Zengcuoan Ancient Village (曾厝垵, Zēngcuò'ān)

Zengcuoan was originally a small coastal village of fishermen and their families, established during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). For centuries, its residents made their living from the sea, and the village's narrow lanes were designed for the easy handling of fishing nets and boats rather than for tourists. The traditional Minnan architecture — gabled roofs, white-plastered walls, and brick courtyards — reflected the prosperity of Fujian's coastal communities.

Starting around 2010, Zengcuoan underwent rapid commercialization as Xiamen's tourism boom drove property owners to convert their homes into shops, hostels, and food stalls. Today the village is almost entirely given over to tourism — the fishermen are gone, replaced by vendors selling freshly grilled squid, mochi, pineapple buns, and oyster omelets. The transformation has been complete and, some would say, irreversible. The commercialized Zengcuoan has become Xiamen's answer to Wangfujing or, for foreign tourists, a more compact and walkable version of Nanjing's Confucius Temple area.

Despite the commercialization, a few pockets of traditional architecture survive on the side lanes away from the main commercial drag. Some Minnan courtyard houses have been preserved and converted into small museums or tea houses. The village also retains its position as a convenient budget traveler's base, with dozens of hostels within walking distance of the beach and the Huandao Road (环岛路) coastal path.