Mount Qingyuan
Quanzhou's "mother mountain" and a 5A-rated scenic area: halfway up, the Laojun Rock is a colossal Song-dynasty stone statue of seated Laozi, 5.6 m tall — the largest extant Taoist stone carving in China; the folk saying "touch Laojun's nose and live to 120" has made nose-touching a must-do ritual.
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 05:30-18:00
- Ticket
- CNY 70
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Quanzhou's "mother mountain" and a 5A-rated scenic area: halfway up, the Laojun Rock is a colossal Song-dynasty stone statue of seated Laozi, 5.6 m tall — the largest extant Taoist stone carving in China; the folk saying "touch Laojun's nose and live to 120" has made nose-touching a must-do ritual. In the hills, the Qianshou (Thousand-Hand) Rock, Mituo Rock and Nantai Rock string together cliff inscriptions and panoramic views of Quanzhou Bay, and the stupa holding Master Hongyi's relics stands quietly on the mountain — the ancients called it "the foremost Penglai of southern Fujian".
Getting there: north of downtown; self-drive / bus (approx. 3 km)
Photos
More in Quanzhou
- Kaiyuan Temple
Quanzhou's largest Buddhist temple, first built in the second year of the Tang Chuigong reign (686); legend holds that the temple was founded when its owner gave up his garden after a mulberry tree bloomed with white lotus flowers — hence the "Purple Clouds Covering the Ground" legend
- West Street
Quanzhou's earliest developed district, born with the founding of the city in the Tang Kaiyuan era; for 1,300 years it has remained the lively central axis of the old town
- Qingjing Mosque
One of China's oldest surviving mosques, founded in 1009 (the second year of the Dazhong Xiangfu reign, Northern Song) by Muslim merchant guilds from Arabia; its Arabic name was "Ashab Mosque". The granite-built gateway and the surviving pillars of the Fengtian altar still echo the style of the Great Mosque of Damascus in Syria.
- Tianhou Palace
One of the starting points from which the Mazu faith spread to the world: built in 1196 (the second year of the Qingyuan reign, Southern Song), it is one of the oldest Mazu temples still standing.
- Confucian Temple (Fuwenmiao)
Quanzhou's prefectural Confucian temple, first built in the Tang dynasty and rebuilt in the Southern Song; its Dacheng Hall is one of the largest surviving Confucian temple halls in Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze), with a double-eaved hip roof and Song-style dougong brackets well preserved.
- Tonghuai Guanyue Temple (Temple of Guan Yu and Yue Fei)
The busiest Guandi (Lord Guan) temple in southern Fujian by incense traffic; its Ming-dynasty complex consists of a front hall, the Sanyi Hall and a rear hall, with worshippers pouring in all day.