West Street (Xijie)

西街

Quanzhou's oldest street, an arcaded lane from the Bell Tower to Kaiyuan Temple, lined with snacks such as mee sua soup, runbing spring rolls and shihua jelly, plus rooftop cafés with views of the twin pagodas.

West Street is the main street of Quanzhou's old city. It was already a market street in the Tang dynasty, and it runs about 1 km west from the Bell Tower (a Western-style clock tower built in 1934 and a city landmark) to Kaiyuan Temple. Both sides are lined with arcade buildings, red-brick old houses and long-established Minnan snack shops, making it the best place to feel “half smoke and fire, half immortal.” Food: around West Street you'll find mee sua soup with youtiao fried dough, runbing spring rolls, shihua jelly, four-fruit juice, beef soup, braised pork zongzi, pan-fried rice cakes and tusun jelly, mostly priced from a few yuan up to about 20 yuan. Route: Bell Tower, the arcades of Zhongshan Road, Suqingmen Square on West Street, Xiaoxichang (a creative park with a “Quanzhou” photo wall), then Kaiyuan Temple. Along the way are many bookshops and teahouses in converted old houses. Several rooftop cafés let you look eye-level at the twin pagodas, the best angle for photographing them. From West Street you can also turn into lanes such as Peixiang, Jingting Lane and Jiuguanyi to see Minnan residences. Entry is free. Shops stay open until about 22:00, and the street is busiest after the lights come on at night. Getting there: it's in the old city center and can be reached on foot from any direction. A taxi from Quanzhou Station takes about 20 minutes. Tips: holidays bring huge crowds, so visit Kaiyuan Temple before 8 a.m. and then wander West Street. Many snack shops don't take reservations, so eat at off-peak times. Electric scooters are common under the arcades, so watch your step.

West Street (Xijie)

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