# Southern Fujian travel guide (闽南) Fujian Province · East China, China · 8 places Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/destinations/fujian/southern-fujian ## Quick itinerary - **Day 1:** Zhangzhou city → Huoshan Island → Dongshan Island (overnight on Dongshan Island) - **Day 2:** Dongshan Island (leave in the afternoon) → Zhangzhou Ancient City - **Day 3:** Zhangzhou city (leave in the morning) → Yunshuiyao Ancient Town → Nanjing Tulou Cluster → Longyan - **Day 4:** Longyan → Yongding Tulou - **Day 5:** Longyan → Changting Ancient City ## The feel of the place - **Land of Fish, Rice, Flowers and Fruit:** Zhangzhou boasts tens of thousands of mu of 'lychee sea', banana plantations and narcissus fields. It is famous for the 'Five Famous Flowers': narcissus, camellia, orchid, red plum and wintersweet. Its 'Ten Famous Fruits' are tangerine (luogan), lychee, banana, longan, pomelo, pineapple, loquat, bayberry, peach and guava. The region also produces seafood delicacies such as prawns, grouper, abalone, lobster, red sturgeon, scallops, oysters, mud clams and squid. - **Tulou:** The unique architecture of the tulou has left the global architectural world in awe. For generations, the Hakka people have lived and thrived within these distinctive buildings. Visitors to Longyan will marvel at how rich and colourful the world is, and how wise humankind can be. Of course, this is also where your camera's memory card will be put to the test. - **Hakka People:** It is said that the Hakka consider themselves the true Han Chinese. Since they settled as 'guests', they gave themselves this identity. The tulou clusters where they live reflect their hospitable and friendly character. Although the area is remote, many scholarly top-scorers (zhuangyuan) came from here in former times. ## The feel of the place ### Hakka Clothing The Hakka cool hat (liangmao) has a history of over 1,000 years. It is woven from thin bamboo strips or wheat straw, and the crown is sewn with cloth. Around the brim, except at the front, hang coloured cloth strips about 5 cun long. Unmarried young women attach multicoloured ribbons to the ends of these strips, which signal whether a Hakka woman is married. Besides shading from the sun and protecting against rain and dust, the cool hat is a distinctive headpiece of Hakka women. ### Preparation and Advice ### Language Residents generally speak Hokkien, and a few speak Hakka and Teochew, but Mandarin will get you by without any problems. ### Climate and Best Travel Seasons The climate is mainly central subtropical monsoon, warm and humid, and suitable for travel all year round. ## Getting there & around ### Getting There Zhangzhou Airport is still under planning and construction, so access to Zhangzhou currently relies mainly on road and rail. Longyan's railways and trunk roads are well developed, and every township is now connected by road. The network links the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi border areas and has greatly ended the region's historic isolation. ### Railway Zhangzhou Station and Zhangzhou East Station have become rail hubs for southern Fujian and northern Guangdong. Lines passing through the area include the Yingtan–Xiamen Railway, the Longyan–Xiamen high-speed railway and the Xiamen–Shenzhen high-speed railway. At present, high-speed trains run directly to Longyan from cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Chongqing and Wuhan. Trains from other cities in Fujian also run straight to Longyan, making travel very convenient. ### Road Both Zhangzhou and Longyan connect with multiple expressways, national highways, provincial highways and rural roads, so road travel is convenient. - **Zhangzhou Railway Station** — (Yancuo Town, Longhai District, Zhangzhou City, 0596-2261729) - **Zhangzhou East Station** — (Guokeng Town, Longwen District, Zhangzhou City) - **Longyan Railway Station** — (Daiyang Village, Xipi Town, near the Finance School) ## Eat & drink ### Local Snacks - **Yangyu** — A well-known Longyan snack made from lean pork mixed with dried shrimp, duck egg, spring onion and a little MSG, then deep-fried. Soft, tasty, crisp and fragrant. - **Bojiban** — Also called 'juanban' (rolled rice cake). Rice is soaked and ground into a batter, which is ladled into a round bamboo winnowing basket about 30 cm across and swirled so the batter spreads evenly. It is then steamed over high heat. After about five minutes, the thin sheet of cooked batter is peeled off and filled with stir-fried shredded pork, chives, bean sprouts, fresh bamboo shoot, dried shrimp and shiitake mushrooms, then rolled into a tube. Similar in shape to a youtiao, it is tender and delicious, and not greasy even when you eat a lot. - **Yuzibao** — Made with a skin of red sweet potato starch and filled with meat, mushrooms and winter bamboo shoot, then steamed. Fresh, fragrant and silky-soft, and equally good hot or cold. - **Sigu Tang (Four-Fruit Soup)** — Four-Fruit Soup is the first choice for cooling down in summer in the Zhangzhou area. Ice is shaved into fine flakes and topped with hollow sugar-coated lotus seeds, white fungus, mung beans, Job's tears, pineapple, watermelon, adazai (a cassava-flour jelly, Hokkien term), grass jelly, candied fruit and more. Add some syrup or honey when eating. ## Where to stay Accommodation in Zhangzhou and Longyan is convenient, with guesthouses, hotels and villas at every level. Prices range from ¥100 to ¥500, and can even exceed ¥1,000. ## Things to see - **Dongshan Island** (★★★★): Admission Free admission to the island; Fengdongshi Scenic Area ¥45; Time needed 1–2 days — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/dongshan-island - **Huoshan Island** (★★★★): Admission ¥60; Opening hours 8：15—17：30; Time needed 1 day — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/huoshan-island - **Nanjing Tulou** (★★★★★): Admission ¥90; Time needed 2–5 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/nanjing-tulou - **Yunshuiyao Ancient Town** (★★★): Admission ¥90; Time needed 2–4 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/yunshuiyao-ancient-town - **Yongding Tulou Cluster** (★★★★★): Admission Hakka Tulou Folk Culture Village ¥90; Gaobei Tulou King Scenic Area ¥50; Chuxi Ancient Village ¥65; Tulougou Scenic Area ¥50; Zhongchuan Ancient Village ¥30 — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/yongding-tulou-cluster - **Guanzhaishan Mountain** (★★★★): Admission ¥55 (includes shuttle bus); Opening hours 8：30—17：00; Time needed 3–5 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/guanzhaishan-mountain - **Changting Ancient City** (★★★): Time needed 1–3 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/changting-ancient-city - **Liangyeshan Mountain** (★★★★): Admission ¥55; Opening hours 8：00—17：10; Time needed 2–4 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/liangyeshan-mountain --- Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), pp. 1564–1573. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.