Half City of Mortals, Half City of Divinity | In Quanzhou's Licheng, a Feast Shared by Gods and Mortals

When the morning bell of Kaiyuan Temple shatters the mist, when the incense of Guan Yue Temple intertwines with the steam of vermicelli soup, and when the floral headdresses of Xunpu women bloom in the alleys—Licheng, Quanzhou, a city praised by Zhu Xi as "an ancient land known as the Buddha Kingdom, where every street is filled with sages," writes the most vivid human drama as both the "divine living room" and the "mortal kitchen." Follow this guide to unlock Licheng, a place you must visit at least once in your lifetime. For a restful stay, choose Jinjiang Inn Select Xiamen Airport Jimei School Village Branch, where convenient transportation makes this invitation to mountains, seas, and faith a journey you can embark on anytime. 🌟 City of Faith: Where Divinity and Mortals Share the Same Hearth The magic of Licheng lies in how faith is never an aloof offering but a breath woven into daily life. • A temple in every alley, a scene at every step: The Islamic dome of Qingjing Mosque and the carved beams of Guan Yue Temple stand just a street apart. Hindu pillars and Buddhist apsaras coexist under one roof at Kaiyuan Temple, while the Persian-inspired floral headdresses of Xunpu women dance to the tunes of Minnan fishing songs. Stroll through red-brick alleys where grandmothers carry bamboo baskets past temples, where incense mingles with breakfast aromas, and where gods and mortals share the same eaves—a millennium of tolerance and openness hidden in these everyday moments. • Living faith traditions: The thousand-year herbal fragrance of Huaqiao Ciji Palace still lingers, now a free charity clinic. Weiyuan Tower’s "Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate" light installation dialogues with ancient architecture, revitalizing traditional beliefs through modern artistry. Here, faith isn’t a museum relic but the warm pulse of daily life. 🍜 City of Flavors: Ancient Tastes, Maritime Secrets Licheng’s flavors are gifts from mountains and seas, carried by Song and Yuan merchant ships—a "taste memory" etched in its DNA. • Symphony of street food: Morning vermicelli soup is Licheng’s overture—a silky broth of pork bone and oysters thickened to perfection, dancing on the tongue with crispy vinegar-marinated pork, braised intestines, and fried eggs, a single bite capturing whispers of land and sea. Runbing (spring rolls) are like "wrapped landscapes," their paper-thin skins enfolding shredded carrots, oyster omelets, and crushed peanuts—a mouthful of the city’s abundance and nostalgia. • Culinary legacies of the Maritime Silk Road: The legendary "tusundong" (worm jelly) holds the ocean’s essence, its agar-like texture glistening like amber, best enjoyed with garlic-vinegar sauce—a delicacy that bewilders newcomers but delights connoisseurs. The dried scallops in braised pork zongzi, the Southeast Asian spices in ginger duck—all are flavor codes left by ancient merchant ships, each bite a living thread of the Maritime Silk Road. 🏮 City of Living Heritage: Where Past and Present Dance In Licheng, artifacts are never frozen relics but the canvas and muse of life. • New tales in old houses: At Su Tingyu’s former residence, the melodies of Nanyin (classical Minnan music) waltz with coffee aromas, as a century-old official mansion transforms into a stage for intangible heritage. Queues form outside Lychee Garden Restaurant in Jiuguanxi Alley, where visitors savor Minnan home-style dishes in Ming-Qing architecture—history’s texture seamlessly blending with modern vibrancy. • Youthful reinventions of tradition: Colorful fish lanterns light up the night at Linzhang Gate, while cyberpunk lights splash futuristic hues over red-brick walls at Haogouqian. Ancient banyans, wrapped in LED-cooled bands using "nail-free" techniques, become dreamlike installations—where heritage and innovation embrace tenderly. As Bai Yansong said, "This is a city you must visit at least once in your lifetime." Licheng doesn’t chase "internet fame," yet every traveler leaves as its devotee—here, you can listen to tides under Luoyang Bridge’s moonlight, witness vitality in the waves of private enterprise, and grasp the essence of "half city of mortals, half city of divinity" in a bowl of vermicelli soup. Pack your bags and set forth. Let Jinjiang Inn Select Xiamen Airport Jimei School Village Branch be your comfortable starting point. Step into Licheng’s alleys, where gods and mortals share a feast across millennia, and you’ll find: this city speaks not in words but in poetry of hearth and divine footnotes, composing an ever-living epic of the Maritime Silk Road. ✨ Jinjiang Inn Select Xiamen Airport Jimei School Village Branch ✨ Near the airport and Jimei School Village, offering easy transit + cozy stays—your gateway to Licheng’s wonders.