Saddle walls
White and curving.
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The historic quarter in the heart of Fuzhou, made up of three lanes and seven alleys either side of the pedestrian Nanhou Street over 0.38 square kilometres, and celebrated as a living museum of Ming and Qing architecture with many national monuments. Over the centuries some 400 notable Chinese lived here, statesmen, writers and thinkers among them Lin Zexu, the translator Yan Fu, the writer Bing Xin and the architect Lin Huiyin, earning it the nickname «the Beverly Hills of imperial China». The quarter keeps the old ward-based city plan that goes back to the Tang dynasty, which put it on UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list, and its houses are known for tall white walls with saddle-shaped curving tops, built to stop fire spreading from house to house. The quarter is always open and free, with four paid sites such as the Little Yellow Tower and Yan Fu's house, and it has been rated 5A since 2015, per visitor guides. It is at its best in the evening, when the lanterns light up.
White and curving.
The quarter's spine.
Over the centuries.
Nanhou Street, Gulou District, central Fuzhou
Yes, the quarter is always open and free, though four sites inside charge entry, including the Little Yellow Tower and Yan Fu's house, per visitor guides.
Fuzhou cooking uses a lot of pork, even inside its famous meat-filled fish balls, so look for restaurants run by Hui Muslims under the halal sign, or ask about ingredients.
