In the heart of downtown Fuzhou, instead of skyscrapers, you will find a large area of ancient residential buildings, which is a rarity in modern Chinese cities. This area is known as Sanfang-qixiang, literally, ''three lanes and seven alleys'' - a critical symbol of Fuzhou as a historic city. The district was first shaped in the late Western Jin Dynasty, and during the Song dynasty
the area was home to many scholar-bureaucrats and wealthy gentry. The area prospered in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially in the middle Qing Dynasty, when "Three Lanes and Seven Alleys" first appeared in local history. There are about 150 ancient houses with complete courtyards, all under some measure of heritage protection. The history of Sanfang-qixiang's houses is in the very walls: the huge bricks are unknown in modern structures, and if you look at them closely, you will see tiny seashells embedded in them with the sand that was collected on the beaches to make the bricks. Also characteristic of the district is the north-south orientation of the dividing walls, the green-gray tiled roofs, the white walls and the twisting, bluestone-paved laneways. Unlike other houses in China, which have a flexible layout, the dwellings of Sanfang-qixiang are symmetrically built around a central north-south axis.
Covering an area of about 40 hectares, Sanfang-qixiang is regarded by many experts as a museum of Ming and Qing dynasty architecture. The area is the scene of weekly performances of local opera by Fuzhou retirees.
Getting there: take bus 5, 22 to Dongjiekou and 1,967 to Nanjie station
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