Images of Fuzhou: enjoy being footloose and fancy-free

Combining beautiful language and watercolor paintings， this book series artistically shows all aspects related to the key cities along the Belt and Road and the countries and regions where they are located， including relics of the ancient Silk Road， scenic spots， culture and history， customs， specialties and delicacies. In this way， it completely presents the Belt and Road cultural exchanges， and finally constitutes a beautiful picture of the Belt and Road.

Impression of Fuzhou

Chief editor： Tao Hongliang

Illustrator： Bing He

Painter： Li Wei

China Ocean Press

May 2018

68.00 （CNY）

Tao Hongliang

Tao Hongliang is a popular Chinese science writer.

Living in Fuzhou is extremely comfortable.

Walking around the streets of Fuzhou， people might comment Fuzhou with similar admiration. Walking slowly along the road， feeling the coolness brought by the breeze， smelling the scent of jasmine from a distance， there is unspeakable comfort to be found.

Even on the hottest days of the summer， you can still go for a walk in Fuzhou， thanks to Fuzhou’s natural umbrella： banyan trees. Banyan trees have been planted everywhere in the city， from around the houses to the hillside and river banks. Thus， Fuzhou is also known as Rongcheng， “City of Banyans”. The banyan trees across Fuzhou， like a huge protective net， protects the city from the high temperature. As ancient people once remarked， “Now that the trees have been planted all over the city proper， residents will not feel the scorching heat.”

People in Fuzhou like to put a recliner under banyan trees， hum a nameless tune and drift off to sleep. This is not only because banyan trees can shut out the sun， but also because in the hearts of Fuzhou people， the banyan is the embodiment of the gods. Sleeping under banyan trees can be a blessed act. You can enjoy a sound sleep even with lots of things on your mind. The senior citizens enjoy sitting in the shade and keeping cool under banyan trees， while the children focus on picking the fruit from mango trees. The mango tree is a relatively common tree species in the city proper， and its “personality” is completely different from that of the banyan. The banyan tree is like a mature and respectful parent while the mango tree is like a young child with unpredictable personality. Although it is not as secure as a banyan， the golden-yellow fruit hanging on the branches can always cheer people up. Even parents， who have just reprimanded their children for being greedy， can’t help but swallow secretly.

Unfortunately， these mangoes are not edible

because they take in a lot of pollutants. However，

Fuzhou has plenty more to offer. By the next morning， any and all of the previous day’s woes will be quickly forgotten.

In the early morning， when the city has just woken up， the streets of Fuzhou begin to fill with the scent of Wok-sticker Rice Slices Soup. Wok-sticker Rice Slices Soup is perfect breakfast for people in Fuzhou. A bowl of Wok-sticker Rice Slices Soup costs less than ten yuan but has plenty of seafood： dried clams， scallops， clams ... Some breakfast stand owners even add plump sea oysters full of umami. A bowl of Wok-sticker Rice Slices Soup with a couple of deep-fried dough sticks or a fried oyster pancake makes for an unimaginable delicacy. No matter what happened the day before， people in Fuzhou will feel content after having such an ideal breakfast， not to mention that Fuzhou also has various snacks： fish balls， Fuzhou mee sua， sweet and sour lychee pork ... Therefore， people in Fuzhou often

complain that it is hard to lose weight there.

The recreational activities in Fuzhou are elegant and fun. If you are in good mood， you can travel to Pingtan Island to admire the marvelous sea erosion landforms. If you don’t intend to travel far， you can find a Fuzhou pinghua theater and listen to wonderful storytelling. If you are interested in the history of Fuzhou， you can walk into Sanfang Qixiang （the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys）， where cornices with cocked corners will bring you back to a large gathering of talents at that time.

If you don’t feel like doing anything， you can just sit in the alley. Even if you fail to come across a girl who bears her melancholy like a lilac flower， you might run into a lazy cat， and it’s good to kill time.