Experience the best of Putian

Putian lies on Xinghua Bay in the Taiwan Strait, in Fujian province, between Fuzhou to the north and Quanzhou to the south. The Mulan River runs through the area. The local dialect, Puxian, is a form of Min Chinese, and the old name Hinghwa still appears in older books about the coast.

Meizhou Island, close offshore, is the legendary birthplace of Mazu, the protector of sailors, and its temples draw pilgrims from across China and Taiwan, especially at ceremonies held in autumn. This is why Putian is called Mazu's hometown. In the city, Guanghua Temple is a long-established Buddhist monastery, and the surrounding countryside grows lychees and longans.

Putian cooking, also called Henghwa or Xinghua cuisine, rests on fresh seafood, with clams, oysters and crab, and the clams of Duotou village are a regional specialty, often baked in salt. Stir-fried Xinghua rice noodles are a staple. Typhoons can sweep this coast from July to September.