Xiamen is a popular tourist city. Are there any niche attractions here?

Xiamen is a popular tourist city, so are there any niche attractions here?

Of course. I found this place by chance.

1

This place is called: Zhaizaiweili, a name that is a bit difficult to pronounce. This is an old village, located in Damaoshan, Xiang'an District, Xiamen. When talking about Tai Mo Shan, we must first talk about Xiang'an District.

Xiang'an is a peninsula with sea on three sides and only one side by land. On this small piece of land, there are many fishermen living. They built many fishing villages scattered across the land. In an era when no one cared about Xiamen, the fishermen on the island lived here for hundreds of years. So in my impression, the Hokkien people are very good at building stone houses. They used local materials and piled stones on the island to look like a home, keeping them warm in winter, cool in summer, and sheltered from wind and rain. Later, as the popularity of Xiamen tourism gradually increased, the lives of people in the fishing villages became better and better. In order to see the outside world, people gradually left the mountains and no longer made a living by fishing.

Over time, some villages were abandoned. Damaoshanjing. Zhaizaiweili is one of them.

Zhaizaiweili has been abandoned for a long time. It is almost uninhabited. Only a few aboriginal families are left to guard their homes and live in seclusion.

Even now, it has been developed into a tourist village like a fairy tale dream. The 7 old residents here can definitely live in high-rise buildings in the city and live a better life. , but they decided to stay here. This is their home. My home is so beautiful, I won’t go anywhere. Perhaps it is precisely because of the persistence of the elderly that even though this village was once abandoned, it still has a "living" atmosphere. In a fleeting glimpse, time passes without trace. The simple and mellow red brick old house at the end of the village is covered with ivy and wild flowers. From a distance, it appears to be floating in Tai Mo Mountain, like a dream of a banana deer. I don’t know since when, this place gradually became lively. It is said that a small group of travelers who like to explore mysteries discovered this place at first, and then it attracted the attention of Xiang'an District. So rest, tidy up, rebuild, and dress up? In the end of the village, it's like Cinderella with pink makeup, and she looks as beautiful as she does today. Today's Zhaizaiweili is a tourist photo-shooting spot popular among literary and artistic girls; it is an ancient village where bananas are hanging on the roadside and no one cares;

It is a village hidden in eastern Fujian It is a niche travel destination; the thousand-year-old camphor trees here reach into the sky. When you are tired, just take a nap under the tree, even if you sleep on a pillow of yellow beams, your spring dreams will not be traced.

When the sun sets, the round street lamps will cast a halo of light, making it look like an old-time movie from a distance.

When I look back at the stone house, in the stunning afterglow, it looks like a mirage, half hidden among the trees.

2

Speaking of which, this is my first time to Xiamen.

Like many people, when the word "Xiamen" is mentioned, the scenic spots that pop up in the mind are Gulangyu Island, Zengcuo'an, and Wanshi Botanical Garden. For several years, people have paid great attention to this famous tourist destination. The impression of the city seems to end there. After getting used to the large number of people here, getting used to the liveliness here, and getting used to all the things that are spread by word of mouth, over time, few people want to spend time exploring Xiamen’s “little secrets” and unpopular travel destinations. But when I actually arrived in Xiamen, I discovered that the consumption here was not as high as imagined. Taking a taxi from the airport to Zhaizaiweili, an hour's drive, cost 130 yuan in tolls. For four people, the average cost per person was just over 30 yuan. The driver told us: Very few people come here, and even fewer foreign tourists come straight here as soon as they arrive in Xiamen. Of course, I am a Dahong sister who focuses on niche travel destinations, so Zhaizaiweili is my first stop in Xiamen.

If we summarize today's Zhaizaiweili, one of the most striking features here is that there are many ancient buildings but few tourists. Nowadays, most of the people who come here to visit are locals from Fujian. Like us, the first thing they do when they get off the bus is to take pictures with their cameras.

Most of the old buildings in this village are old red brick houses, with a strong southern Fujian style. The upturned corners on the roof are like the tails of swallows, blending naturally with the surrounding flowers and plants. Moss occasionally stretches over the old brick walls and stone roads, and there are stories in the gaps. They tell people about thousands of years of vicissitudes, as well as the flowers and fireworks in the village in the past. Even the clouds wafting in looked like fireworks.

There will also be iron fences surrounding these endangered ancient houses, but the wild flowers are unwilling to be lonely and stick out their heads and legs from the grass.

3,

Walking down the mountain road, I saw many fathers and mothers coming here with their children. Adults and children alike have loved this village these days. In order to welcome these children, the village held a "Village Run" event. So among the flowers, there was a group of figures vying for the first place.

There is also a Shanjing Academy here. Seeing young parents and children signing in at the entrance of the academy and receiving gifts is like an autumn camp in childhood. Looking from a distance, I thought I had entered a children's palace in a small town by mistake.

4

Since it is an ancient village, you must experience the village flavor here.

I have also been to many other ancient villages. Each village has its own unique taste. The meal I had in this village in Zhaizaiweili is called "Xiang'an 12 Village Flavors". From the words, it can be seen that this dish should be a specialty of Xiang'an District. There are many ancient villages in Xiang'an. In addition to Zhaizaiweili, you can also eat it in other ancient villages.

It also has a name called onion barley, which originally originated from the streets of Ma Xiang in Xiang'an. On the surface, it looks like just a white Bobo cake, but once you poke it open, you find that there are a lot of shrimp, meat, shells, eggs and other ingredients inside. The sweet and salty flavors are mixed together, and the waxy aroma is very strong.

Jiancang

This is a kind of blue crab that likes to live in the mud at the beach. This autumn, it is the fattest, most beautiful and most delicious time. This dish can be said to be the signature dish of Xiang'an District. Just fry it with sesame oil over low heat, and you will get a full flavor of crab roe in every bite.

Pancakes

The making of this pancake is a bit like northerners’ habit of eating pancakes. It is a special delicacy only eaten during the New Year and festivals in Xiang’an District. Cut various vegetables into strips, cut various meats into small pieces, and roll them into pancakes to get all the nutrients.

Eating is a custom and a continuation of a living habit.

Seaweed Pot

This dish can be said to be one of the favorite foods of Xiang'an people. It relies on the mountains to eat the mountains and the sea to eat the sea. In such a large "water farm", the seaweed grown in it is famous far and wide. Seaweed can be said to be a very versatile dish. It can be the main dish on a dinner table or a side dish of any kind of dish. No matter which way you eat it, you won't be disappointed. This time I arrived in Xiang'an, Fujian, and I understood what "rich" means. It is very common for women here to sit in front of their homes and shuck oysters. After shucking the oysters, they are coated in special powder and pressed into a crispy and delicious shape. It can be used as a staple food or as a side dish. This is a must-try.

Of course, during this trip to Zhaizaiweili, I tasted far more than these Xiang'an specialties. There are also several other dishes. I will post a picture here instead of going into details one by one. If you have the opportunity to travel to Zhaizaiweili, remember to order one or two dishes that interest you. For a wonderful trip, you must first eat well so that you can be in the mood to have fun and sleep well.

5

The last thing I want to say is that this place in Zhaizaiwei allowed me to have a good sleep this time, and I personally feel that this scenic spot is better. Some humane facilities. The hotel is located close to the inner part of the village. The way to the hotel from the entrance of the village is an uphill road. While climbing up the hill, I saw the beautiful scenery below the mountain emerging in front of my eyes little by little, and I forgot how tired I was. There is a balcony in the lobby of the hotel. The view is already very beautiful even before you step out. The balcony has a wide view, and you can see half of Tai Mo Shan. Every small attraction here has a road sign, and there are shuttle buses running back and forth.

The hotel rooms have a fresh, simple yet stylish style, and there is a small courtyard at the back.

There are soft chairs in the yard, where you can enjoy the coolness at night, light a column of mosquito coils, light a small lamp, and just sit quietly like this, which is a very comfortable life.

I found that in the Fujian area, for all scenic spots that have been renovated from ancient villages, although the landscape in the village is ancient, the renovators usually put a lot of thought into it. The corridors of this hotel are very designed, and even such corridors are a photo-taking point. Walking in any corner of the hotel, you can take a beautiful photo casually. There are several restaurants dotted throughout the village, all of which were renovated from ancient houses. Fujian people call houses chuoshuo and ancient houses gucuo. These buildings give the renovated restaurant a unique flavor, and sitting inside to eat seems to have a unique atmosphere. In addition, there are vending machines in the village. I took a look at the prices. Mineral water costs 3 yuan a bottle, which is not expensive. As I mentioned at the beginning, consumption in Xiamen is not very high. The hotel has a shuttle bus that runs up and down. At this point, this travelogue is coming to an end, but I still don’t want to put it down, just like I didn’t want to leave when I stayed in Zhaizaiweili for two days. I don’t even want to use such tacky words as “Wonderland on Earth” to describe this place. If you have time to go to Xiamen, you must go and experience it.