14 to 36 strings bring the wooded folk to life as they strut and fret with abandon across the stage. Unlike western puppeteers, who work mainly with the control, Chinese puppeteers also manipulate groups of strings with their fingers. The longer the strings (up to 2 meters), the more difficult to operate, but the more expensive the puppets can become as they portray men and women of all ages and professions----or even the spirits of wild animals.

Anxi Oolong Tea

Tie Guan Yin

Fujian has long been China’s tea capital, and Quanzhou’s Anxi County the chief source of Oolong tea, which at one time was so precious in Europe that only royalty drank it. There are many legends about how tea drinking came about. One says that the Indian monk who introduced Zen Buddhism to China around 530AD cut off his eyelids so he would not fall asleep while meditating, and where his eyelids fell, a plant with leaves shaped like eyelids sprang up. And as luck would have it, these leaves, when brewed, created a stimulating beverage that further helped both the eyelidless master and his pupils stay awake during meditation.

Quanzhou S. Shaolin Temple

Quanzhou Southern Shaolin temple was built in the early Tang Dynasty by Zhikong, a monk from the Songshan Shaolin Temple up north. After the temple was destroyed in 1763 AD, the Shaolin tradition continued to be taught in Congfu Temple, but now that so many folks around the world are getting their kicks out of Kongfu, the Shaolin temple was recently rebuilt. Each year, thousands of Kungfu enthusiasts make pilgrimages to this Mecca for martial arts enthusiasts.

Pilgrimage: a journey to a holy place for religious reasons

Mecca: a place that many people want to visit for a particular reason

4. Delicacy4. Delicacy

What traditional food What traditional food in Quanzhou do you likin Quanzhou do you lik

e?e?

Do you know the EngliDo you know the English name of them?sh name of them?

面线糊 Noodles in Soup

肉粽 Zong zi

蚝仔煎 Fried Oyster

洪濑鸡爪Hong Lai Chicken Claws

土笋冻 Frozen Siphon Worm

Turnip Cakes

Sweet dumplings

Wan Gao

Fried Spring Roll

deep-fried twisted dough sticks

soybean milk

Cu Rou (Fried meat with vinegar)

For further information:德化陶瓷 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcelain安溪铁观音 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tieguanyin泉州五祖拳 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_Arts梨园戏 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liyuan_Opera提线木偶 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppet_Show南音 / 南管 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanguan_(music)

Thank you!!!