Pingtan Island is on the far eastern edge of Fujian Province, projecting into the South China Sea. It is the closest point to Taiwan on the mainland. Settled back in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), it had an important military and maritime role for China in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912).
We visited Haitan Ancient City outside Pingtan expecting, oddly enough, an ancient city. Wrong. It was constructed in 2015 as a tourist destination. Admittedly, some elements like this main gate are attractive and impressive.
As is a tower at the end of a long walkway past shops.
But, all was not lost. There is a good museum -- the Haitan Coastal Defense Museum -- with artifacts relating to Pingtan's role as an important base for the Chinese navy. This huge replica warship occupies three floors in the center of the museum.
2 comments:
Interesting that all this construction is for tourism. At least the Chinese still know how to build traditional buildings and ships. Lovely photos, Jack.
A surprise.
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