Yongding Tulou  

Yongding Tulou, scattered in Yongding County in the south of Longyan City, is a unique Hakka residential dwelling in the country. It has been a world –famous architecture for its long history, unique style, broad scale and exquisite structure. These adobe buildings are large-scale wooden houses made from earth, lime, glutinous rice and brown sugar with bamboo chips and wood strips laid in as “bones” to reinforce it. They are in two shapes: sq. and circular. There are totally 360 circular ones and over 4,000 sq. ones in the county. 

Circular Tulou (aka circular stockaded village), typical of its kind, normally have 2-3 rings. The outer ring is over 10 m high, usually in 3 or 4 storeys with more than 100 rooms altogether, kitchens on the first floor, storehouses on the second, bedrooms on the third and fourth. The two-storeyed middle ring has 30-50 rooms used for guest accommodation. The inner ring is built as ancestral hall, a place for worshiping ceremonies or festive activities. Facilities such as wells, bathrooms and mills can also be found in the buildings. Tulou are made from rammed earth without using any reinforcing bar or concrete. The foundation of the wall is 3 m wide, enough to run a vehicle, and the wall on the first floor is 1.5 m thick, almost enough to place a man on. Going up, the wall becomes thinner gradually. But still, the highest part is no less than 0.9 meter thick. And rooms are divided by wooden boards along the circular wall with a corridor outside.  

The oldest Tulou still existent is the dilapidated sq. Fuxin Building built in the Tang Dynast in 769 A. D. Some other famous buildings include Zhencheng, Chengqi, Yijing, etc.  

Zhencheng Building, a cultural interest under provincial protection, is located in Hongkeng Village of Hukeng Town. Built in 1912 to cover an area of 5,000 sq. m, it consists of two rings, both designed according to the Eight Diagrams (eight combinations of three lines, formerly used in divination) with 6 rooms in each “diagram” and each entrance as a unit. The outer ring has 4 storeys with 48 rooms on each floor. Between “diagrams” are fire walls with an arch to get through. The ancestral hall also serves as a stage, in the front of which are 4 big stone pillars of 2 m in girth and about 7 m in height. Around the hall is the inner ring of 2 storeys with 30 rooms altogether. The railings along the corridor of the second floor were shipped from Shanghai. On the lintel of the hall is Li Yuanhong’s inscription (Li was the President during the early years of the Republic of China). In April 1986, a model of Zhencheng was exhibited on an international architecture model show in Los Angeles, together with the models of the Beijing-based Yonghe Palace and the Great Wall, which caused a sensation. 

Chengqi Building, also named Tianzhu Building and built in 1709, is situated in Gaotou Village of Guzhu Town. It houses totally 400 rooms and covers an area of 5,376 sq. m. Chengqi has been listed in the Dictionary of Historic Interests and Scenic Beauties in China for its grand scale and unique structure. In 1986, the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication issued a series of stamps about Chinese folk houses, in which the picture of Chengqi Building was selected to represent Fujian Province. 

Yijing Building, located in Shangyang Village of Gaopi Town, was built in 1851. It is a good example of sq. Tulou with its main mansion standing as high as 17 m, the highest in this region. 

Yongding Tulou is an important and integral part of the effort to apply for the World Heritage Site as Fujian Tulou. In the 32nd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on July 6, 2008, Fujian Tulou was inscribed on the World Heritage Site List with a unanimous vote. 

 

Guanzhai Mountain Scenic Zone 

Guanzhai Mountian Scenic Zone, 1.5 km east of Liancheng County, is China’s first AAAA tourist attractions accredited in 2000 and a candidate China Danxia landform for inscription on the World Natural Heritage Site List in 2007. Covering an area of 123 sq. km., it consists of five scenic spots: Guanzhai Mountain, Shimen Lake, Zhu’an Stockaded Village, Qishi Stockaded Village and Jiulong Lake, where travelers can enjoy a stunning view of rivers, mountains, rocks, caves, fountains and temples.  

Guanzhai Mountain got its name as its peak looks like a Zhai Guan, a hat that officials wore in ancient China (Zhai is a unicorn-like animal, revered as a symbol of justice and impartiality). In the Mountain, you will find natural wonders, such as Cangyu Gorge, One-Person-Only Path, as well as carved calligraphies and a scattering of pavilions and temples. Also, there is the Shimen Lake, which is 400 m above sea level with an expanse of 3 sq. km., regarded as a pearl in the Mountain. Traveling in the Lake by boat, you can enjoy hills and rocks in different shapes, like horse drinking water and elephant playing with water, etc. And the Jiulong Lake, crystal and deep, winds its way among the hills. Looking from afar, the range of hills seems to slither across the lake like a dragon. Three kilometers east of Guanzhai Mountian sits Zhu’an Stockaded Village, a stronghold surrounded by high cliffs. 

General Sport Administration of China has held sports games, such as mountain hiking, climbing, gliding, skydiving, cliff diving and swimming, many times in the Guanzhai Scenic Zone, which was regarded as the best sports venue in China. It now serves as a training base for these sports in Fujian. 

 

Site of the Gutian Meeting 

The Site of the Gutian Meeting, located in Xibei Village, Gutian Town of Shanghang County, was built in 1848. Formerly, it served as the ancestral hall of the Liao clan, and was then used as a primary school when a major force of the Red Army was stationed in Gutian. It is a one-storey house made from bricks and wood, covering an area of 826 sq. m and consisting of two halls in the front and back and two wing-rooms on the left and right. The back hall was the classroom for senior pupils, where in December of 1929 Mao Zedong held the Ninth Party Congress of the 4th Corps of the Red Army, passing a resolution of historical significance. General Chen Yi presided over the 3-day meeting, while Mao Zedong delivered a report of political resolution. Gutian Meeting plays a vital role in the history of the Chinese Communist Party and the survival and development of the Red Army. The resolution adopted at the meeting maps out a great program for building the Red Army. 

Today the meeting hall has been restored to the original scene with such things in place as the seats, logo, rostrum, slogans, the Party flag, wall clock and pictures of Karl Marx and Lenin. The left wing-room served as Mao Zedong’s office. And the mark left on the ground still reminds people of the scene of the delegates warming themselves by the fire. Outside, on the right side is the reviewing stand. On the left are a lotus pond and a well. Erected behind the house is a board with big red characters reading “Everlasting the Gutian Meeting”. Further back is a dense forest. On its opposite is an exhibition hall built in the 1960s and opened in October 1974. Covering an area of 38,151.81 sq. m and a floor space of 11,324 sq. m, it mostly exhibits valuable cultural relics in West Fujian during the revolutionary period. Here you will find different versions of “The Resolution of the Gutian Meeting” printed in different historical periods. It is a memorial that houses the largest number of revolutionary relics in Fujian. In March 1961, the Site of the Gutian Meeting was named as one of the first important cultural relics under state protection. 

 

Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. 

Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd.（hereinafter referred to as Zijin Mining ）is a high-tech super-large international mining group centered on exploration and development of gold and base metals, listed respectively in Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2003  and in Shanghai Stock Exchange in April 2008. 

Formerly known as Fujian Province Shanghang County Mining Company, Zijin Mining got involved in the development of the Zijin Mountain in 1992 with 76 employees and total assets of RMB 3.517million .To keep pace with the times, the company was restructured to be a limited liability company and a joint stock company respectively in 1998 and 2000 and thereafter embarked upon a fast track of development that can be reckoned as a miracle.  

As of December 30, 2008, Zijin Mining has total assets of RMB 26.22 billion, RMB 19.179 billion in net term. In 2008, its sales revenue reached RMB 16.983 billion and net profits RMB 3.060 billion, growing by 11.32% and 20.32% respectively on a year-to-year basis. As one of the top 500 Chinese enterprises, Zijin Mining has grown into a large mining group with its holding subsidiaries spreading over seven other countries and 20 provinces in China. It has become an enterprise possessing the largest metal mineral base in China, and the largest gold producer, the third largest copper producer, and one of the 6 major zinc producers in China. 

In March 2008, Zijinshan Gold-Copper Mine, the core business of Zijin Mining, was appraised as China’s Largest Gold Mine by China Gold Association. 

Aspired to become a “high-tech super-large international mining group”, Zijin Mining values “balanced development among the enterprise, employees and the society”, and is committed to corporate social responsibility. 

 

South China Tiger Park in Meihua Mountain 

The South China Tiger Park is located in Meihua Mountain at the junction of Shanghang County, Liancheng County and downtown Longyan City. Occupying an area of over 220 sq. km., Meihua Mountain is mantled with pristine forests and over 30 vegetation formations, in which, 19 kinds of plants are listed in China’s first Red Paper Book as protected plants, 26 kinds of animals, such as South China tiger and leopard are listed in the National level-one and level-two protected animals. It is an animal and plant gene bank hard to find in other hot and barren areas along the tropic in the world, and thus is extolled as an emerald in the tropic by experts home and abroad. 

To save the endangered South China tiger, Longyan city brought in two male and one female South China tigers from Suzhou Zoo for naturalization in September 1998, taking the lead in China to launch the South China Tiger Protection Program in Meihua Mountain. In 2004, it made heavy input to build a 466.7 hectares of South China Tiger Park in Chapandong, and brought in another two female and one male South China tigers from Guilin, Guangxi Province to increase tiger’s provenance and avoid inbreeding. Now when you visit the Park, it will surely make you feel excited to hear the growls of tigers and the chatters of macaque and sika deer, all that have been long lost.  

The South China Tiger Protection Program will be carried out in three phases, involving a total investment of roughly RMB 120 million. By 2010, the number of South China tigers will reach 100 through artificial propagation in a semi-natural and natural environment. Meihua Mountain is projected to be an internationally advanced nature reserve for South China tigers.  

 

Taiwan Farmers’ Business Park in Zhangping 

With similar geographical and climatic conditions to the Alishan Mountain (a symbol of Taiwan), the Taiwan Farmers’ Business Park in Zhangping is regarded as the Alishan Mountain in Fujian. Approved by the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and the Fujian Provincial Government for establishment in May 2006, it has attracted 35 Taiwan companies and over 300 individuals to invest in growing 2,333 hectares of Taiwan High Mountain tea, 1,000 hectares of premium flowers, 667 hectares of fruits and 2,133 hectares of off-season vegetables, and brought into shape an industrial cluster of farm produce growing and processing.  

The Park has become a good example of agricultural cooperation between Fujian and Taiwan and the largest tea base in this regard. Its goal is to develop itself into a domestically well-known demonstration area for premium High Mountain tea processing in China, the biggest growing and export base of azalea in Southeast Asia, and the demonstration base for growing off-season vegetables and Taiwan cold-loving fruit trees in the Province.  

By importing premium tea trees from Taiwan, Yongfu High Mountain Tea is produced pollution-free and organic as it is cultivated with intensive care in a sustainable way, and processed by advanced equipment and techniques. It surpasses the European SGS standard in tests by the Tea Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. It has been honored as Fujian Top Tea for several times, and obtained the Green Food Certificate conferred by the Chinese Green Food Development Center.  

 

Changting-A historical and Cultural Town 

In its long history, Changting has been the administrative center of the region from the high Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty (618-1911). It is the matrix and major habitat for the Hakka people, thus revered as the headquarters and capital of the Hakka. After witnessing the beautiful landscape and such natural wonders as Chaodou Rock, Wolong Mountain and Longmenxia Cave, Rewi Alley, a New Zealander who dedicated his life to the cause of the Communist Party of China, concluded that Changting was one of the two most beautiful towns in China. It was recognized as a national historical and cultural town by the State Council in 1994. Its major scenic spots are: the ruins of human activities in the Neolithic period, the ancient city wall and rostrum of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Tingzhou Examination Office of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Tingzhou Confucius Temple, Temple of the Goddess of the Sea, twin cypress trees of the Tang Dynasty, and an ancient well which looks like a pagoda turning upside down. Relics under state protection include the Fujian Provincial Soviet Government, the Gospel Hospital, Xingeng Villa, and Qu Qiubai Monument. 

The Fujian Provincial Soviet Government (FPSG) is located at No. 41, Zhangzheng Road of Tingzhou Town. It used to be the Examination Office in the Qing Dynasty. In March 1932, the first Assembly of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers of Fujian was convened here, in which, FPSG was founded with Zhang Dingcheng as Chairman. It then served as FPSG’s administrative center. The site was designated by the State Council as an important relic under state protection in 1988 and converted into the Museum on Changting’s Revolutionary History. 

The Gospel Hospital, situated at the foot of Wolong Hill in the north of the county, was a British mission hospital. The construction started in 1904 and was completed in 1908. It was named after its British founder at first and changed into Gospel Hospital in 1926 under the leadership of Fu Lianzhang (Nelson Fu). It treated over 300 sick and wounded soldiers when the Nanchang Uprising army led by Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other leaders of the CPC came by Changting. It became a red army hospital in the central Soviet area in 1931, and Mao Zedong received treatment here in 1932. The Hospital moved to Ruijin, Jiangxi Province the next year, and was renamed the Central Red Hospital, still headed by Fu Lianzhang. It was restored in 1966 and listed as an important relic under state protection in 1988. 

Xingeng Villa, located at No. 11 Tingjiang Alley, used to be the headquarters and political department of the Fourth Red Army in March 1929, where Mao Zedong, Zhu De and Chen Yi held the enlarged meeting of the CPC front committee of the Army. It was also designated as an important cultural relic under state protection in 1988. 

Qu Qiubai Monument, built in 1954, stands at the Luohan Ridge to the west of Changting. It was made a cultural relic under provincial protection in 1985, and listed as a state memorial structure for martyrs in October 1986 by the Ministries of Civil Affairs and Finance.