Wulin Traditional Village

Wulin Traditional Village is located in the southwest of Xintang Street of Jinjiang in Quanzhou City, nestled snugly between Shigu Mountain and Wu’an Creek. The village came into existence during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, covering an area of about 1000 mu (67 hectares). With a total floor area of 60,000 square meters, the village has a resident population of about 2,100 and is the ancestral home of more than 10,000 overseas Chinese. It is the most beautiful village in Jinjiang City and one of the major ancestral homes of overseas Chinese from southern Fujian. 

Wulin Traditional Village has preserved a variety of southern Fujian official-style large houses, Gothic and Romanesque buildings, former residences of notable figures blending Chinese and western architectural styles, and Fanzailou (“foreigners’ houses”) from the early 1900s onwards. The representative buildings include 11 western-style houses, 14 Fanzailou and 36 southern-Fujian-style traditional buildings, which embody the essence of traditional Chinese culture and are the most outstanding examples of southern Fujian’s inclusive and vibrant culture as a major ancestral home of overseas Chinese. A stroll through the village feels like walking through a century-old museum of rustic architectures. In 2014, Wulin Overseas Chinese Architectural Complex was named the “Jinjiang Exhibition Site of Southern Fujian Cultural and Ecological Protection Zone” by the Quanzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Leading Group. In 2016, Wulin Traditional Village was included in the 4th group of the Traditional Chinese Villages List. In 2017, it was designated as a key provincial-level project. In November 2020, Wulin Modern Architectural Complex was included into the 10th group of cultural heritage sites protected at the provincial level by the Fujian People’s Government. 

On December 27, 2019, Jinjiang Wulin Qingpu Cultural Tourism Operation & Management Co., Ltd. was officially established to promote and operate Wulin Traditional Village. The company is dedicated to turning the village into a new icon of the cultural tourism industry by transforming the village’s natural and humanistic landscapes into assets of cultural commerce. Specifically, by sorting out the characteristic building clusters, the company will create various business modes to deliver the ultimate cultural experience. It is committed to building Wulin into a southern Fujian and overseas Chinese culture experience center through comprehensive arrangements and based on the existing operational proposal that emphasizes three major themes – “devotion to the nation”, “fascinating southern Fujian”, and “memories of the South Oceans”. With “each building associated with a story”, visitors will see, hear, touch and taste their way into Wulin culture. The village is poised to become a major tourist destination offering immersive experience in the cultures of southern Fujian and the South Oceans. A new life is being breathed into the century-old village.