Zhangzhou

Nanjing Tulou 

Nanjing Tulou, the Tulou structure in Nanjing, is the most distinctive traditional Chinese housing that can accommodate more people than any other kind of residential dwelling in China. Among the 10,000 Tulou here in Nanjing, more than 1,300 are large in size, including 236 multi-storey round ones, 496 multi-storey sq. ones, and 656 ones of various other shapes, such as oval, arc, sector, U-shape, half-moon and tri-square. In 2008, they were inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List. 

Since ancient times, the residents in Nanjing’s mountainous areas have been dwelling in these traditional rammed earth buildings. Their general features can be summarized as follows: 

(1) Nanjing is the region where the sq. and round Tulou are most densely concentrated. These earth buildings are of great cultural significance reflecting the tradition and rich civilization of the Han people. 

(2) Nanjing Tulou exemplifies the style of traditional Chinese architecture and earth-working civilization. Groups of Tulou in Tianluokeng, Xiaban, Qujiang Hekeng, and Taxia have been passed down through generations, and their traditional architecture style and mode of residence have remained unchanged, making them special and valuable for the study of architecture and relevant culture in social sciences.  

(3) Nanjing is one of the most important ancestral homelands for people from Taiwan, as well as the homeland for many overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the style of Tulou also has influence on the architectural design by the Taiwanese people and the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. 

Nanjing Tulou are valuable heritage of human civilization. Its environmentally-friendly design has received great attention from architects and academics all over the world, who take it as a model for future buildings oriented towards the 21th century.  

Flora Expo Garden 

Zhangzhou is famed for its flower growing, hence the name of the flower capital along the southeastern China. The Flora Expo Garden is located at Makou of Zhangpu, a county 22 km. from the downtown Zhangzhou. The garden covers an area of 475 hectares. Within, there are over 10 southern subtropical botanical parks equipped with recreational facilities. The Zhangzhou Park has a collection of the miniature representative scenic spots of all counties and districts in Zhangzhou, together with hotels, members-only villas, Chinese and Western restaurants and performance halls. It has become a self-contained tourist spot at national AAAA level for eco-tourism, sightseeing, recreation, conference and exposition, technical training, trade fair and lodging.  

Amid the green grass and beautiful flowers, you can feel more in touch with nature, leaving the mortal world behind. The base of precious flowers and plants is an epitome of cross-Straits agricultural cooperation. It is a member of the model bases for South-South Cooperation (SSC) of the United Nations and a fieldwork base for college students of agriculture and forestry. It is also an international training base in Fujian for subtropical floral research institute of SSC. Horticulturists from many developing countries have, for many times, come to the garden for trainings hosted by the United Nations.   

The Cross-Straits Flowers Exposition hosted by the provincial government and co-hosted by the municipal government of Zhangzhou is held every November. In 2004, the Cross-Straits Flowers Exposition （Zhangzhou, Fujian） was upgraded from a local event to a national one. The park has now become an important window to Fujian, especially Zhangzhou. By visiting the park, people from home and abroad will know more about Zhangzhou, and about Fujian.  

Gao Shaoping Paper-cut Gallery 

Gao Shaoping Paper-cut Gallery is a traditional folk art gallery, exhibiting the paper-cut craftworks by Ms. Gao Shaoping, a folk artist and master of paper-cut in Fujian.  

Born and brought up in Zhangpu County, the hometown of paper cutting in China, Gao fell in love with paper-cut and fine arts since childhood. She began to learn paper cutting at the age of 10, tutored by Huang Su, a well-known paper-cut artist, and successively instructed by another famous artist Lin Tao. During her 20 years plus experience of paper cutting, she has meticulously created about 500 pieces of art works with various themes. She has won several prizes both at national and provincial levels. Among her works, A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival and An Ode to the Great Men in this Century are valued as the top works of the Chinese folk arts. 

Ms. Gao is one of the artists awarded the title of “10 Pairs of Golden Scissors in China”. Her works feature well-defined themes with novel design, showing great artistic appeal. She boldly marries the western elements with the eastern art while displaying the exquisite traditional craft. By injecting new life into this traditional art, she gives it a new look of the contemporary world. In her capacity as a folk artist, Gao has visited more than 10 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Australia to showcase her works. Since its establishment in 2002, the gallery has attracted many distinguished visitors from Hongkong, Maocao, Taiwan and the rest of the world. 

Lin Yutang Memorial Hall 

The Lin Yutang Memorial Hall in Zhangzhou is the first of its kind in the Chinese mainland to commemorate Prof. Lin Yutang, a well-known writer and scholar. It is located in his hometown, Wulisha Village of Tianbao Town of Xiangcheng District, 6 km. away from the downtown Zhangzhou.  

The hall covers an area of 4,700 sq m. The main two-storey building is of the shape of a half moon, a style that borrows the design of Prof. Lin’s former residence in Taipei of Taiwan. Its  western-style windows covered with Chinese-style glazed tiles implies the combination of eastern and western elements in his thinking. The name of the hall was written by Shen Peng, Chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, hung on the front wall. A reception office, a document room and a conference room are on the first floor. On the second floor is the exhibition room divided into six sections, namely “childhood in the countryside”, “living in the Chinese mainland”, “living abroad”, “living in Hongkong and Taiwan”, “a cultural giant” and “love for the motherland”. A great number of pictures, photos, books, documents and some objects previously used by Prof. Lin are on display as well.  

In front of the hall is a 2-metre-high limestone statue of Prof. Lin in sitting position, designed by Li Weisi, a famous sculptor in China. It is vivid and lifelike, exhibiting Prof. Lin’s optimistic, humorous and easy-going personality. The 81 granite stairs leading up to the memorial hall suggest that Prof. Lin enjoyed 81 years of life. 

At the back of the memorial hall, some 20 m away, is the final resting place of Prof. Lin’s parents. It remains intact there after 80 years of time. Prof. Lin and his parents used to live in the village not far from the memorial hall. Behind their house is a hollow litchi tree, under which little Lin used to play the game of “hide and seek”. Now the tree is still growing vigorously.  

Nowadays, people from home and abroad flock to visit the hall to show their respect to this world-renowned cultural giant.  

China Merchants Zhangzhou Development Zone  

China Merchants Zhangzhou Development Zone was established on December 28, 1992. Situated in the south bank of Xiamen Bay along the southeast coast of China, it is right in the middle of the three economic centers, Shanghai, Taiwan and Hongkong, and only 140 sea miles from Kaoxiong Port and 120 sea miles from Taizhong Port, the two biggest ports in Taiwan Island. The zone is an important part of the drive to develop the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone. Recently, the Zhangzhou Port within the zone is designated for direct shipping across the Straits to Taiwan. 

With a planning area of 54.8 sq. km., the zone is divided into four districts. The 1st District and the 4th District are industry tailored, mainly for harbor-based shipping and logistics businesses, and industry; the 2nd District is where facilities are concentrated for administration, education and cultural activities, commerce, tourism, recreation and entertainment; the 3rd District is a high-tech area, mainly for information technology and material industry. The zone has in place such institutions as the customhouse, inspection and quarantine agency and the maritime bureau, as well as administrative offices. Guided by the concept “the investors’ success is our success”, it is providing quality and efficient services for all investors.  

The Zhangzhou Development Zone aims at becoming a modern coastal city oriented towards harbor-based and high-tech industries supported by the service industry, integrating beautiful environment with noble culture, knowledge economy, scientific management and sustainable development.  

Malata Group Co., Ltd. 

Founded in 1984, Malata Group Co., Ltd. is a large enterprise group specializing in research, production and sales of electronic and information products. At present, Malata has more than 6, 000 employees. Based in Xiamen, it is one of the key enterprises with new and high technology in China. It has edged into the ranks of top 100 Chinese electronic makers three times successively and has won national prizes several times.  

Malata is an important supplier of household electronic products in the domestic market. Its strong R&D capacity and market-oriented approaches enable it to meet the market demands. Its current product range covers 11 categories, including DVD/ VCD Player, Malata MIDI KARAOKE DVD/ VCD Player, Digital DVD Home Theater System, High Fidelity Home Theatre System （amplifier, speakers）, VDR, MP3 Disk Player, TV, Photo-catalytic Air Purifier, Audio and Video Disc, Communication equipments and battery bicycle.  

The company has two industrial zones, one in Zhangzhou and the other in Xiamen, each covering an area of 200,000 sq. m.The factories boast several internationally advanced production lines. In 1999, the trademark “Malata” was accredited as “China Top Brand” by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.  

Tenfu Tea Museum 

Tenfu Tea Museum was set up by Mr. Lee Ruihe, president of Tenfu Group Corporation. Inheriting from his past generation, Mr. Lee has been running tea business for over 50 years. As he fully understands that tea culture is the cornerstone for the sustainable development of his business, he’s made huge investment in this museum in an attempt to spread the Chinese tea culture.  

Situated at Pantuo, Zhangpu County, the museum covers an area of 5.3 hectares, and opened in 2002. It is a scenic spot at National AAAA level, as well as one of the first model destinations for agrotourism in China. Above all, it is the largest tea museum in the world at present.  

The museum consists of four main buildings. One is the main exhibition building. Showcased in this building are the tea history, tea growing and sales in the world, and the development of Tenfu Group Corporation. Two is the building for Chinese tea presentation. There are performance rooms and tea tasting rooms on the first floor. On the second floor is an international conference room with advanced facilities. Three is the building for Japanese tea presentation. In this building, there are three tea rooms reflecting different historical times in Japan. Four is the building of Chinese calligraphy and painting. Three exhibition rooms are set up in this building, among which the Rare Stones Room displays various kinds of wonderful stones and carvings.  

In addition, the replica of ancient Chinese landscaping of pavilions, rocks, bridges, ponds in the museum adds flavor to the appealing Chinese tea culture. There is also a sample tea garden in the museum. Such a beautiful environment will enable visitors to acquire more knowledge about tea culture and tea ceremony, and help spread the Chinese tea culture.  

Taiwanese Farmers Business Park 

In April, 2006, Zhangpu of Fujian was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council to set up a business park for Taiwanese farmers. This is a move to translate into action the 15 preferential policies for the Taiwan people announced at the first session of the Cross- Straits Economic and Trade Forum by the Central Government. 

The business park is situated in Zhangpu, a county 25 km. away from the downtown Zhangzhou. The total area under planning is 200 hectares. Under the guidance of the principles of “Concentration, Optimization and Demonstration”, two centers and six industrial areas will be brought into place. To be specific, a technology service center, an incubation center, a floral area, a fruit and vegetable area, a tea growing area, a fishery area, a processing area for agricultural by-products and a processing area for agriculture and poultry products. These functional areas play an exemplary role in raising agricultural technology, and increase the profit of agro-production, thus creating new opportunities for business development of the Taiwanese in the Chinese mainland. Moreover, the park will serve as the platform for the development of the Taiwanese farmers’ agro-business, the cross-Straits cooperation in agriculture, agro high-tech incubation, as well as the exchanges and communication across the Straits.