Top activities, what to experience in a Fujian trip

No. 1: Cooking class –Hakka cuisine

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Food/ Art & Architecture
• Duration: 2-3 hours
• Location: Yongding District

Hakka cuisine is characterized as salty, fragrant and strong taste. For travellers who are interested in learning how to cook traditional Hakka dishes, this cooking class can be the top option for to be considered. Visit a Hakka family, learn from them the most authentic dishes and share a meal with them. You can choose one or two classic dishes to learn from, which including Hakka salt-baked chicken, steam pork belly with preserved mustard greens, radish cake, steam vegetable or tofu stuffed with minced meat, and Hakka-style steamed taro bun. Hakka salt-baked chicken is one of Fujian’s signature dish that is surprisingly simple yet with a rich flavour. Free-range chicken is the key ingredient. Dress the chicken and wrap it with thick layer of salt before bake it in a pit. Salt will be removed when serving. Steam pork belly with preserved mustard greens is another classic Hakka dish, which pork belly, marinated in spices, is steamed with chopped mustard greens. Thick, fatty slices of pork belly are saturated with the fragrant of mustard greens, giving it a dark reddish sheen and an umami taste. While, radish cake is a traditional dim sum in southern China. The dish in Fujian vary slightly from other coastal cities. Having Chinese sausage, minced meat and seafood as ingredient, radish cakes are usually fried or steamed. Other than sampling the local food, learning how to cook authentic dishes can make your journey a more fulfilling and meaningful one.

No. 2: Marionette in Fujian

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture
• Duration: Around 2 hours
• Location: Nanjing County

Introduced from the Central Plain of China in the late Tang dynasty, marionette in Fujian also known as string puppet has over 1,000 years of history. Marionette is controlled by a manipulator from above using strings that are connected to the puppet. A single marionette commonly will have nine strings, and only with some complicated ones require over thirty strings. High operation skill is required, and in some cases, a puppet need two manipulators during the performance. With the change of lifestyles and time-consuming training needed to master the sophisticated performing techniques, today, the number of puppeteers decrease. A puppetry class with a performance included can be an immersive experience, before this intangible heritage disappear in the future. In Nanjing County, you will get the opportunity to learn to manipulate the puppet under the guidance of your master. Free marionette show is available in Quanzhou City.

No. 3: Jian ware making

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture
• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Location: Jianyang District

Jian ware was made in Fujian Province mainly for domestic use during the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD). During this period of time, Jian ware achieved a high prestige and it was commonly used in tea-drinking. As, the freshness of tea brewed in Jian ware can be well preserved even after a long time. Though simple in shape, there is a strong emphasis on subtle effects in the glazes of Jian ware. The fired glazes are totally unique from each other, having different special effects, such as “oil-spots” and “hare’s fur” patterns. Pattern of each individual Jian ware is unpredictable, thus, even the most skilled craftsman will have a low chance of getting great works. In this journey, you will visit the workshop and the kiln of a Jian ware master, interact with him and be amazed by the beauty of this fine craftsmanship. Appreciate the art of Jian ware making before try your hand at shaping the clay. The master will help you modify, glaze and fire your Jian ware. The whole process requires about a week to finish. You can either come back to retrieve your work or leave an address for delivery (you need to do your own payment for the delivery there). Take note that there is no guarantee on the result of your work due to the unpredictability of this type of stoneware.