Hui'an women's culture comes alive in SE China's Fujian

Photo shows a park showcasing Hui'an women's culture in Chongwu town, Hui'an county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Changqian)

Located in Chongwu town, Hui'an county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province, a park showcasing Hui'an women's culture is backed by green mountains and faces the sea. Walking through the park, visitors can see uniquely shaped reefs scattered along the coastline, while tourists dressed in traditional Hui'an women's costumes pose for photos in small groups.

A team of Hui'an women models repair fishing nets by the seaside in Chongwu town, Hui'an county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Changqian)

A child dressed in a traditional Hui'an women's costume poses for a photo by the seaside in Chongwu town, Hui'an county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Changqian)

A park showcasing Hui'an women's culture is built around reefs in Chongwu town, Hui'an county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Changqian)

Inside a folk customs museum, traditional costumes from different periods are neatly displayed. Zeng Meixia, founder of the park, said: "Eighteen years ago, I met a photographer from another region who told me that young people no longer wear Hui'an women's costumes. They may disappear someday. Those words saddened me deeply. I am the daughter of a tailor and a Hui'an woman myself. I cannot let the treasure passed down by our ancestors disappear in my generation."

A visitor wearing a Hui'an women's costume poses for a picture. (People's Daily Online/Li Changqian)

Visitors take photos wearing Hui'an women's costumes. (People's Daily Online/Li Changqian)

Zeng built the park in 2012, turning abandoned mines, barren slopes, wastelands and former garbage dumps into a park integrating coastal tourism, folk performances and cultural exchanges.

"We have prepared more than 100 sets of Hui'an women's costumes that appeal to young people," Zeng said. She also established a Hui'an women's modeling team, whose members all come from Dazuo village in Chongwu town, ranging from women in their 80s and 90s to children as young as 3.

The park is now a national 2A-rated tourist attraction and a model site for rural tourism in China, receiving more than 200,000 visitors annually over the past five years.

Visitors stop at a sunset viewing platform to enjoy the sea view at a park showcasing Hui'an women's culture in Chongwu town, Hui'an county, Quanzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Changqian)

Just a few kilometers from the park, an ancient ferry terminal offers another way to experience coastal tourism. Here, children can enjoy slides and swings and even feed alpacas up close. Visitors can gather at a viewing platform to watch the sun sink into the sea, enjoying a seaside getaway that combines dining, accommodation, photography and entertainment in one place.