Quanzhou

Kaiyuan Temple was founded in 686, the second year of the Tang Chuigong era, first as Lotus Temple, and received its present name in 738, the twenty-sixth year of the Kaiyuan era. Tradition holds that the wealthy Quanzhou merchant Huang Shougong gave up his residence to build the temple after a mulberry tree bore white lotuses, and the plaque reading 'Mulberry-Lotus Dharma Realm' still hangs there. The twin pagodas in front of the temple define the old city skyline: the eastern Zhenguo Pagoda was first built in 865, the sixth year of the Tang Xiantong era, and the western Renshou Pagoda in 916, the second year of the Later Liang Zhenming era. Both began as timber and brick towers and were rebuilt in stone during the Southern Song, the west pagoda from 1228 to 1237 and the east from 1238 to 1250. Each is an octagonal, five-storey pavilion-style stone pagoda, the east 48.27 metres tall and the west 45.06 metres, the tallest surviving pair of stone pagodas in China. Every face carries reliefs of Buddhas, arhats, heavenly kings and vajra guardians, more than eighty figures across the two towers, and the doors and niches are offset storey by storey both to steady the structure and to guide worshippers circling the images. The main Mahavira Hall, popularly called the Hall of a Hundred Columns, is nine bays wide and six deep but stands on 86 stone columns; its beams and bracket sets carry 24 carved miaoyin birds holding musical instruments, the flying apsara musicians. Dozens of Song and Yuan Hindu mythological carvings are set into the temple walls, and the sutra library preserves a surviving fascicle of the Northern Song printed Vairocana Canon. In the 1930s the Vinaya master Hongyi, Li Shutong, stayed at Quanzhou repeatedly; in his last years he lived at the Wenling Nursing Home beside the temple and died there.

Tip: Visit in the morning to avoid the crowds.

• Address: 176 West Street, Licheng District, Quanzhou, Fujian
• Ticket: Free
• Opening: 08:00–17:30

Qingyuan Mountain lies north of Quanzhou, its main peak 498 metres above sea level, and serves as the city's green lung and a famous Taoist mountain. Its best-known image is the Song-dynasty Laojun Rock statue, 5.63 metres high and 8.01 metres wide, carved from a single natural granite boulder — the largest surviving Song-dynasty Taoist stone carving in China. Trails lead to Mituo Rock, Bixiao Rock, Ruixiang Rock, Master Hongyi's reliquary stupa and cliff inscriptions from many dynasties, and the summit looks over Quanzhou and the Luoyang River. A national 5A scenic area north of Quanzhou, it is known for the Song Laojun Rock statue, cliff inscriptions and forest trails. Laojun Rock is China's largest surviving Song Taoist stone carving, and the mountain also holds Mituo Rock, Bixiao Rock and Master Hongyi's reliquary stupa; half a day is enough for the climb. Tip: enter at the main gate, see Laojun Rock first, then follow the trail to Mituo Rock; wear trainers and allow half a day. Practical info: the scenic area is at Qingyuan Mountain, Fengze District, Quanzhou; ticket ¥70 (subject to official notice); opening hours 07:00–17:30.

Tip: Enter at the main gate, see Laojun Rock first, then follow the trail to Mituo Rock.

• Address: Qingyuan Mountain Scenic Area, Fengze District, Quanzhou
• Ticket: ¥70 (subject to official notice)
• Opening: 07:00–17:30

Qingjing Mosque was founded in 1009, the second year of the Northern Song Daxiangfu era and the year 400 of the Islamic calendar, funded by Arab and Persian merchants who came to Quanzhou. It was originally called the Ashab Mosque, also known as the Mosque of the Holy Companions, and its present name reflects the Islamic idea of purity and freedom from defilement. The surviving gatehouse is built of alternating diabase and granite without a single timber, its tall portal rising through stacked Arab-style vaults and arches; a round dome once crowned it, and Qur'anic inscriptions in Arabic remain on its inner and outer walls. A great earthquake in 1607, the thirty-fifth year of the Ming Wanli era, brought down the main prayer hall, the Fengtian Altar, leaving only broken walls and a niche, so the mosque now presents the remarkable sight of a sanctuary without a roof. The Mingshan Hall in the courtyard, rebuilt in the Ming as a Chinese timber hall, has served for centuries as the local Muslim congregation's place of worship. The mosque preserves an Arabic inscription recording its restoration in 1350, the tenth year of the Yuan Zhizheng era, and a Chinese inscription of 1609; both are primary stone documents for the study of Quanzhou's Islamic community in the Song and Yuan. Qingjing Mosque was listed in 1961 among the first batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units and in 2021 became a component of the World Heritage Site 'Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song–Yuan China'. The nearby Tumen and Jubao streets were the fanfang, the quarter where foreign merchants lived in the Song and Yuan, and tradition holds that Tang-dynasty Islamic saints are buried on Ling Mountain east of the city.

Tip: Keep quiet inside and respect religious customs. A guide can explain the historical background.

• Address: Tumen Street, Licheng District, Quanzhou, Fujian
• Ticket: ¥3
• Opening: 08:00–17:00