Quanzhou day trip from Xiamen: Private guide, temples, history

A full day tracing Quanzhou's role as a Silk Road port: mountain, temple, museum

A private full-day tour from Xiamen to Quanzhou, the ancient maritime Silk Road hub, with a licensed guide in your choice of five languages. You climb Qingyuan Mountain to see the Lao Tzu rock carving and Tang Dynasty stone inscriptions; explore Kaiyuan Temple, Fujian's largest Buddhist complex; and walk through the Quanzhou Maritime Museum's four exhibition halls tracing the city's shipbuilding and trading history. Hotel pickup and drop-off, lunch with your guide's recommendation, and all entry tickets are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Quanzhou's top attractions

• Meet guide at Xiamen hotel
• Travel to Quanzhou by private vehicle
• Visit Qingyuan Mountain and see stone carvings
• Enjoy local lunch recommended by guide
• Explore Kaiyuan Temple and its courtyards
• Visit Quanzhou Maritime Museum exhibitions
• Return to Xiamen hotel

The experience

The drive from Xiamen takes about 90 minutes, and your guide meets you at your hotel at the time you choose. Once in Quanzhou, you start at Qingyuan Mountain, where a massive rock formation shaped like Lao Tzu, the Taoist philosopher, rises as the mountain's landmark. The slopes hold centuries of carved inscriptions: Taoist, Confucian, Buddhist and Muslim texts layered since the Tang and Song dynasties, which is why locals call it the "Museum of Stone Carving". The trees are thick, the paths wind through water features, and the mountain itself is modest in height, so the walk is steady rather than strenuous.

After lunch at a local restaurant your guide recommends, you spend the afternoon at Kaiyuan Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian Province. The complex spreads across courtyards and galleries. The main buildings (Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Palace, the Sweet Dew Temple and the Sutra Depository) date back centuries, and two stone towers and long corridors survive from the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Your guide walks you through the entire layout, pointing out the cultural relics kept inside. This is where you absorb what Quanzhou's Buddhist heritage actually looks like at scale.

The Maritime Museum closes out the day. It sits on the banks of East Lake and is designed to resemble a sailing ship. The new section alone spans 7,300 square meters and holds four exhibition halls: one on Quanzhou's maritime trade, one on religious stone carvings, one on ethnic culture, and one on ancient Chinese shipbuilding models. The old section, housed in a former temple building, displays ancient boats. This is the only museum in China dedicated entirely to the history of overseas transportation, so it gives you the full arc of how Quanzhou became what Marco Polo called "one of the ports of the world with the biggest flow of merchandise". Your driver then transfers you back to your Xiamen hotel.

What’s included

• Experienced tour guide in your choice of five languages.
• hotel pickup and drop-off in Xiamen.
• private vehicle for the full day.
• lunch at a local restaurant recommended by your guide.
• bottled water.
• admission tickets to Qingyuan Mountain, Kaiyuan Temple and the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.

Options for this experience

4 options

Mandarin Chinese Guide10 departure times: the first at 06:00, the last at 10:30Includes pickup

English Guide10 departure times: the first at 06:00, the last at 10:30Includes pickup

Guide in Korean or Japanese10 departure times: the first at 06:00, the last at 10:30Includes pickup

French Guide10 departure times: the first at 06:00, the last at 10:30Includes pickup

You pick the guide language when booking.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day10 departure times: the first at 06:00, the last at 10:30

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, French, Chinese, Japanese and Korean

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 5 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by Elephant Tour

Is this one for you?Choose this if you want a private guide and vehicle so you can spend as long as you need at each site (whether that's an hour studying the stone carvings or exploring all the temple halls) rather than moving with a group on a fixed schedule.

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, French, Korean, Chinese and Japanese.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

How long does the drive from Xiamen to Quanzhou take?

The drive is about 90 minutes each way. Your guide meets you at your Xiamen hotel at your chosen departure time, and the return journey brings you back to your hotel by evening.

What is the Lao Tzu rock on Qingyuan Mountain?

Qingyuan Mountain's most famous landmark is a massive rock formation naturally shaped like Lao Tzu, the Taoist philosopher. The mountain also holds centuries of carved inscriptions (Taoist, Confucian, Buddhist and Muslim texts) layered since the Tang and Song dynasties, earning it the name "Museum of Stone Carving".

Is Kaiyuan Temple one building or a complex?

Kaiyuan Temple is a large complex with multiple courtyards and galleries. The main buildings include Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Palace, the Sweet Dew Temple, the Sutra Depository, and two stone towers and long corridors that date from the Song Dynasty. Your guide walks you through the entire layout and explains the cultural relics kept inside.

What does the Quanzhou Maritime Museum actually show?

The Maritime Museum is the only museum in China dedicated to the history of overseas transportation. It has four exhibition halls covering Quanzhou's maritime trade, religious stone carvings, ethnic culture, and ancient Chinese shipbuilding models. The old section displays ancient boats, and the new section, designed to resemble a sailing ship, sits on the banks of East Lake.