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AmoyMagic--Guide to Xiamen & Fujian
Copyright 2001-7 by Sue Brown & Dr. Bill Help Build an online  community for foreigners.  Join the Xiamen Guide forumOrder Books Common Talk Xiamen Dailys Weekly English SupplementXiamenguide Forum Guide to Xiamen and Fujian business tourism history culture cuisine entertainment investment  Guide to Xiamen hsiamen amoy fuhken fukien
 Search Google Xiamen and Fujian Guide
Fuzhou¡¯s Specialties and Shopping
Adapted from "Fujian Adventure", Magic Fujian, and other books.

Fuzhou Links
History of Foochow FukienHistory Haunted Nantai Island (Foreign Devils & Chinese Ghosts)
Pagoda Anchorage
Downtown Fuzhou Restaurants ShoppingDowntown Fuzhou Cuisine and RestaurantsCuisine  Fuh-chau Specialties and shoppingShopping  Fuhchau Secret Valley of YongtaiSecret Yongtai Foochow Muslim MosqueMosque
Fuzhou Buffalo Horn products
Fuzhou is famous for many handicrafts, from wooden sculptures and shoushan stone carvings, jade sculpture, and bamboo handicrafts to porcelain, paper lanterns, and paper parasols (which Japanese borrowed centuries ago with a total disregard for intellectual property rights). I could literally lose myself in the intricate miniature worlds of cork carvings like the one at the right, which graces our living room. And Fuzhou is also famous for gold and silver jewelry; the Fuhui Jewelry Mansion is the largest such enterprise in China.

But the jury is still out on buffalo horn combs, because if there¡¯s anything worse than being bamboozled8, its being buffaloed.
Fuzhou Cork Carvings
Buffalo Horns Even a foreign barbarian like myself can see the beauty in buffalo horn artistry. I suspect even the buffalo itself would feel honored to have been a part of such creations. But I¡¯m not so sure about the exalted virtues that Chinese ascribe to buffalo combs. What¡¯s wrong with good old fashioned (by which I mean cheap) plastic?

I understand why the counter girls plug buffalo hair combs and hair pins, but even neighbors with no vested interests insist that natural buffalo horn is better the hair and head, and cures everything from baldness to brainlessness.

Still, they¡¯re beautifully crafted. And who knows¡­

Fuzhou Bodiless LacquerwareBodiless Lacquerware is a horse (or buffalo) of another color10, and has long been coveted by connoisseurs and novices alike, proving that chic fashion models aren¡¯t the only bodiless commodity in high demand.

This is Fuzhou¡¯s most famous handicraft, and one of China¡¯s three great treasures (the other two being Beijing cloisonn¨¦ and Jingdezhen).

From 1898 to 1937, this most seductively delicate of all lacquer arts won 16 gold medals in international fairs in Berlin, Paris, Tokyo and Panama. And when you understand the difficulties and dangers of creating lacquerware, it¡¯s no surprise that the Chinese were the first ones to have the persistence and patience to find a way to do it (over 4,000 years ago, some claim).

Bodiless lacquerware is built up from layers of sap from the lac tree¡ªa substance so poisonous that tappers must armor themselves head to toe, and afterwards wash their body in solutions to counteract the toxic effects. But the end result of their labors epitomizes the patience of the Orient.

Epitomy of the Orient In 1933, Ms. Eunice Thomas wrote in a paper for the Anti-Cobweb Society in Fuzhou,

¡°The number of coats put on varies from only a few to perhaps a hundred in the case of the best gold lacquer. When you remember that each coat takes from five to seven days to dry, you will understand why it is necessary to wait a year for some of the finest pieces, and you will give up trying to hurry the East, especially when the slowness of the East is due to care and precision, and not laziness or inertia. The many materials used to rub down the various layers of lacquer are carefully graded, beginning with whet-stone and gradually working down to fine human hair which needs the heat of the worker¡¯s bare hand to produce the best results¡­

¡°¡®It is only the Easterner who can combine the imagination of the artist with the technical powers and steady perseverance of the ant or the bee.¡¯ Lacquer seems to stand as the perfect exemplification of the Chinese proverb, ¡®Done Leisurely, done well.¡¯¡±

The Fuzhou Bodiless Lacquerware Factory, (Fuzhou Di Er Tuo Tai Qi Qi Chang), on May 4th St., has been in business over 200 years and puts out more than 3,000 lacquer items, from vases, plates and boxes to standing screens.

The Fuzhou Stone Carving Factory (Fuzhou Shi Diao Chang), on June 1st Road, carries on the 1500 year old tradition of carving Shou Shan stone, producing over 1,000 various products.

And now we proceed, as leisurely as a Laowai is able, to Fuzhou¡¯s backyard and one of Fujian¡¯s great treasures, Yongtai!


Try these other Fuzhou sites:

Fuzhou Panda World¡ªthe only panda research site outside of Beijing and the panda¡¯s home of Sichuan province.
Forest Park¡ªone of the top 20 in China. It¡¯s out of town, so take the 945 or 811 bus.
Qing Zhen Mosque¡ªsupposedly started building in 628 AD
Fuzhou Confucian Literary Temple¡ªstarted construction in 921 AD.
Fuzhou Municipal Museum¡ªtake 971 or 972 bus.
Linzexu Statue, on the south side of Fuzhou. It is 7.75 m high, weighs 7.3 tons, which I believe. I couldn¡¯t move it.

FUZHOU LINKS
Fuzhou Muslim MosqueFuzhou History (birthplace of Chinese Maritime Industry)
Fuzhou Muslim Mosque
Pagoda Island (famous "China Pagoda," Sino-French Battle, etc.)
Haunted Nantai Island International Settlement
Foochow's Haunted Nantai Island Tour  (Includes old Consulates, Rotary Club, haunted churches...)
Downtown FuchauHeart of Fuzhou: 3 Wards & 7 Streets, Li Family House, Banyan City, Yushan Hill and White Pagoda, Clay People, etc.
Fuzhou Muslim MosqueQingjing Mosque
Secret Valley of Yongtai  FoochowSecret Valley of Yongtai (Fujian's Best Kept Secret)
Fuzhou Cuisine (Budda Leaps the Wall)
Fuzhou Cuisine  (Buddha Jumps the Wall Soup, Pounded Pork, Fish Balls)
Fuzhou Specialties and ShoppingFuzhou Shopping
Note: Fuzhou was also spelled Foochow, Fuh-chau, Fuhchau, etc.


TRAVEL LINKS Hakka Earthen architecture Favorite Fujian Sites Photographs of Fuhken places like Zhangzhou, Longyan, Ningde, Sanming, Wuyi MountainFujian Foto Album AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and FujianXiamen Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu KulongsuGulangyu Guide to Fukien Fuhken Fujian Guides Mystic Quanzhou -- the fabled port of Zayton ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed,  Sinbad the Arab visited.  ChinchewQuanzhou
Zhangzhou  changchow Zhangzhou Longyan Yongding Liancheng Changting Amoy Tigers LianchengLongyan Wuyi Mountain Guide Zhuxi  tea Wuyi Mtn Ningde Taimu Mountain ZhouningNingde Putian Fujian Xianyou Mazu TemplePutian Sanming Scenic Wonderland Mingxi Gem bed rubies Sanming Zhouning Carp VillageZhouning Hakka Earthen architecture Taimu Mtn. Hakka Earthen architecture Roundhouses Fujian covered wooden bridgesBridges Hakka Earthen architecture Jiangxi Hakka Earthen architecture Guilin Help Build an online  community for foreigners.  Join the Xiamen Guide forumOrder Books Letters from AmoyMagic ReadersReaders' Letters Travelogues by Scott Ballantyne

Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu Kulongsu
Gulangyu

Guide to Xiamen University Historic and modern, including departments -- Arts Science computers mathematics accounting management law department etc.
Xiamen Univ

Mystic Quanzhou -- the fabled port of Zayton ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed,  Sinbad the Arab visited.  Chinchew
Quanzhou

AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and Fujian
XiamenGuide


Fujian Adv

Guide to Fukien Fuhken  Bilingual Chinese English Parallel with MP3 CD
FujianGuide

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Daily Useful Links for Xiamen Guide and Fujian Guide
Frequently Asked Questions about Xiamen andFujianFAQs
Questions?
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Xiamen hotels guesthouses hostels Hotels English News Services sources in Xiamen Fujian ChinaNews (CT)
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Xiamen YMCA and YWCAYMCA Volunteer! Xiamen International Christian Fellowship Expat Nondenominational interdenominational
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Xiamen Churches Protestant Catholic Seventh Day Adventist Amoy Mission Missionaries AbeelChurches
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Hire a Maid Household help servant baomu amah etc.Maids Xiamen Emergency and Frequently used telephone numbersPhone #s
Education Links for Xiamen University, Xiamen International School, Chinese Study, History, Xiamen Libraries, Museums
Xiamen University GuideXiamen University
Xiamen International School  International Baccalaureate ProgramXIS(Int'l School)
Study Mandarin Chinese or Minnan Dialect at Xiamen University  or with private tutorStudy Mandarin
 
China Studies Program Xiamen University  Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Washington D.C. Jay LundeliusCSP(China Studies)
Piano Island Music Events Xiamen Philharmonic OrchestraLibrary Xiamen Museum Library Science Center  World's largest organ museum Asia's largest piano museum China's first anthropology museum Sino Eurolpean art museum etc.Museums
History of Amoy Changchow Chinchew Zaiton Fukien etc.History
Dining Links (Chinese and International Restaurants in Xiamen and Fujian
Xiamen restaurants dining western and Chinese cuisineRestaurants Xiamen Asian restaurants -- Singapore Thailand Thai Malaysian  Japanese Korean PhilippineAsian
Xiamen Vegetarian cuisine Nanputuo Temple Seventh Day Adventist Health foodVeggie Xiamen Restaurants Fast Food McDonalds KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken Pizza Hut Burger King (just kidding!) Cafes Coffee shopsJunk Food
Xiamen restaurants dining western and Chinese cuisineChinese Xiamen Italian Restaurants -- over 40!  Pizza pasta cheeseItalian
Western (Internationall) Cuisine in XiamenInternationalAlien visa info -- Americans, Europeans E.T. Outer space visitors
Chinese visa and passport informationVisas 4 aliens
Recreation Links: Beach, Sports, Parks, Gardens, Birdwatching, Martial Arts, Music
Hakka Earthen architecture Massage!
Hakka Earthen architecture Beaches Kite Flying in Xiamen ChinaFly Kites
Sports -- Golf, Badminton Tennis Bowling Paint BallSports Xiamen Boardwalk One of the most beautiful boardwalks in China or anywhere else.  Along the Island Ring road over 6km long so far.Boardwalk
Xiamen Parks, recreation, hiking boardwalk etcParks Xiamen Museum Library Science Center etcPets
Bird watching in Xiamen Amoy  SwinhoeBirdwatching
Martial arts Chinese Kung FuKung Fu Hiking around Xiamen BushwalksHiking
Piano Island Music Events Xiamen Philharmonic OrchestraMusic Events
Chinese festivals and culture minnanFestival&Culture
Chinese Jokes Humor Funny China photosHumor&Chinese Jokes Humor Funny China photosFun Fotosfunny photos of China
Doing Business in Xiamen -- Teach in China, Hire Workers, Translation Services, Trade Fairs
Doing Business Invest in Xiamen Fujian ChinaDoing Business
Work or teach in Xiamen, Quanzhou or other Fujian schools and universities  English French RussianJobs!(teach/work)
Hire permanent or temporary workers labor craftsmen maids tutorsHire Workers
Foreign Companies in Xiamen Joint Ventures Foreign Companies
China International Fair for Investment and Trade and Cross Straits Exchanges
CIFIT (Trade Fair)
Common Talk Xiamen Dailys Weekly English SupplementMTS(Translation)

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