It is indeed a "surprise journey" for me to travel with a group of Sibu Foochow friends to visit the land of my forefathers the whole of last week. I joined last minute.
The tour was a deliberate attempt made by a group of Sibu journalists and bloggers to research the tastes and flavours of the Foochows in the Fujian province. We "ate" five districts of Fujian but there is definitely more to eat. There were six writers led by the Director of the Sibu Foochow Heritage Gallery Tiong Yong Ching and Executive Secretary of Sarawak Foochow Association Deng Wang Chiew.
In the next few weeks (with interloping postings of other topics) I will be presenting my photographs and journals of my week in Fujian from 17th to 24th April 2010.
Fuzhou is located in the lower reaches of the Min River. Fuzhou City(the capital of Fujian province) is situated in the eastern part of the Province. Fuzhou, the center of economy, politics, culture and transportation of Fujian Province, was so named after a mountain situated in the north called Mt. Fu. Additionally, many banyans were planted in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and now provide shade for the entire city giving it another good name - Rong Cheng (Banyan City). Besides, the city is renowned for both quality and quantity of hot springs throughout China. The cultured sights of Fuzhou are not as overwhelming as many of the top attractions in China, but the modern infrastructures of supporting establishments for tourism are complete, and a dazzling array of local dishes and snacks await your patronage.
Fuzhou is both a historic and a cultural city with an over two-thousand-year of history and in 908, Fuzhou was expanded. This expansion included Mt. Yu, Mt. Wu and Mt. Ping within its jurisdiction. The city is also prosperous in culture, from the Tang (618-907) through to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911); there were thousands of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) from Fuzhou. Many celebrated figures from Chinese history also hailed from this land, and thus, the birth of heroes also brings glory to such a place. Because of its long and flourishing history, there are many arts related industries represented, including the Three Treasures of Fuzhou (lacquer work, stone sculpting and cork cutting), a featured dining culture, and also traditional arts including Min Opera, etc. which still take an important role in today's Chinese culture.
To my delight April is a good time to visit Fuzhou as it is comfortable for us. The temperatures varied from 14 degrees C to 25 degrees C. The rain poured down to give the newly sprung plants more life. It also gave the city a delightful fresh smell.
In terms of geography, the center of Fuzhou City is Wuyi Square and Dongjiekou is the commercial center of downtown Fuzhou.
The tourism industry of Fuzhou with its sustainable, fast and healthy development is being perfected day by day.
But from the first moment on I followed a trail filled by the fragrance of Jasmine Tea.
So stay tuned..I will fill you up with my tales flavoured by Jasmine and things mentioned by my Grandmother Lien Tie. (Lotus Sister)
Sources : Wikipedia
2 comments:
how's the Foochow dialet compared with the Foochow spoken in Sibu? any differences in slangs or sentences?
Hi Ah Ngao
The various dialects spoken by the Foochows of Sibu are the same as those in China. In fact we were complimented for our good accents. Fuzhou city however also has a group called Hock Chiang and the Sitiawan people speak this dialect. But we more or less understand each other perfectly.
Being a Ming Chiang I felt most at home in Ming Chiang town. Three of the team are Kutien - and they feel at home in Kutien...
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