Dehua & Yongchun
Dehua, the porcelain capital famed for its "Blanc de Chine", sits next to Yongchun, home of incense, aged vinegar and White Crane kung fu – explore them together with the sea of clouds and rime on Jiuxian Mountain, the striking peaks of Shiniu Mountain and the Niumulin forest.
Dehua and Yongchun are both counties of Quanzhou in Fujian Province, set in the Daiyun Mountains northwest of the city. Their county towns are only about 25 km apart, making them easy to combine. Dehua is known as the "World Capital of Ceramics": in the Song and Yuan dynasties it was a major producer of export porcelain for the Maritime Silk Road, and its ivory-white "Blanc de Chine" won fame across Europe in the Ming dynasty. Yongchun is a well-known hometown of overseas Chinese, celebrated for its bamboo-stick incense, aged vinegar, Foshou (Buddha's Hand) tea, lacquered baskets and Yongchun White Crane kung fu. The mountain climate is cooler than coastal Quanzhou, with frequent fog in spring, pleasant summers for escaping the heat, and occasional rime ice on Jiuxian Mountain in winter.
Areas to explore: ① Dehua town – the Ceramics Museum, the Qudougong kiln site and Zulong Temple, Ceramics Street and Tangzhai Mountain; just outside town, the Yueji Kiln in Sanban offers pottery workshops; ② Dehua's mountains – sunrise over the sea of clouds on Jiuxian Mountain in the north, Daiyun Mountain in the centre, and Shiniu Mountain and Daixian Waterfall in the northeast; ③ Yongchun – Wulijie old street, incense drying in Dapu (the "Incense Capital"), Baizhangyan, the ancient town of Hushan with the Dongguan Bridge, and the Niumulin primeval forest in the west.
Getting there: the nearest airport is Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport. Expressways link Yongchun with Quanzhou and Xiamen (about 1.5 hours), and Dehua is a 30–40-minute drive from Yongchun. Sights are spread out, so self-driving or hiring a car with driver is recommended. Allow 3 days: one for Dehua's ceramics, one for Jiuxian Mountain or Shiniu Mountain, and one for Yongchun. The best times to visit are Mar–May and Oct–Nov. Note: mountain weather changes quickly – drive slowly on mountain roads in fog.
Top sights
- Dehua Ceramic Museum – A specialized museum that systematically presents the history of Dehua porcelain since the Song and Yuan dynasties, with its Blanc de Chine…
- Jiuxian Mountain (Dehua) – A high mountain in central Fujian, about 1,658 meters tall, known for its sea of clouds, sunrises, and winter rime and glaze ice. The summi…
- Qudougong Kiln Site – A large multi-chamber dragon kiln site from the Song and Yuan dynasties, a major production center of Dehua porcelain for export. It is a n…
- Yueji Kiln – A Qing-dynasty dragon kiln still in use. Its wood-fired kiln and the surrounding pottery studios, guesthouses, and tea rooms form a creativ…
- Dehua Ceramics Street – A ceramics commercial street around Longpeng Street in the county town, lined with white porcelain tea sets and porcelain sculpture shops…
- Shiniu Mountain – A national forest park in northeastern Dehua, known for its strange rock formations, the Shihu Ancestral Hall, and alpine meadows. It is on…
- Daixian Waterfall – A tall waterfall with a drop of about 180 meters that plunges straight down a cliff. The scenic area has a cable car and boardwalks, and th…
- Daiyun Mountain – The “roof of central Fujian,” at 1,856 meters, a national nature reserve. Its highlights are Huangshan pine forests, alpine meadows, and se…
- Tangzhai Mountain Forest Park – A forest park right beside Dehua county town, with hiking trails and viewing pavilions. From the top you can look out over the whole porcel…
- Niumulin Ecological Tourism Area – A primeval forest ecological scenic area in western Yongchun, with many ancient trees, streams, and waterfalls. It stays cool in summer and…
- Dongguan Bridge (Yongchun) – A covered bridge with a corridor and roof first built in the Southern Song dynasty. Its wooden corridor sits on stone piers and spans the H…
- Hushan Ancient Town – An overseas-Chinese hometown known for its thousand-year-old lychee groves and Southern Fujian ancestral mansions. When the lychees ripen i…
- Wulijie Old Street – A century-old overseas-Chinese commercial street west of Yongchun county town, lined with arcaded buildings. It is the place to taste Yongc…
- Dapu Incense Town (Hankou Village) – The main production area of Yongchun bamboo incense, where on sunny days colorful incense sticks are laid out to dry across the village lik…
- Baizhangyan Temple Cliff – A rock temple on a cliff in western Yongchun, with its halls built against the face of a towering cliff. From the top you can look out over…