Zhangzhou 漳州

About Zhangzhou

Nanshan Temple gives the city a longstanding Buddhist landmark, while the municipal museum interprets local history and connections beyond the mainland. East of the centre, Yundongyan changes the scale to a rocky hill with carved inscriptions. These are separate city stops, so plan the road connections and distinguish the current museum south of the river from its former Longwen address.

During the early Qing dynasty, Zhangzhou was the main Fujianese port trading with Portuguese Macao and Spanish Manila, and the Portuguese maintained a trading post in the city. By the late Qing, it remained a center of silk, brick and sugar production with about a million people, and its city wall had a circumference of about 4.5 miles (7.2 km).

Zhangzhou lies in southern Fujian between the mountains of the southeast and the coastal hills, with the Boping Ridge (博平岭) crossing the northwest and a spur of the Daiyun Mountains (戴云山) reaching into the north; its coast forms the Zhangzhou Plain, the largest plain in the province. The city's highest point is Daqin Mountain (大芹山) in Pinghe County, at 1544.5 meters, and the Jiulong River (九龙江), Fujian's second-largest river at 258 kilometers long, crosses the north before flowing out through Xiamen's port.

Zhangzhou is designated a National Historical and Cultural City (国家历史文化名城) and is described as a core city of the west-strait economic zone and a national coastal economic open zone approved by the State Council. It holds numerous items on the national intangible cultural heritage list, including Zhangzhou woodblock New Year prints (漳州木版年画), Zhangzhou hand-puppet head carving (漳州木偶头雕刻) and Gezi Opera (歌仔戏), among others.

What to look for

• Nanshan Temple’s Buddhist precinct beside the city’s river landscape.
• Yundongyan’s rocky slopes and the regional interpretation at the municipal museum.

Location & getting there

Getting to Zhangzhou

Zhangzhou railway station serves the high-speed rail approach south of the centre. Arrange the onward connection to the old city or to the current museum at Yuanshan Cultural Centre; do not use the former museum location on Yingbin Avenue.