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City guide · 漳州 Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou
A southern Fujian prefectural city on the Jiulong River, the gate to the Tulou clusters and the Hakka mountain country
Zhangzhou lies in the Jiulong River basin of southern Fujian, facing the Taiwan Strait to the east; it is the borderland between southern Fujian (Minnan) culture and Hakka culture. The old streets, arcades, Confucian temple and Weizhen Pavilion along the Xiang River in the city tell the story of thirteen hundred years of prefectural history; a two-hour drive west into the Nanjing mountains unfolds the Tianluokeng "Four Dishes and One Soup" Tulou cluster and the Hua'an Dadi Tulou cluster among misty tea mountains. For travellers, Zhangzhou is the junction of two journeys: on one side the snacks and street warmth of a Minnan city, on the other the rammed-earth marvels of the World Heritage Tulou and the living scene of Hakka clan life.
History
How the city came to be
Zhangzhou Prefecture was founded in the second year of Chuigong of the Tang (686), when Chen Yuanguang "opened Zhangzhou", leading Central Plains soldiers and their families south to pacify the Fujian–Guangdong borderland, laying the foundation of Zhangzhou's Han settlement and cultural pattern. In the Song and Yuan, Zhangzhou was an outpost of Minnan maritime trade; in the Ming, Yuegang (today's Longhai) was for a time one of China's busiest foreign-trade ports, and Haicheng silver dollars and silk flowed to the world. Through the Ming and Qing, as Hakka people moved into the mountains of western and southern Fujian, raw-earth rammed Tulou rose thickly in Nanjing, Hua'an and Yongding. In 2008, forty-six Fujian Tulou in six clusters and four buildings, represented by the Tianluokeng cluster, were inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage list. Zhangzhou is both a heavyweight of Minnan culture (Xiang opera, glove puppetry, paper-cutting) and an important ancestral homeland of Taiwan compatriots.
- 686In the second year of Chuigong of the Tang, Zhangzhou was established; Chen Yuanguang became prefect and opened Zhangzhou
- 1566In the first year of Longqing of the Ming, the sea ban was lifted at Yuegang, which became a busy foreign-trade port
- Ming–QingThe Hakka widely built raw-earth Tulou in the mountains of western and southern Fujian
- Qing, Kangxi eraConstruction began on Buyun Lou, the first Tulou of Tianluokeng (common account)
- 1949Zhangzhou was liberated
- 1986Zhangzhou was listed as a National Famous Historical and Cultural City
- 2008The Fujian Tulou, including Tianluokeng, were inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage list
- 2016The Nanjing Tulou were listed as a national 5A tourist attraction (Fujian Tulou Nanjing Scenic Area)
Trips beyond the city
These places can be explored from this city but lie outside it. See each place for transport and visiting guidance.
