Jinjiang Wudianshi Traditional Blocks

Jinjiang Wudianshi Traditional Blocks

The Jinjiang Wudianshi Traditional Blocks is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Wudianshi Traditional Cultural Tourism Area is located in the core of Qingyang, the old town district of Jinjiang, covering an area of 126 mu and featuring a total of 132 distinctive buildings. Walking along the weathered stone-paved paths, visitors can see uniquely styled “Imperial-Style” red-brick architecture as well as East-meets-West “Foreign-Style Houses”; in the air, one can hear the lingering charm of the thousand-year-old elegant music of Nanyin, the lively narration of various roles in Gaojia Opera and Puppet Shows; enjoy crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside Anhai Cai Guo, refreshing and chewy Tusu Jelly, and then a bowl of steaming “Fist Mother” dumplings. Then sit down, light an incense stick, and while immersed in the fragrant mist, sip tea and discuss the Way... This is the image of a Southern Fujian-style “slow life” presented by Wudianshi.

Tiger Marshal Deity: Outside the enclosing wall of the Chaobei Grand House in Wudianshi, there is a small shrine no larger than one or two square meters. Inside the shrine sits a tiger crouching on a lotus, known as the Tiger God Shrine. Legend has it that back in the Tang and Song dynasties, when Southern Fujian was still sparsely developed, nearby residents often suffered from tiger attacks. One day, an elderly man came to the foot of Qingyang Mountain and encountered a tiger blocking his path. The old man turned out to be an incarnation of the Earth God. He gently tapped the tiger’s head two or three times with his cane, and the tiger then submitted and listened. The Earth God made three rules with the tiger: “Do not harm humans or livestock, but you may eat small birds; return to the mountains and patrol the surroundings; a temple will be built for your worship and you will be rewarded with fine wine.” From then on, the tiger never harmed anyone again. The people of Qingyang revered the tiger as a deity, built a temple and statue for it, and worshipped it seasonally.

Location

Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province

Source: Fujian Provincial Tourism Development Commission