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Quanzhou Overseas-relations History Museum
The new Quanzhou Overseas-relations History Museum was built in 1990. It has three exhibition halls: 'Quanzhou and ancient overseas relations,' 'Quanzhou religious stone sculpture,' and 'Quanzhou export ceramics.' There is also a 'Quanzhou Bay Ancient Ship Exhibit' located in the old Kaiyuan temple. Together, the two locations of the museum cover 35,000 square meters, and the exhibition space approaches 4,000 square meters.
The Quanzhou Bay Ancient Ships Exhibit is located on the east side of the Kaiyuan Temple. A total space of 1,307 square meters is divided into the reception hall, the ships hall, and a hall for artifacts that have been excavated from ocean?going vessels. The reception room has the aspect of a harbor. The ancient remains of a ship that is 24.2 meters long and 9.15 meters wide are exhibited here and constitute one of the most important of the exhibits.
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In the museum.
Photo: jxcn.cn
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A statue of Zheng He
Photo: jxcn.cn |
Items excavated from oceangoing vessels are displayed on the second floor. Exhibited are things from shipwrecked ocean vessels that have been recovered, including a Song dynasty ship that was excavated in 1982 - the objects that accompanied that Fashi ship are displayed here as well as a 1 to 10 model of the ship itself.
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The model of a restored sea boat of the Song dynasty unearthed in Quanzhou.
Photo: chinamuseum.com
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The Quanzhou and ancient overseas-relations exhibition hall are located in a space that is divided into chronological dynastic sections. These display the circumstances surrounding Quanzhou's ancient commerce. The exhibition includes 200 photographs and 300 objects.
The Quanzhou religious sculptures are located in the east exhibition hall. Around 300 sculptures are on display that were left in Quanzhou and passed on to later generations by religious representatives of the Song and Yuan periods. Religions represented include, most importantly, Islam, also Nestorian Christian and various religions from India.
The Quanzhou Exhibition of Export Ceramics is on the second floor of the exhibition hall. According to a set timetable, exhibitions rotate from neolithic period to modern Quanzhou-area ceramic production, as well as a comprehensive exhibit of ceramics through all periods. Some 420 antique ceramic pieces are included, as well as a small number of new pieces. In addition to the three special exhibits that are open to the public, on the second floor the Quanzhou Overseas?relations History Museum has an 800-square meter space in which is exhibited 'China's Customs History.' This is organized with the cooperation of the Customs General Administration, and with the Customs service of Xiamen and the Customs service of Quanzhou.
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A sea boat of the Song dynasty unearthed in Houzhugang in Citong, Fujian.
Photo: chinamuseum.com
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The Quanzhou Overseas-relations History Museum has a total of 3,000 objects in its collections. Among these, several dozen are first and second-grade cultural relics. Of these, the ancient articles excavated from ancient ships and the religious sculptures are considered most valuable. Among the collections of this museum are also some that relate to the history of overseas Chinese, and there are also Spanish silver coins and such foreign articles from the time when Quanzhou's overseas-relations were at their height. (Source: chinamuseum.com)
How to get there: Bus No.7
Kaiyuan Temple
Formerly named 'Lotus Temple' and first built in 686 of the Tang dynasty (618-907), the Kaiyuan Temple is the oldest and largest Buddhist building in Fujian province. The 78,000 square-meter site, as legend has, was once a mulberry grove. The owner of the trees dreamed one day that a Buddhist monk asked him to build a temple here. The reluctant owner replied: 'Only if the mulberry trees in my garden bear lotus flowers.' A few days later, lotus flowers appeared in the grove... Today in the courtyard west of the main hall, an ancient mulberry tree has a sign on it that reads 'Mulberry Lotus Tree'.
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The twin pagodas in Kaiyuan Temple
Photo: ctin.cn
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In 783 during the Tang Kaiyuan period, the Emperor Xuangzong, a devout Buddhist, ordered the temple to be in his honour. Since then, the temple has shared the same high reputation as the Guangji Temple (Guangji si) in Beijing and Lingyin Temple (Lingyin si) in Hangzhou. It used to be home to 1,000 monks.
The temple is highly regarded for its architecture: Its main hall 'Precious Hall of the Great Hero' (Daxiong Baodian) or Mahavira Hall is also known as 'The Great Hall of Purple Clouds'. It is 20 odd meters high and is famous for its (almost) one hundred stone columns, each carved in a different style. On the crossbeams are carved 24 flying singers and dancers or 'apsaras' resembling angels in Catholic churches.
There is an octonal five-storey stone pagodas on either side of the temple. The eastern one is called 'Nation Protecting Pagoda' (Zhengguo ta), and the western, 'Merits and Longevity pagoda' (Renshou ta). The twin pagodas were built in the 13th century and they are famous for their vivid sculptural details, exquisitely carved decorations, and inside, one of them has forty ancient Buddhist stories inscribed on its walls. Climbing up along the wood stairs to the top of either pagoda offers you the best bird's-eye-viewing point of Quanzhou city.
Behind the eastern pagoda, there is a museum exhibiting articles and pictures from Quanzhous magnificent past as one biggest sea ports in the world. Among the exhibits there is a wooden sailing vessel said to be from the twelfth or thirteenth century-an example of how far advanced Chinese shipbuilders were at that time. The vessel was found in 1974, remnants of the herbs and spices it had been carrying were identified in its hold.
Location: North-west of Quanzhou on the corner of Xi jie and Xinhua Rd. Two kilometers from the bus station.
How to get there: Take bus No. 2 from the Long-distance bus station, or hire a motorbike. Of course, taxi is the best choice.
(Source: ctrip.com)
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