Yannei Village

Yannei Village

With a long history and profound cultural heritage, Yannei Village in Fotan Town, Zhangpu County, boasts numerous historical sites, ancient ancestral halls, and traditional residences. The village integrates spiritual mountains, scenic waters, peculiar rocks, and ancient trees, offering advantages in ecology, culture, and transportation. It served as an important base during the Tang Dynasty for establishing governance in Zhangzhou and spreading Central Plains civilization, a center of scholarly families that led regional cultural development during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the ancestral home of the Taifu-lineage Chen clan from Fujian-Taiwan, Guangdong, and Jiangxi. It is also a symbol of Zhangzhou’s affluent and beautiful countryside and a well-known leisure tourism resort in Fujian Province.

I. A Millennium-Old Village Settlement

Surrounded by mountains and embraced by water, Yannei Village features stunning scenery, rugged rocks, and the sound of surging waves. It is the most distinctive ancient village in Zhangpu County. According to two ancient rock paintings discovered in Yannei Village, human activity existed here as early as 6,000 years ago. The "Jianhu Chen Clan Genealogy" (revised edition from the Qing Dynasty) records: “During the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Fuguang who settled in Jianhu Fang, Zhangpu, during the Chuigong era”; “Renhe Tower was the military camp (also known as the Xingtai) of Tang Dynasty's Chen Yuanguang, guarded by Chen Fuguang.” This proves that Yannei Village has a history of over 1,300 years. Today, 99% of the villagers in Yannei share the surname Chen, having migrated from other regions during the early Yuan Dynasty and belonging to the same lineage. The village is the ancestral home of nearly half of the Chen clan villages in Zhangpu County, as well as the root of the Jianhu Taifu-lineage Chen clan in Guangdong and Jiangxi.

Gate of the Military Camp in Yannei Village, Fotan Town, Zhangpu County - 1.jpg

II. A Key Site in the Early Tang Dynasty for Developing Zhangzhou

On Lion Mountain in Yannei Village, there is also a mountain fortress, one of the thirty-six "forts" built alongside the Xingtai during the early Tang Dynasty’s efforts to establish Zhangzhou. It served as a signal tower for the troops stationed at the Xingtai.

The ancient structure in Yannei Village — the “Tang Dynasty Xingtai” — continued to house troops during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties after the Tang. The site has been rebuilt or renovated multiple times throughout history and is now a county-level cultural relics protection unit. Over time, the Tang Dynasty Xingtai in Yannei has weathered the elements, with its outer wall and parts of the inner wall still standing. A three-story watchtower remains intact. Covering ten acres with a construction area of 5,000 square meters, the rectangular earthen structure consists of an outer and inner building, demonstrating grand scale and majestic presence, exuding a sense of timeless history. The outer wall is 1.2 meters thick and three stories high, including military barracks, an armory, patrol corridors, and a watchtower. The inner building includes the commander’s quarters, official halls, a martial arts training ground, and courtyards. The main gate faces southeast, with an outer gate and an inner gate, the latter inscribed with the name “Renhe Tower.” Designated as a cultural relics protection unit of Zhangpu County in 1989.

Watchtower of the Military Camp in Yannei Village, Fotan Town, Zhangpu County - 2.jpg

III. Five Lakes and Sixteen Scenic Spots

In ancient times, Yannei Village had five natural freshwater lakes: Jianhu, Yinghu, Nanhu, Anhu, and Caohu. These lakes featured beautiful scenery, surrounded by mountains and water, with shimmering lake surfaces, rugged rocks, surging waves, fishermen’s songs at dusk, and more. Due to millennia of geographical changes, only Jianhu remains, while the other four have turned into farmland.

Jianhu is the largest natural freshwater lake in Zhangzhou City. It never dries up even during severe droughts, and the carp in the lake are famous far and wide. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat races on Jianhu are lively and energetic. On regular days, the lake sparkles with sunlight, accompanied by fishermen’s songs, egrets gliding overhead, and small boats floating gently. Inside Jianhu, there are rock formations resembling turtles lifting their heads to the sky — known as “Stone Turtle Howling to the Sky.” The lakeshore also features attractions such as the Sword Testing Stone. Although its size has shrunk over the years, Jianhu remains a picturesque gem, serving as one of the highlights of Zhangpu’s affluent and beautiful countryside.

Around the Five Lakes in Yannei Village, sixteen scenic spots naturally formed. These sixteen spots include: Tai Peak Reflection, Crystal-Clear Jian Water, Monkey Greeting the Sun, General Rock Reaching the Sky, Veiled Peak Towering Gracefully, Hairpin Peak Shrouded in Mist, Black Gauze Bringing Auspiciousness, Jade Tablet Soaring to the Clouds, Southern Ferry Returning Sails, Western Cliff Layered in Green, Dragon Stream Peculiar Rocks, Phoenix Well Sweet Spring, Stone Screen Reflecting Moonlight, Lantern Stand Blooming Flowers, Immortal Stone Traces, and Dawn on Sea and Sky. These were recorded in the "Jianhu Chen Clan Genealogy" passed down since the Ming Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, Chen Hui, a scholar from Jianhu in Taiwan, had a deep affection for his ancestral land’s scenery and wrote sixteen poems titled "Records of the Sixteen Scenic Spots of Jianhu."

IV. A Rare Ancient Camphor Tree Grove

Having endured a thousand years of storms, Yannei Village still has nine ancient camphor trees over 700 years old, clustered in the eastern part of the village, along with three ancient banyan trees nearly 300 years old. The largest camphor tree has a trunk diameter of 2.8 meters, a canopy covering nearly 2 acres, and a height of about 25 meters. The largest banyan tree has a trunk diameter of 2 meters and a canopy spanning 2.2 acres. These ancient trees grow in poor sandy soil, with lush foliage, intricate roots, and hanging aerial roots, showcasing a striking vitality of old trees sprouting new branches — truly breathtaking.

The most miraculous is the so-called “Camphor Embracing Banyan,” an ancient tree where a banyan grows from a camphor. The sturdy and particularly upright camphor trunk splits about three meters above the ground, from which a banyan tree grows, extending two thick roots deeply into the earth. The banyan clings tightly to the camphor, flourishing with dense leaves. Locals vividly call the pair “husband and wife trees,” poetically referred to as “Camphor-Banyan Unity.” They have stood together through centuries of storms. Young couples in the area often come here hand-in-hand before marriage to take photos, making wishes for eternal love and growing old together. In recent years, rare media outlets such as Global Magazine have reported on this unique tree.

Walking into the ancient camphor grove, one can always smell a refreshing fragrance. The scent of camphor repels mosquitoes. In hot summer days, the shade under these trees is cool and refreshing without a single mosquito — a perfect spot for cooling off and enjoying life in a natural oxygen bar. The ancient trees, fishing village, sea, beach, and traditional swallow-tail-roofed houses create a dreamlike ecological paradise.

The Millennium Ancient Camphor Grove in Yannei covers eight acres, forming a rare spectacle of ancient trees in China. It attracts large numbers of visitors who are left in awe. Many scholars and poets have left precious writings and calligraphy, such as Chen Zhiping’s poem “Yannei Ancient Camphor Grove”: “Wind howls, sand flies, tiles shatter and collapse, / A thousand camphors arch gracefully atop the mounds. / Green umbrellas reaching the sky hang silk-like fronds, / Sparrows dance amid coiling branches like paintings.”

Ancient Camphor Trees in Yannei Village, Fotan Town, Zhangpu County.jpg

V. Abundant Traditional Architecture

With a settlement history of over a thousand years, Yannei Village retains a wealth of ancestral halls, temples, and traditional residences, mostly built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are 18 ancient ancestral halls with a total construction area of 5,996.4 square meters and covering 16 acres; over 170 ancient residences with a total construction area of 51,000 square meters and covering 115 acres.