Shipbuilding Culture Museum (Mawei)

In 1866 Zuo Zongtang founded the Fujian Shipbuilding administration (cradle of China's modern navy), history of the Chuanzheng Academy (Yan Fu / Deng Shichang / Zhan Tianyou and others trained here) + Luoxing Pagoda (the "China Tower", an international navigation mark). In 1866 Zuo Zongtang petitioned to establish the Fujian Shipbuilding administration at Mawei, uniting shipyard, academy and fleet in one and pioneering China's modern navy and shipbuilding industry; a generation of eminent figures — Yan Fu, Deng Shichang, Zhan Tianyou, Sa Zhenbing — all trained at the Chuanzheng Academy, whose "learn the foreigners' superior techniques" experiment deeply influenced China's modernization. The Shipbuilding Culture Museum systematically displays Chuanzheng archives and ship models, while the adjacent old shipyard quarter preserves industrial relics such as the engine workshop; Luoxing Pagoda on the riverfront, known in old times as the "China Tower", once served as an international navigation mark on sea charts. Climb it to look out over the Min River estuary and take in a century of shipbuilding history.

Getting there: Mawei bus / self-drive