Dragon boat festival - Duan We Jie

On the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, last Tuesday, the dragon boat festival is celebrated in China. Even though a national festival, most people have to work on that day. Sadly, so did I. So I was not in the opportunity to watch the races that were held on the Ming Jiang river in Fuzhou.

Supposedly, the origin of the dragon boat festival goes back to times when the protection against diseases was still poor. During the summmer, diseases are spread easily, and to drive away evil spirits and pestilence, dragon boat races were held. Currently, the dragon boat races are not the only main characteristic of the festival.
During the dragon boat festival, the famous Chinese poet from ancient times, Qu Yuan, is honoured. Qu Yuan drowned himself while in exile from a corrupt court. At that time, Qu Yuan was a very much beloved poet, and to protect his body from being eaten by fish, the people threw so called 'Zong zi' in the water for the fish to eat, on the location where Qu Yuan drowned himself. Zong zi are small, pyramid shaped, pieces of filled sticky rice, wrapped in bamboo leaves.

At the moment, there are discussions going on to make the dragon boat festival a holiday, in an attempt to reduce the travelling chaos during the 3 three existing national holidays.
That would be good. Perhaps I can go there next year to experience it myself.

Lotus flowers

One of China's national flowers, the Lotus, is flowering at the moment. This is the first season I actually see it for real. Before, I only knew it from Buddha sculptures, oriental paintings, and the menu card (the latter one being the root of the Lotus). After seeing it, I can understand the enthousiasm; it is indeed a very beautiful flower.

Sightseeing: Xichan temple

A while ago we visited the Xichan temple in Fuzhou. Just like after visiting the Yonquan temple on mount Gu Shan I was deeply impressed. And perhaps even more so. I didn't expect to find another very beautiful temple complex in Fuzhou, because this is a city that is not exactly recommended by travel guides as a must see in China.

The temple structures occupy a very large area, and as the temple is surrounded by walls, it is shielded off from the noise of traffic. Beautifully renovated and partly rebuilt, the buildings and the temple park are well worth visiting.

I wanted to find some information about the temple, but sadly though there is very little to be found on Enlish websites; a result of the fact that Fuzhou has so far been mostly neglected by international tourism. This is a shame, because getting to know the city and its surroundings without being able to read Chinese is therefore so much more difficult.

What I could find is that the temple was originally built in 867 AD in the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). Together with the Yongquan temple on mount Gu Shan and four other temples in Fuzhou, it belongs to a group of important national temples. One of the landmarks is a 15 storey pagoda, a new concrete construction from which you have an excellent panorama over the city. Also interesting are the Lyche trees on the temple grounds, that were planted in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and that are still bearing fruit.

It was an enjoyable visit; a must see for all of who are planning to visit us here in Fuzhou.