Fujian Tong'an county old quarters.

On reaching Tong'an town,the best place to get down from the public bus is Tong'an bus station as noted in red wording 'Tong'an Zhi Ze Xi Zhan' located along Chengnan Lu(Road).

In fact each of the bus stop were about 2km apart and before each stops will be annouced via a speaker saying "Next stop"(Xia Yi Zhan)

Show you body language and the conductor will know your intention. At Chengnan (城南) stop ,count to the third stop and then get off.

There were two bus station in the vicinity across the road .The first one is the Nan(South) route especially the long distance buses and it's inside the building.

The other one has minibuses within the municipality.

 Public buses outside Xiamen Island have bus numbers starting with the following: Tong'an 6, Xiangan 7, Haicang 8 and Jimei 9.

Walking straight after the traffic light junction is Xiqiao Lu which will lead to this Xi'an Qiao(Bridge) into the old quarters of Tong'an

 The old quarters have a mixed of modern skyscrapers and old ancient buildings and temples.

 Motor vehicles were allowed in this part of the county and you won't see any traffic congestions.

Modern auto tricycle battery operated rickshaw is also seen in Tong'an similar to the 'tuk-tuk' of Thailand,Laos and Cambodia,'bajaj' in Jakarta,Indonesia and the Filipino traysikel.


China is very particular about green environment to check on vehicle pollutants compared to other Asian countries where such auto rickshaw emit toxic carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.








Old traditional shoplots in the heart of Tong'an old quarters Datong area having distinct similarities seen in Yaowarat in Bangkok and Thonburi,Hanoi Old Quarters,Penang Island,Medan in Sumatera,Indonesia as well as Singapore's Niu Che Shui.




Tong'an District in divided into 2 subdistricts: Datong (大同街道) and Xiangping(祥平街道) Major Towns are: Hongtang (洪塘镇), Tingxi (汀溪镇), Lianhua (莲花镇), Xinmin (新民镇), Wuxian (五显镇), Xike (西柯镇)


Shophouses like these in Singapore and Malaysia are known as pre-war houses and are preserved as heritage buildings.

 Moving east of Tong'an county is Xiang'an District with only one subdistrict called Dadeng(大嶝街道) Major Towns in Xiang'an are: Xindian (新店镇), Xinxu (新圩镇), Maxiang (马巷镇), Neicuo (内厝镇).



This type of building design architecture has been brought along by the Chinese ancestors who migrated to Southeast Asia.

Telok Ayer and Joo Chiat's neighbourhood in Singapore is one typical example with many of these Anglo-Straits Eclectric style.

In Malacca at Kampong Pantai,these type of buildings has been refurbished to become backpackers hostel.



Building with a blend of Anglo-Chinese architecture.







Wooden planks slots being used to cover the shop frontage.

 The door consisted of two bigger wooden planks which are quite heavy and will be slotted in after having completed the other panel slots.

Hanging a red door plaque and banner is an old Chinese custom, a ritual blessing to ensure that only good things come in.



Market street in the Datong prefecture of Tong'an is the businness centre with many shops selling different kind of products.






 Guan Yin Tang(Temple)in Tong'an,Fujian Province is similar to The Goddess of Mercy Temple in Penang George Town.

Located at the juncture where China Street meets Jalan Kapitan Keling (formerly known as Pitt Street).The locals called it as 'Kuan Yin Teng' in Hokkien dialect.

 In Malacca,the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple also has the Guan Yin deity, goddess of mercy and protector.

Singapore's Guan Yin Tang is at Waterloo Street and also the famous Hokkien Temple Thian Hock Keng at Telok Ayer Street.

In Indonesia is the Vihara Bahtra Sasana(天后宫)in Bintan Island,off Sumatera Island with the deity Kwan Im or Dewi Kwan Im .

In Thailand,Wat Mangkon Kamalawa in China Town Bangkok is on Charoen Road. The Chinese name is Leng Noei Yi Temple with the Prah Mae Kuan Eim deity.

The Kheng Hock Keong， 庆福宫 (Qing Fu Gong) in Yangon,Myanmar Chinatown.

The Seng Guan Temple at Narra Street,Tondo in downtown Manila,Phillipines is the most beautiful temple.

 In Vietnamese, the deitys name is Quán Âm or Quán Thế Âm. Guan Yin, 观音, or Avalokiteśvara is one of the most popular and well known female goddess in Asia and probably in the world.

Guan Yin is the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism and also worshiped by Taoists.



Zhongshan Yu(travellers) Quan(hotel) is a budget hotel(rates about 60 Yuan) in the busy Zhongshan Lu where there were many shops,restaurants and food stalls.

Cheap budget hotels can be found in many of the main streets.






A new walking street at Tong Xin Lu(near Zhongsan Lu) is near completion and will be the latest nightlife attraction in Tong'an.










Traditional cobbler's sewing gadgets.

Judging from the two spool of nylon thread,this roadside cobbler specialised in sewing leather products.












Typical ancestral house of overseas Chinese.
They are mostly single storey with the walls and foundation built from granite rocks.













Very well maintained ancestral house in the prime land area.Sooner or later this building might have to go when development take place in this area.













The roof of this house has the shape of a chinese temple.












One section of these old ancestral houses have been neglected by the current generations who have left for economic reasons.

 In one of the alleys,there were young chicks luring customers for a 100 Yuan fees. The wording on the wall is one of the contacts.