Anzhen Fortress was started in 1885 and finished in 1889, and is still in a remarkable good state of preservation. The fortress had twelve kitchens, six on each side.The ceramic ‘alligator vents’ above each kitchen were ornamental as well as practical. Second floor granaries above the kitchen had ingenious trap floors and chutes so grain did not have to be carried downstairs. A well in the front courtyard provided water. The sprawling fortress included spare rooms for guests, two public showers(for male and female), two public toilets, and ten vaults for storing and protecting valuables from theft and fire. The corner towers in front had massive center posts and crossbeams that were designed to resemble a giant wooden umbrella frame. Beneath the dark wooden eaves, brilliant mosaics of blue, white, yellow, green, and brown tiles told ancient tales. One scene is of four men looking at a Taiji Diagram, another is of men playing Chinese Weiqi, and yet another is of fish. The perfectly preserved mosaics give some idea of the former grandeur of Anzhen Fortress. Now the Anzhen Fortress has been designated a historical preservation unit.

Ninghua Hakka Homeland Hakka ancestral temples are spread all over the countryside, so in 1995 the government gave land and money to build a central Hakka Ancestral Hall in Shibi. Each year on holidays like October 16th, Hakkas from all over the world return here to pay their respects. Within the hall are rows of dark wooden ancestral tablets, one for each of the 160 surnames. The stairs to the right led to a second floor museum on Hakka culture and customs.

Hakka ingenuity was evident in the old wooden machines used to make burlap cloth, the ingenious water conveyor belt and the peerless one-wheeled wheelbarrows.

Ming Dynasty Home—The Mandarin’s home The Mandarin’s Home is really more like a small walled village, with endless rooms on both sides of the central alley. Stone reservoirs in the courtyards were used both to raise carp and put out fire. This old architecture was the oldest and most complete preserved Ming Dynasty Residence and was listed as a national key relics unit.

Golden Lake The Taining mountain nearby are famous for the shiny yellow metal itself. Golden lake has many quartz mines as well. About 820,000 people moved here during the Song Dynasty, in part because it was one of Fujian’s few stretches of flat land, and in part to pan for gold from Gold Creek. Gold production has decreased now, but since the government dammed the river to create Golden Lake, tourism has been bringing home the gold. Over 50,000 tourists a year visit Golden Lake.

Jiangle Yuhua Cave “Jiangle” means “Coming Happiness” in Chinese. Yuhua Cave is Fujian’s largest cave and one of China’s top four. The total length of the cave is about 6 kilometers with two passages. The scenic area consists of 6 branch caves which form over 180 landscapes such as “Dragon drinking water”, “Standing Eagle”, etc. It supposedly has 200,000 visitors a year.