American World Traveler Fall 2016 Issue
Now in our 14th year of publishing, American World Traveler explores the culture and history of worldwide destinations, sharing the adventure of discovery with our readers and motivating them to make their travel dreams a reality. Published quarterly, AWT helps sophisticated, independent American travelers choose their next destination by offering a lively blend of intelligent, informative articles and tantalizing photographic images from our World’s best destinations, cruises, accommodations and activities to suit every traveler's taste
Now in our 14th year of publishing, American World Traveler explores the culture and history of worldwide destinations, sharing the adventure of discovery with our readers and motivating them to make their travel dreams a reality. Published quarterly, AWT helps sophisticated, independent American travelers choose their next destination by offering a lively blend of intelligent, informative articles and tantalizing photographic images from our World’s best destinations, cruises, accommodations and activities to suit every traveler's taste
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16<br />
Finding Hidden Treasures in<br />
Fujian, China<br />
Article & Photography by Michael Morcos<br />
Fujian is a southeastern Chinese<br />
province known for its mountains<br />
and coastal cities, and is traditionally<br />
described as "Eight parts mountain, one<br />
part water, and one part farmland”. Due to<br />
the province’s shoreline, the port towns of<br />
Xiamen, Fuzhou, and the island of<br />
Gulangyu all have streets and housing<br />
influenced by ancient world travelers.<br />
Pedestrian streets offer sights like 19th-century<br />
colonial villas, temples, and old-town<br />
districts, and in the city of Quanzhou, once<br />
visited by Marco Polo, there is fascinating<br />
Maritime Museum.<br />
Fujian is rich in many ways. Being relatively<br />
secluded until the 1950s, the province<br />
boasts a canopy of healthy soil and forests,<br />
whereas many parts of China are experiencing<br />
soil erosion due to lack of forest<br />
cover. Manufacturing and other industries<br />
are abundant here, and span the gambit<br />
from tea production, clothing and sports<br />
manufacturers such as Anta, 361 Degrees,<br />
Xtep, Peak Sport Products and Septwolves.<br />
Many foreign firms also operate in Fujian,<br />
including Boeing, Dell, GE, and, Nokia,<br />
among others.<br />
Quanzhou<br />
Our introduction to this mountainous<br />
province was the drive to Quanzhou, the<br />
city that was the starting point of the<br />
Maritime Silk Road!<br />
The public tours of two temples, the Kai<br />
Yuan Temple and the South Shaolin<br />
Temple, are worth the effort. The Kai Yuan<br />
was originally built in 685 or 686 and features<br />
its main hall, named the “Mahavira<br />
Hall” where some columns have fragments<br />
from a Shiva temple built in 1283 by the<br />
Tamil community. The South Shaolin temple<br />
is famous for its monks practicing martial<br />
arts!<br />
A visit to the Quanzhou Maritime Museum<br />
that, through its broad and valuable display<br />
of historical relics, offers a glimpse<br />
into the development history of the major<br />
Eastern Citong Port and the vital role that<br />
Quanzhou played in economic and cultural<br />
exchanges with foreign countries.<br />
After a dinner of local favorite Mianxian<br />
Hu, a soup that prepared with oysters,<br />
shrimps and mussels over a slow fire, we<br />
were off to the heart of downtown Fuzhou,<br />
which has, instead of skyscrapers, a large<br />
area of ancient residential buildings! This<br />
area, known as ’’three lanes and seven<br />
alleys’’ contains about 150 ancient houses
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