Liu'ao Town

城市概覽

The Liu'ao Peninsula is located in the southern part of Fujian's coastline, south of Xiamen and Zhangzhou. It is one of the windswept sandy spits sticking out into the Taiwan Strait, along with the Gulei Peninsula farther to the southwest. While most of the peninsula is flat and sandy, it also incorporates several rocky hills, which must have been separate islands in the geological past. To China's ancient mariners, the silhouettes of these hills must have been reminiscent of ao, legendary creatures that are depicted as giant fish or turtles. They counted six of them, thus giving the peninsula its name, "Liu'ao" ("Six ao"). Historically, Liu'ao has lived on fish and vegetables. There are still fishing harbors there, and fresh fish and clams abound in local markets; the sandy soil produces sweet potatoes (known locally as 地瓜 dìguā), white radishes, onions, and other crops. These days, however, Lia'ao's relentless wind has become its main natural resource: many dozens of wind power turbine towers have been erected along the peninsula windy west shore, and more are under construction. Tourism is also developing, with people coming to the peninsula for its beaches and a bit of history. Administratively, Liu'ao Peninsula is incorporated as Liu'ao Town (六鳌镇 Liù'áo zhèn); it includes the actual town (urban area), near the peninsula's southern end, and several villages located along the road running to it from the mainland. The town's government, shops, and services are mostly located along the main street of the Liu'ao Town proper.

如何抵達

By bus There is a regular bus service from the county seat, Zhangpu, as well as (less frequently) from Zhangzhou and Xiamen.

By train

There is no train station particularly close to Liu'ao. The closest one is 1 Zhangpu Station, served by the coastal rail line, Shenzhen-Xiamen-Fuzhou; maps indicate that Zhangpu's main bus station is adjacent to the train station, so the bus to Liu'ao probably runs from there. A much more major train station (on the same line, but with more trains, and, in addition, with some trains from the interior of China) is 2 Zhangzhou Station. As of 2015, Zhangzhou is building its southern bus station adjacent to its train station; when completed, it is likely to become Zhangzhou's terminal for the bus to Liu'ao.

By car or bicycle If coming by car or bicycle, you probably will be using the coastal road (Hwy S201), to which Liu'ao's main road (X523) connects on the east side of Shentu Town. If coming from the west (say, from Guangdong), a more scenic route is possible: one can leave the main road in Jiuzhen Town 旧镇, and follow a small road east, which goes across aquaculture ponds and solar evaporation pools of Zhuyu 竹屿 village. As it approaches the base of the Liu'ao Peninsula, look at signs at road forks, and follow the direction to Dadian 大店

當地交通

County Route X523 is the peninsula's main road, running mostly along its western side.

必看景點

In Liu'ao Peninsula

1 Liu'ao Old Fortress (六鳌古城) (In Liu'ao town, a bit inland from the main street). In the late 14th century, during the reign of the Ming Dynasty founder the Hongwu Emperor, a number of fortified towns were constructed along China's southeastern coast to defend the country from pirates (wokou). One of them was located on the slope of a hill a bit inland from today's Liu'ao Town. However, unlike the well-preserved (or extensively restored) towns such as Chongwu or Pucheng (in Cangnan County, south of Wenzhou), little of the Ming fortifications remain to be seen in Liu'ao. A small section of the fortress wall (which looks more like a retaining wall) with one gate has been restored (or, rather, built anew); people come to admire ancient (300-year-old, supposedly) banyan trees growing nearby, take a look at some brand-new temples, and admire the views of a well-preserved traditional neighborhood below, with its characteristic gabled roofs.Beyond the "Old Fortress", such as there is, an extensive system of trails climbs to the top of the hill. There one can see fortifications of a different kind: a system of tunnels, pillboxes, etc constructed by the People's Liberation Army a few decades ago, and decommissioned later. This may have been associated with the confrontation with the Nationalists, who are in control of Taiwan and Kinmen. While much less extensive than what can be seen on Kinmen, the skilled use of the natural rocks of the mountain in combination with concrete is impressive. Although most of the deeper parts of the tunnel system have been blocked by concrete dams, some of the sections closer to the entrances can be explored by visitors. Bring a flashlight if you intend to do so. free. (updated Nov 2015)

2 "Liu'ao Abstract Art Gallery" (六鳌抽象画廊 Liu'ao Chouxiang Hualnag). "Liu'ao Abstract Art Gallery" (or, literally, "Liu'ao Abstract Picture Gallery") is the name for a section of a rocky promontory separating ??? Bay and Da'ao Bay, where e

體驗活動

Visit a beach. The peninsula's west coast, facing Jiuzhen Bay (旧镇港) is not easily accessible, as it is used for agriculture and aquaculture. Good sandy beaches are found on the peninsula's east (ocean) coast, primarily in two large bays (Da'ao Bay and ...), which are separated by a rocky promontory (presumably, one of the legendary aoo creatures). Swimming is not officially encouraged, on account of wind and waves, and most tourists come here just to stroll or wade in the shade of wind mills. Nonetheless, the water stays fairly warm into early November. Some people come here for kitesurfing as well. Signs ask tourists not to dig out clams. (updated Nov 2015) Hike on the back of one of the ao. While most of the island is flat farmland, the rocky hills-ao are densely forested. There are many trails on the hill above the "Old Fortress" (see above); on some of the other hills, a network of the access roads has been created for the construction of the wind power towers. (updated Nov 2015)

購物

If you come during the sweet potato harvest season, you will see vendors of this crop all along the peninsula's main road. Visitors coming by car or tourist bus are seen actively buying the stuff; presumably, they view it as better than what's sold in markets in their own cities. There are a number of small stores, along the same main road, advertising "Liu'ao specialties" - mostly dried sea food, such as seaweeds (both zicai and haidai), squid, and shrimp in various forms.

美食

More or less upscale restaurants (fàndiàn) can be found all along the main road. Liu'ao town also has a fewer simpler options (two Shāxiàn xiǎochī 沙县小吃 noodle shops, breakfast places, etc). Sweet potato porridge (地瓜粥 dìguā zhōu) appears to be a local specialty.

住宿

There are accommodation of various types all along the peninsula's main road, with the greatest concentration of them in Liu'ao Town proper. Expect to pay at least ¥100 per night. Camping seems to be possible; a number of businesses advertise tent rental (帐篷出租).

順遊推薦

Zhangzhou Xiamen The Tulou country Fujian Tulou, (Yongding County and