Haicang District 海沧区

Setting and landscape

Haicang is sea-bound on three sides: Maluan Bay (马銮湾) lies to the north-east and Haicang Bay (海沧湾) to the south-east, and its islets, among them Huoshao Islet (火烧屿), sit in the western waters of Xiamen. The district's largest stream, the Guoyun Creek (过芸溪), runs about 15 km from Mount Tianzhu (天竺山) down to Maluan Bay. The district government describes the climate as south-subtropical maritime monsoon, with long summers and no real winter.

History

The name goes back to a Tang-dynasty shoreline settlement first called Haikou and later Haicang. Most of today's district once belonged to Haicheng County (海澄县) of Zhangzhou Prefecture (漳州府), the Dongfu (东孚) area in the north being the main exception. In 1989 the area was designated the Haicang Taiwanese Investment Zone (海沧台商投资区), and in 2003 the former Xinglin District (杏林区) moved its seat to Haicang and took the Haicang name.

What to see

Qingjiao Ciji Palace (青礁慈济宫), in Qingjiao Village (青礁村), honours the healer Wu Ben (吴本), worshipped as Baosheng Dadi (保生大帝). It was first built in 1151 under the Southern Song, has been a national key cultural relics protection unit since 1996, and its main hall stands on stone columns that include twelve carved with coiling dragons. A museum of traditional Chinese medicine opened in the temple's Baosheng Hall in 2008, beside an outdoor herb garden.

Tianzhu Mountain Scenic Area (天竺山旅游风景区) in Dongfu has a forest park of about 25 km² that opened in 2006. It holds three lakes, Tianzhu Lake (天竺湖), Liang'er Lake (两二湖) and Haoyue Lake (皓月湖). Zhenji Temple (真寂寺), founded in the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang as Yi'an Temple, has been rebuilt on its old site, and a bamboo garden holds more than 250 kinds of bamboo.

Customs and local food

Two Haicang traditions are on the national intangible-heritage list: the Baosheng Dadi belief and the Haicang centipede float (海沧蜈蚣阁). The float is a procession of 20 to 120 linked platforms, carried on shoulders or wheels, on which children dressed as characters from Journey to the West and other stories perform; it is concentrated in Dongyu (东屿) and other villages. The district government's intangible-heritage pages also list the making of tusun dong (土笋冻) and shihua dong (石花冻) jellies and of blanched octopus (白灼章鱼), as well as Fujian junk (福船) building.

Highlights

• Qingjiao Ciji Palace 青礁慈济宫: Temple of Baosheng Dadi first built in 1151; national key cultural relics protection unit since 1996.
• Tianzhu Mountain Scenic Area 天竺山旅游风景区: Forest park in Dongfu opened in 2006, with three lakes and a rebuilt Tang-founded temple.
• Haicang centipede float 海沧蜈蚣阁: Procession of linked platforms with costumed children, on the national intangible-heritage list.