Things to do in Putian
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Putian
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather. Warm, drier, sea swimmable into October and the richest festival calendar.
Second window. Mild and green, waterfalls filling, and Mazu birthday season with its crowds.
Plum rain weeks. Xianyou hills are most spectacular and most slippery in the same hour.
Worst for sightseeing. Heat around 33C, oppressive humidity, peak typhoon risk and holiday crowds.
Quiet cheap season at 10 to 18C, windy on Meizhou, with Spring Festival temple fairs in the first lunar month.
What's on
- Mazu Birthday and Spring Worship Ceremony 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month, late April in 2027
The island's greatest day, with the spring sacrifice, processions, opera and pilgrim groups from across the Mazu world.
- Mazu Ascension Day 9th day of the 9th lunar month
The autumn commemoration of Lin Mo's death and ascension, smaller and more devotional, in the year's best weather.
- World Mazu Culture Forum Late October to early November
The international forum held with the Meizhou Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival, with delegations from across the Mazu world.
- Meizhou Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival Late October to early November, alongside the Forum
Folk tourism programming and performances across the island in the city's best season.
- Spring Festival temple fairs First lunar month, usually February
Performances in Xinghuafu, temple fairs at Guanghua and the Mazu temples, and iron flower nights at the film city.
Best things to do in Putian
Ancestral Mazu Temple of Meizhou
The ancestral temple of the sea goddess Mazu, climbing a hill above the strait to a giant statue and island panorama.
Impression Mazu
An immersive evening show about Lin Mo becoming Mazu, using live actors, AR and projection beside the sea.
Guanghua Temple
A calm, scholarly Chan monastery in the city with a Song dynasty stone pagoda and a long central axis of halls.
Xinghua Prefecture Historical and Cultural District
Putian's restored old prefecture quarter, best after dark for lanterns, snack stalls, cafes and local families.
South Shaolin Temple Site
A Tang rooted monastery in green hills, claimed as the southern Shaolin, with martial arts performances.
Meizhou Island Mazu Film and Television City
The Mazu television drama set turned folk park, with heritage parades and iron flower shows after dark.
Putian Museum
The city's context museum by Shouxi Park, strongest on folk customs, scholars and the maritime world behind Mazu.
Tianfei Hometown Ruins Park
The ground of Mazu's own village and former home, a quiet human scale companion to the ancestral temple.
Where to stay in Putian
Chengxiang, Xinghuafu and Shouxi Park
first trip, all round base
Central and walkable in the evening, closest to Guanghua Temple, the museum and the best restaurants.
Licheng Avenue corridor
business, driving and road trips
The big international hotels and easiest road access for Xianyou, Jiuli Lake and the golf club.
Meizhou Island
pilgrimage and slow island stays
Sleep here for the temple at dawn, the beaches and Impression Mazu at night without the last ferry clock.
Nanri Island
wild island escape
A tidal base for sunrise climbs, beachcombing and Moon Bay sunsets, not a touring base for the mainland.
Think twice about
- Putian Station district
Highway sprawl of depots and new blocks. Every sight and evening is a taxi ride away. Arrive here, do not sleep here.
- Wenjia Wharf and the Xiuyu port strip
A working ferry port with little to eat well and nothing to do after dark. Sail from it, sleep on Meizhou or in the city.
- Anfu shoe district, Hanjiang
The replica sneaker trade's night market district. Shuttered by day, illegal trade by night, and no place for a visitor to base.
- Gongqian dock strip, Meizhou Island
The island's tourist funnel of coach groups and price opaque seafood restaurants. Base inland or toward Lianchi Ao instead.
Best restaurants in Putian
Shang Garden
The Shangri-La's Putian and Cantonese restaurant, the place to eat lychee pork and Nanri abalone in one banquet.
Hezi Ji New-Style Fujian Cuisine
New style Fujian fine dining by the 1971 Creative Park, seasonal and modern at a Putian splurge price.
Yanyi Authentic Minnan Cuisine
A Minnan feast room in the 1971 Creative Park for ginger duck, black bean tofu and crispy taro mash.
AWei Seafood Lou
A named seafood house for the Fujian ritual of choosing fresh product, agreeing the price and eating it simply.
XingHua Fu LuMian
The named specialist for lu mian, wheat noodles simmered in a thick pale seafood gravy until they drink it.
Longqiao Wonton
A named bian rou specialist serving wontons whose wrapper is pork pounded into a paper thin meat sheet.
Dong Zhen YuTou Guan
Putian's documented fish head house, a plain room built around one bubbling centrepiece dish and rice.
Cozy Pub
The city's one well reviewed western pub restaurant, the fallback for steak, pizza and a familiar room.
Outdoor things to do in Putian
Jiuli Lake Panoramic
Nine cascades falling over 400 metres through forested gorge, with a glass walkway and heavy waterfall spray.
Putian Mazu Golf Club
A 27 hole championship course through coastal mountains, valleys and a quarry, host of a PGA China Tour event.
Ewei Divine Stone Park
A sea eroded rock headland with a boardwalk and Feiji Cave, best walked in late afternoon light.
Lianchi Ao Beach
Meizhou's clean east side sunrise beach, the start of the Rainbow Road scooter loop to the sunset west coast.
Nanri Island
Putian's wild abalone island for a sunrise mountain climb, dune walking and low tide beachcombing on mudflats.
Caixi Rock
A steep, shaded Xianyou mountain of stone walls, caves and a rainbow waterfall, with a fraction of Jiuli's crowds.
Kowloon Valley Scenic Area
A forested canyon water park of streams and pools, the family cool water escape for a hot Putian day.
Xianshuiyang
A stream spread ankle deep over 615 metres of single smooth bedrock, a natural water pedestrian street.
Best hotels in Putian
Shangri-La Putian
The city flagship by Shouxi Park and the museum, with river views and the Shang Garden Putian restaurant.
C&D Hotel Putian
The smart central mid range hotel near Xinghuafu, praised for breakfast and front desk service.
Holiday Inn Express Putian City Center
A clean branded budget base on Nanyuan East Road near shops, a night market and the old city.
DoubleTree by Hilton Putian
The corridor's full service workhorse with a pool, spa and three restaurants on Licheng Middle Avenue.
Crowne Plaza Putian by IHG
A newer, quieter lake view hotel in Licheng, well placed for driving to Xianyou, golf and the hills.
Junluxe Meizhou Island IECC
The island flagship beside the beach and the Impression Mazu venue, first to sell out in festival season.
Meizhou Island Seaview Hotel
The classic island mid range hotel with a pool, pick ups and a good beach at hand.
Meizhou Island 123 B&B
A top rated sea view homestay near Lianchi Ao Beach, the host led budget base the island does best.
Is Putian expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥220 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥450 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,100 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Impression Mazu: a few days ahead
- Jiuli Lake Panoramic: a few days ahead
- Putian Mazu Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Shangri-La Putian: a few days ahead
- Junluxe Meizhou Island IECC: weeks ahead
- Meizhou Island Seaview Hotel: a few days ahead
- Shang Garden: a few days ahead
- Hezi Ji New-Style Fujian Cuisine: a few days ahead
- Book Meizhou rooms and ferries well ahead for Mazu's birthday and the ascension festival.
- Buy Impression Mazu evening tickets a day ahead in busy periods.
- Book Mazu Golf Club tee times about a week ahead for weekends.
- Reserve Shang Garden and Hezi Ji for weekend banquets.
Is Putian safe?
- Typhoons from July to September can suspend the Meizhou and Nanri ferries with little notice.
- Wear grippy shoes at Jiuli Lake, Ewei and Caixi Rock. Wet rock near water is the main injury risk.
- Swim only at attended beaches in season. The rock shores are for looking, not bathing.
- Check rental scooter brakes and battery and photograph damage before riding.
- Emergency services in China: police 110, ambulance 120, fire 119.
Putian travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Agree seafood unit, weight and total price in numbers before anything is cooked.
- Do not treat replica shoe shopping as tourism. The goods are illegal and quality is a lottery.
- Skip the Mazu Film and Television City on a one day island trip and keep the temple, coast and beaches.
- Avoid Jiuli Lake on public holidays when queues transform the visit.
Getting around Putian: public transport and more
- Arrive by high speed train at Putian Station on the Fuzhou to Xiamen coastal line.
- For Meizhou, take bus K09 or 363 from Putian Station to Wenjia Wharf, then the ferry of about 15 to 20 minutes.
- On Meizhou, rent an electric scooter for about 40 to 80 yuan a day, or use the 2 to 3 yuan loop buses.
- Hire a car and driver through your hotel for Jiuli Lake, Xianyou and Nanri connections.
- Carry your passport for ferry boarding, museum registration and hotel check in.
Who Putian suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Putian your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store