Fujian: Religions, Maritime Silk Road, and Overseas Diaspora

Quanzhou Xiamen CEL IL Trip

CEL Immersive Learning Trip

Fujian: Religions, Maritime Silk Road, and Overseas Diaspora

Sponsors: Academic Affairs Community-Engaged Learning Office and Dean of Arts & Science

Faculty Leaders: Lala Zuo, Associate Professor of Global China Studies, Yucong Hao, Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor of Global China studies, Minhao Zhai, Assistant Professor of Global China Studies.

Dates: Thursday-Saturday, November 23-25 (Thanksgiving break)

Location: Quanzhou and Xiamen, Fujian Province

Fujian is of unique significance in Chinese history. Though often overshadowed by official narratives, Fujian has remained a dynamic site for interactions between Chinese people and the outside world. Such interactions not only foster a culturally and religiously diverse environment but also spread Chinese culture via diaspora communities. To explore such diversity, three Global China Studies professors will lead this CEL Immersive Learning Trip to Quanzhou and Xiamen. You will have a chance to learn from them and discuss art history and architecture, overseas Chinese diasporas, and Chinese religion as you experience China’s historical role in global connection and exchange.

Cost

The total estimated cost is RMB 3,200, with a breakdown as follows:

  • Trip fee: 500 RMB
  • Flights: Around 2,700 RMB. Note that the actual price at your time of booking may change. 

The university is heavily subsidizing the trip and covering most of the expenses in Fujian. You may need to pay for some meals and incidentals on your own. If you have any financial difficulties, please indicate this in your application.

Expectations About The Trip

To better prepare for learning from this immersive field trip, the faculty members will require students to do some background reading before departure. During the field trip, in addition to guided tours, the faculty will also organize short discussion sessions at the sites, letting students report their observations and reflections. After your return, you will need to submit a report on one site of your choice.

Application Instructions 

Apply here by September 13. Spots are limited. It is necessary for the students to have passed Elementary Chinese 2 or above. 

Itinerary (subject to change)

Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023

 

9:55-12:00

Shanghai to Quanzhou Flight: PVG to JJN MU6325

12:30-14:00

Lunch in the Airport Area

14:00-15:30

Ding Family Shrine 丁氏祠堂, the shrine of a Muslim family. The shrine shows how imported religion could be accommodated with Confucian ancestral worship. 

16:00-17:00

Visit Jin Jiang Cao’an 晋江草庵, the only surviving Manichaeism monastery in the world. The site reveals how a foreign religion could survive among ordinary Chinese people.

17:30-18:30

Dinner & Quanzhou downtown hotel check in

Friday, Nov. 24, 2023

 

8:00-9:30

Cliff inscriptions at Mt. Jiuri 九日山摩崖石刻, which document how Song and Yuan officials, as part of religious rituals, invoked wind for sailing.

9:30-11:00

Kaiyuan Monastery 开元寺, including Zhenguo Pagoda 镇国塔 and Renshou Pagoda 仁寿塔, two examples of how people used stone to imitate wooden structures.

11:30-12:30

Lunch

12:30-14:00

Quanzhou Guandi Temple关帝庙, Qingjing Mosques清净寺, and the Confucian Temple文庙. These three sites are close to each other and show how different religious sites could coexist peacefully.

14:00-15:00

Quanzhou Mazu Temple 天后宫, showing the status of female deities in the Chinese pantheon.

15:00-17:00

Quanzhou Maritime Museum 泉州海外交通史博物馆

17:00-18:30

Dinner & Stay at Quanzhou downtown hotel

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023

 

8:00-10:30

From Quanzhou to Wanshou Pagoda

10:30-14:00

Lunch at the Zhuba Overseas Chinese Farm 竹坝华侨农场 which was established in China’s high socialist period, when overseas Chinese, especially Chinese Indonesians, were encouraged to return to their country of origin. The farm preserves the distinctive culture and architecture of diasporic Chinese, and witnesses the migration and integration of diasporic Chinese in China.

14:00-16:30

Xiamen Overseas Chinese Museum 厦门华侨博物馆

The museum, the first of its kind, exhibits artifacts and chronicles histories of overseas Chinese. It shows the transnational sojourns and settlements of overseas Chinese since the 19th century and recognizes how the diasporic community is instrumental to China’s nation-building modernization.

16:30-17:30

Dinner

20:10-22:10

Xiamen to Shanghai Hongqiao flight

XMN to SHA FM9262