On a hill above the coast south of Quanzhou, in China's Fujian province, a slender stone pagoda has watched the sea for some nine centuries. The Wanshou Pagoda on Baogai mountain, near the town of Shishi, was built in the Southern Song dynasty and served as a landmark for sailors approaching the port of Quanzhou, then one of the busiest harbours in the world. Locals call it the Aunt Pagoda, after a legend that tells of a woman who climbed the hill every day to wait for her husband to return from the sea.
Quanzhou, known to Arab and European travellers as Zayton, was a great international port in the Song and Yuan dynasties, a city of merchants from Arabia, Persia, India and Southeast Asia, with mosques, Hindu temples and Christian churches alongside Buddhist and Taoist temples. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta both wrote about it. The city and its related sites, including the pagoda, were listed by UNESCO in 2021 as Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China. In the city, the Kaiyuan Temple with its twin pagodas, the Qingjing Mosque and the Islamic tombs on Lingshan hill are well worth visiting.
The view from the pagoda takes in the coast, the bay and the sprawling towns of Shishi and Jinjiang, now an industrial area known for its textile and shoe factories. The climate is subtropical, hot and humid in summer, with typhoons possible from July to September, and mild in winter.
Riding in China as a foreigner is complicated. A Chinese driving licence is required, and bringing in a foreign motorcycle involves extensive paperwork and usually a guided tour. Many Chinese cities restrict or ban motorcycles in their centres, and expressways are usually closed to them. For those who manage it, the coastal roads of Fujian, winding through hills, fishing villages and tea plantations, offer good riding, especially in spring and autumn.
Yongning, about five kilometres away, and Shishi have fuel and services; Quanzhou has everything. Fujian cuisine is light and fresh, with an emphasis on seafood and soups. Try oyster omelette, a local favourite, or noodles in a rich seafood broth, and drink a cup of Tieguanyin, the famous oolong tea grown in the mountains of Anxi, not far away.