14 Days in Putian

Putian station sits on the 2023 coastal HSR (about 30 minutes from Fuzhou at 350 km/h); ease in with the Xinghuafu lanes and the 983 Gujiao Tower.

1. putian xinghuafu old streets
2. putian gujiao tower

Founded in 558, the temple keeps a five-storey stone pagoda dated 1165 and about 30 m tall; the Song bridge in Shouxi park makes a slow afternoon.

1. putian guanghua temple
2. putian shouxi park

About 20 minutes from Wenjia wharf to the 14.35-sq-km island that records Mazu's birth in 960 and the temple's founding in 987 - first of two nights.

1. putian meizhou island
2. putian mazu ancestral temple

Sea-eroded granite along the island's southern shore; walk the coast path at low tide and take the afternoon ferry back.

1. putian ewei stone park

Excavations in the early 1990s identified the Linquan monastery site on Jiulian Mountain, about 15 km northwest; Jiulong Valley adds forest gullies and a village lunch.

1. putian south shaolin site
2. putian jiulong valley

An honest county day about 60 km west in Xianyou - nine tiers of falls that the Ming traveller Xu Xiake described in his own diary; start early.

1. putian jiuli lake

On the mainland shore facing Meizhou, the Xianliang Port ancestral shrine honours Mazu's family home, and Tuhai wetland adds an easy boardwalk; buses from downtown take 40 to 50 minutes.

1. putian xianliang port
2. putian tuhai wetland

An honest neighbour day - 30 to 40 minutes north by HSR for the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys quarter, the river parks and a Fuzhou fish-ball lunch.

1. fuzhou

Another honest neighbour day - under an hour south by HSR to the Song-era port: Kaiyuan Temple's twin pagodas and the old guild halls of the maritime era.

1. quanzhou

A second Xianyou county day, about 70 km west - waterfall steps and pine slopes in the hills; a mountain guesthouse lunch keeps the drive honest at 90 minutes each way.

1. putian caixi rock

The Luomutian merchant lanes of Hanjiang and a short climb of Dongyan Hill with its pagoda fill the morning; the afternoon is free for a last market sweep.

1. putian luomutian lanes
2. putian dongyan hill

The city museum covers the wood-carving craft and the Mazu story; catch up on laundry, noodles and notes before the final outings.

1. putian city museum
2. putian city markets

A second look at the places you liked best - the riverside in the morning light and one more pass through the old lanes at dusk.

1. putian shouxi park
2. putian xinghuafu old streets

One last market breakfast of braised noodles, then the HSR from Putian station toward Fuzhou or Xiamen for onward flights.

1. putian city markets