In the green hills of Anxi county, inland from the port city of Quanzhou in Fujian, the Xiacaopu site preserves the remains of an iron industry that flourished during the Song and Yuan dynasties, roughly from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries. Archaeologists found furnaces, slag heaps, ore-roasting pits and workshops on a hillside, evidence of large-scale production. The iron produced here was shipped down the rivers to Quanzhou and exported to Southeast Asia and beyond, and that is why the site is part of the World Heritage listing of Quanzhou, Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China, inscribed in 2021. At that time, Quanzhou was one of the largest ports in the world, visited by Arab, Persian and Indian merchants, and described by Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta.
Anxi today is best known for something gentler than iron: tea. It is the home of Tieguanyin, the Iron Goddess of Mercy, one of China's most famous oolong teas, and the hills around are covered with neat rows of tea bushes on terraces. You will see tea farms, processing workshops and shops everywhere, and a cup offered with the traditional ceremony of small cups and repeated infusions is a good excuse for a break. Further inland, Dehua is famous for its white porcelain, the blanc de Chine that was exported to Europe in large quantities, and the ancient kiln sites there are also part of the World Heritage listing.
The roads through the hills of Anxi and Dehua wind through tea terraces, bamboo forests and valleys, with good asphalt on main roads and narrower lanes leading to villages. Traffic is lighter than near the coast, but trucks, scooters and pedestrians share the road, and driving can be unpredictable. Foreign riders should know that China does not recognise international driving permits, so a Chinese licence and proper registration are required, and many cities restrict motorcycles in central areas.
Longmen and the larger towns of Anxi county have fuel, shops and restaurants, and Quanzhou, a short drive away, is a large city with everything you need. Try the local dishes: noodles with seafood, braised duck, and the small pastries and sweets of southern Fujian, and do not leave without trying a proper Tieguanyin.