QUANZHOU - LUOYANG BRIDGE

Luoyang Bridge of Quanzhou, Fujian China is one of the historical places which I heard being mentioned quite often in the house during my childhood days. This was probably because my late grandma used to watch Hokkien Opera Shows with 'legendary' stories of this place.

The Luoyang Bridge, also known as Wan'an Bridge. The stone bay bridge is situated at the mouth of Louyan River.  Being the first stone bay bridge in China, it enjoys the reputation of " one of the four ancient bridges of China".

Legend has it that in the Tang dynasty, emperor Xuanzong of Tang disguised himself and went to the street to inspect people's lives. 

 

Finally, after so many years I came to visit Luoyang Bridge which is not a legendary place you see in the shows but it does exists for centuries. 

We followed a day tour to Quanzhou from Xiamen.  The day tour fare is very reasonable at 180 Yuan inclusive of lunch. It covers visits to various tourists sites such as Shaolin Temple, Kai Yuan Temple and Wudianshi Traditional Block.

Oyster Picking

QUANZHOU - SHAOLIN TEMPLE

Front Entrance View of Shaolin Temple

One of the tourist spots to visit in Quanzhou, Fujian is Southern Shaolin Temple [Nan Shaolin Temple].  'A write up from Wikipedia states that it was founded in 495 A.D. and  emperors of every succeeding Chinese dynasty have consecrated the Shaolin Temple as their Imperial Temple. This was where emperors prayed on behalf of their people. It was also the birthplace of Zen Buddhism. 

The Southern Shaolin Temple had a reputation for being a revolutionary center and the Abbott refused to become a part of the emperors army or take orders from him. In an effort to crush the growing rebellion, the Qing army attacked and burned the Southern Shaolin Monastery during middle of the 19th century. Only the most skilled Shaolin Monks escaped the attack.'

Rear View of the Entrance