National Day in Fujian: Seeing Mountains and the Sea

Due to the impact of the pandemic, I haven't traveled since returning from Vietnam during the Spring Festival. Even when going out, it was limited to Zhangzhou Port, just across the sea from Xiamen. With the rare long National Day holiday, I felt I would fall apart if I didn't go out and wander. For northern and eastern Fujian, I chose Xiapu, after all, it's one of the four must-visit places in Fujian often mentioned domestically: Xiamen, Wuyi Mountain, Tulou, and Xiapu. The mudflats here are the greatest gift from heaven to the people of Xiapu. The train from Xiamen to Xiapu arrived at noon, just in time for a meal. The food stalls in Xiapu were packed with tourists. Thinking that the scenic spots would probably be overcrowded as well, we decided to go to places like Zherong first and come back to Xiapu in the last few days.

It only took an hour from Xiapu to Zherong by highway, much faster than before. Zherong has a population of 100,000, making it the least populous county in Fujian. Its area is also small, only slightly larger than Dongshan, Pingtan, and Shishi in Fujian. Zherong doesn't have many attractions, but the Yuanyang Grassland is the most worth visiting. Previously, the road from Xiapu to Zherong would pass the entrance to Yuanyang Grassland, but now with the highway, the direction is completely different. Upon arriving in Zherong, we first explored the county town. Zherong has an old street, which is not long or particularly special, but as an old street, it's still worth a stroll. In front of the old street flows a river that runs through the town. The Shuangcheng Forts of Zherong are just across the river, not far away. The Shuangcheng Forts are commonly called Shangbao and Xiabao, built during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, even older than the establishment of Zherong County. Because of these two forts, the county seat is named Shuangcheng Town. Dongshi Mountain lies east of Zherong town, the main peak of the Taimu Mountain Range, with an altitude of 1480 meters. However, we only walked around the Dongshi Square at the foot of the mountain. Although the square stairs are carved with many famous stone lion statues, compared to the Thousand Lion Mountain in Dali, Yunnan, the lion statues here lack integration with nature and won't arouse much interest among tourists.

The next morning at 7 o'clock, we took the first bus to Zhaizhong. After 40 minutes, we arrived at the entrance of Yuanyang Grassland. It's a 20-minute walk from the entrance to the ticket office. You can choose between the 6-yuan bus fare and the 70-yuan chartered car, mainly depending on whether you have a large group or not. The ticket for Yuanyang Grassland is 50 yuan, and booking online only saves 5 yuan. The grassland is quite large, with an altitude of about 1000 meters, making it a rare alpine meadow in southern China. Of course, compared to Wugong Mountain we've visited before, it's just a small show—there's no comparison—but in Fujian, it's the number one grassland compared to others. At Yuanyang Grassland, you can take the small loop of over 3 kilometers or the large loop of 7 kilometers, depending on your physical strength and time. The large loop can be completed in just over 2 hours. But how can you see the most beautiful scenery without reaching the mountaintop? So if the weather is good, it's recommended to take the large loop to the summit.

During the National Day holiday, the Quzhou-Ningde Railway opened. This is a railway connecting eastern and northern Fujian. At the time of its opening, it mainly consisted of green trains from Fuzhou via Ningde to Songxi. From Ningde to Zhenghe is not far, only 2 hours and 24 yuan, saving a lot compared to the bus fare of over 80 yuan, and it's also safer. Zhenghe Railway Station is not far from the county town, and the bus service has already been set up. After the last train arrives, there are still two buses to take you into town. Zhenghe has a relatively well-known terrace field in Fujian—Nianshan Terrace Field. This originated from fortifications built along the mountain by Huang Chao's army in the late Tang Dynasty, which later generations converted into terraced fields. When I went, the road to Nianshan was under construction, so the bus couldn't reach the mountaintop, and we had to cross a glass bridge instead. Now glass bridges and glass boardwalks are being built everywhere across the country, but they no longer attract many tourists from outside; they mainly draw local, nearby, or passerby tourists. The future challenge is whether management can keep up over ten years or even longer; otherwise, they pose a safety hazard. Climbing up Nianshan, the wheat in the terraced fields had not yet been harvested. As far as the eye could see, yellow was the ripe wheat, green was the glossy tea plants. Amidst the interweaving of yellow and green, the winding mountain roads and houses formed a harmonious scene.

When we returned from northern Fujian to Xiapu, the tourist tide had receded. We stayed overnight in Beicun Village. The sunrise at Beicun is known in photography circles as one of the best places to capture sunrise. Professional photographers often stay here for ten days or more. After 5:30 in the morning, tourists came out from their lodgings and all walked to a small hillside in the village to wait for the sunrise. Although there were still many tourists today, it was much less compared to a few days earlier. I heard that a few days ago, the place was packed with a dark mass of people, and all came with hope but left with disappointment. The sky had already turned bright white, but the sun still had no trace. The black clouds ahead were somewhat thick, and everyone thought it would be another disappointing day. Unexpectedly, the sun tore a hole in the dark clouds, revealing a red glow, slowly growing larger and shining on the sea. As the sun gradually rose, the red turned to gold and finally to dazzling white, and the mudflat completed its performance.

From Beicun Village, we went to Binhai Xincheng Bus Station and transferred to a bus heading to Xiahu Town. Changchun, Xiahu, and Beibi are the southern route of Xiapu, part of the Dongchong Peninsula, and the least popular route. I've always been curious: since this area is all seaside with sunrise and sunset views, why are there so few photos circulating? It took over an hour from Binhai Station to Xiahu. Xiahu Town was quite lively, but there was no good place to view the sea on the west side. Although Baidu Maps marked the sea, much of it was just mudflats or wetlands, or areas that had already been reclaimed. We continued forward to Beibi, passing by Dong'an Island area. On the sea surface, there were patches of houses for marine aquaculture, with red roofs and blue sea, prompting us to get off temporarily for photos before catching the next bus to continue to Beibi. Beibi Township is inland, not facing the sea, and even less lively than Xiahu. We continued to Xiaqi Village on the southeast side of Dongchong Peninsula. Looking at the sea from Shangqi Village gave a mysterious feeling, with a particularly good visual effect, creating an urgent desire to plunge into the sea. At Xiaqi Village, the waves crashed violently against the shore, making you hesitate to approach. At this moment, the sea was frightening and terrifying. Although I grew up by the sea, I couldn't love the sea at Xiaqi Village, so we went to Dajing Village for the night.

Dajing Village, like Xiaqi Village, is located on the east side of the Dongchong Peninsula. Dajing Fort, like other coastal forts in Fujian, was a military fortress built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty by Zhou Dexing, the Marquis of Jiangxia, to defend against Japanese pirates. Dajing Fort was of the Qianhusuo (thousand-household) rank, and among several such forts, it was built to the highest standard. Currently, Dajing Fort has east, west, and south gates. The west gate is the main entrance, leading to an L-shaped street paved with blue slate. The east gate is a barbican, the south gate looks newly built, and the north gate has a road but no gate, reportedly because it backs onto a large mountain and thus no gate was built. There is also a moat running from the west gate to the east gate, which other forts in Fujian do not have.

Dajing's beach is quite famous in the Ningde and Wenzhou areas. Although not long, it is crescent-shaped with relatively fine sand. Perhaps because the weather has turned cold, the waves felt somewhat big, and there were no people playing in the sea in the morning, unlike Hulishan Beach in Xiamen, where people swim year-round.

Accommodation in Dajing is also convenient. As long as it's not a holiday or summer vacation, you can find a room for around 100 yuan, and there are better options, though those with sea views are a bit far from the ancient town.