Chengxiang District 城厢区

History

The area has belonged to Putian County since the county was founded in 568. In 1279 the seat of Xinghua circuit (兴化路) and its suburbs were split into four wards (厢), run by a ward office that gave Chengxiang, "the city wards", its name. The district itself dates from 1984. The district government credits it with 175 successful candidates in the imperial jinshi exams and names Zheng Lu (郑露), who first brought teaching to Putian in the Southern and Northern dynasties, and the Southern Song poet Liu Kezhuang (刘克庄) among its figures. Puxian opera (莆仙戏), called a living fossil of Song and Yuan southern drama, entered the first national intangible heritage list in 2006.

What to see

Mulan Weir (木兰陂), begun in the Northern Song where the Mulan River meets the tides of Xinghua Bay (兴化湾), is a granite overflow weir 219.13 metres long with 33 piers and 32 sluices, feeding more than 120 kilometres of canals. It lies about 4 kilometres outside Putian's south gate, is a national key protected site and is listed as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure. Guanghua Temple (广化寺), counted among Fujian's "four great monasteries", has the Shijia Wenfo Pagoda (释迦文佛塔), the district's other national key protected site.

Jiulong Valley (九龙谷) national forest park in Changtai (常太镇) holds the lower five of the nine cascades of Jiuli Lake (九鲤湖), also called "Lower Jiuli"; the Ming traveller Xu Xiake (徐霞客) crossed its gorge on foot. Shouxi Park (绶溪公园) is a 4A scenic area, Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山) a provincial scenic area and Tianma Mountain (天马山) a provincial forest park. Twelve of Putian's old "Twenty-Four Views" lie in the district.

Setting and local products

The district holds 23.5 kilometres of the Mulan River and the Dongzhen Reservoir (东圳水库), Fujian's second-largest artificial lake and Putian's main water store. The coastline runs for about 24 kilometres. Loquat, longan, lychee and olive are the district's "four famous fruits", alongside grouper, prawns and sea cucumber, and Yangbian village (洋边村) in Changtai is called "China's first loquat village". The Fuzhou–Xiamen railway, national road G324 and the Fuzhou–Quanzhou expressway pass through the district.

Highlights

• Mulan Weir 木兰陂: Northern Song granite weir on the Mulan River; national key protected site and World Heritage Irrigation Structure.
• Guanghua Temple 广化寺: One of Fujian's four great monasteries, with the nationally protected Shijia Wenfo Pagoda.
• Jiulong Valley 九龙谷: National forest park in Changtai holding the lower five cascades of Jiuli Lake.
• Dongzhen Reservoir 东圳水库: Fujian's second-largest artificial lake and Putian's main water store.