Fujian (福建) · 20 places · 6 cities
20 places in Fujian, grouped by city. Under each one are two figures from the survey: how much daily life still goes on there, out of 100, and how far it has been turned over to visitors, out of 6.
Most common here: Old quarter of a city (8), Old town (7), Walled city (5). See all provinces, or the background on old towns.
5 places
Fuzhou (福州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Shangxiahang (福州上下杭)UNESCOFuzhou’s old merchant district by the river, a Ming-Qing commercial hub with guild halls, merchant mansions and stone bridges, where locals still live and the protection model was nationally recognized in 2025, far less crowded than Sanfang Qixiang.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Zhuzifang (福州朱紫坊)UNESCOThe quiet neighbor of Sanfang Qixiang, a Song-dynasty lane named after four scholar-official brothers, with a Tang dynasty moat (Antai River), navy heritage, and 260 local families still living in old houses, almost no tourists compared to the crowded main street 5 minutes away.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Songkou Ancient Town (永泰嵩口)An old town where returning young people have opened businesses alongside the residents who never left, which is rarer than it sounds.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Sanfang Qixiang (福州三坊七巷)UNESCO“One Sanfang Qixiang, half of modern Chinese history”, walk a preserved Tang-dynasty ward grid where Lin Zexu, Yan Fu and Bing Xin once lived, then slip into side lanes where Fuzhou elders still play chess and cook fish balls under saddle-shaped gable walls.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · known abroad · very easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, busy |
| Yantaishan-Cangshan Colonial Villas (福州烟台山-仓山老洋房)Fuzhou’s former consular district on a hill overlooking the Min River, 100+ Western-style villas from the 1840s-1940s (British, French, American consulates), now being revived with cafes, bookstores and art spaces while elderly residents still live in many old houses.Lived-in 68/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, busy |
4 places
Quanzhou (泉州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Quanzhou Old City (泉州古城)UNESCO6.41 km2 of old city with most residents still in place; 29 lanes were renovated without moving people out. Minnan is the everyday language on the street, not a performance.Lived-in 88/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · known abroad · easy to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, busy |
| Xunpu Fishing Village (蟳埔渔村)UNESCOA 1,000-year-old fishing village where middle-aged women still wear flower crowns (zan hua wei) and oyster-shell houses (ke ke cuo), a living UNESCO intangible heritage tradition, 20 minutes from Quanzhou, where flower crowns are made to order and worn among villagers mending nets.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, busy |
| Yongning Ancient Garrison City (永宁古卫城)A fishing and emigrant town, and the letters sent home with remittances from overseas are part of its history. Boatbuilding and stone carving still go on.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Chongwu Ancient City (惠安崇武古城)A walled fishing town. Older Hui’an women still work in the traditional dress the county is known for. Boats come back early, the fish market runs, and the stone carving here is a national heritage craft.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, busy |
4 places
Zhangzhou (漳州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Zhangzhou Old City (漳州古城)UNESCOA 1,300-year-old Minnan city where 17,000 locals still live above their shops, no entrance fee, no crowds, just arcaded streets, Ming stone arches, puppet theater and the real smell of stewed pork drifting from second floors.Lived-in 85/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Eryi Tulou (Hua’an) (华安二宜楼)The “king of round tulou”, built in 1770 and described as the largest and best-preserved single circular tulou, with 4 stories, 192 rooms, a unique double-ring design, 12 water wells, and murals and wood carvings that are unusual among tulou, still inhabited by the Jiang family.Lived-in 74/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Taxia Village (塔下村)A Zhang clan village of earth buildings, some converted to guesthouses but with families still living in them. Stone flagpoles outside the ancestral hall mark degree holders.Lived-in 74/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Nanjing Tulou (南靖土楼（田螺坑·云水谣）)UNESCOThe iconic “four dishes one soup” (Tianluokeng) tulou cluster seen from above, plus Yunshuiyao, a living village with 1,000-year-old banyan trees, a stone riverbank and tulou where elders still cook over wood fires at 5am, not a museum village.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, busy |
3 places
Longyan (龙岩)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Changting Old City (长汀古城)UNESCOThe capital of the Hakka people, a walled city by the Ting River where blacksmiths still hammer, tofu shops still steam, and elders still drink tea on doorsteps at 6am, with zero bar streets and almost no foreign tourists.Lived-in 86/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Yongding Tulou Cluster (永定土楼群（承启楼·初溪）)UNESCOA circular rammed-earth fortress of 300 years, where some 300 Hakka descendants still cook over wood, dry clothes along the galleries and drink tea in the central ancestral hall. Not a museum but a working community.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, busy |
| Peitian Ancient Residences (连城培田古民居)A Hakka village of one clan, with people still living inside the old houses rather than beside them. Rice wine and duck are the local table.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
3 places
Xiamen (厦门)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Bashi Market (Xiamen) (厦门八市（第八市场）)Xiamen’s old wet market, a 100-year-old wet market where locals buy live seafood, tropical fruit and traditional snacks, surrounded by old shophouses and breakfast stalls, the real Xiamen behind the Gulangyu tourist facade.Lived-in 82/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Shapowei (厦门沙坡尾)A former fishing port turned artist village, old fishing boats moored beside craft beer bars and indie galleries, where elderly fishermen still mend nets next to young creatives.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, busy |
| Gulangyu (鼓浪屿)UNESCOA car-free island with 1,000+ colonial-era villas, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and piano music drifting from alleyways, though only 4,000 elderly locals remain among tourist shops, go early morning or off-season to see the island’s quiet residential side.Lived-in 58/100 · Commercialised 5/6 · well known abroad · very easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Visitor-facing |
1 place
Nanping (南平)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Heping Ancient Town (邵武和平古镇)Known locally as the tofu town and still lived in. Eating is most of the reason to come.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
Which of These Is Still a Town
The two scores narrow the list, and the last step is local: which lanes are worth the walk, which day of the week the place is itself, and where to stay inside the walls. Tell our local team the provinces you will be in and they will say which of these hold up.