Apologies for radio silence! We had three full wonderful days in 泉州 Quanzhou, a bustling southern city which proved the perfect complement to the natural wonders of Wuyi. A UNESCO world heritage site, "Emporium of the World in Song0Yuan China" described sometimes as a "museum of world religions," Quanzhou - known to the world as Zaytun - was the main port of the maritime Silk Road, a cosmopolitan trading hub with communities from as far away as the Levant.
During its peak there may have been as many as six mosques here - the 11th century shell of one, modeled on a mosque in Damascus, is a major site (you can see it just beneath the first of the two pagodas at right above) and an inspiration for an architecture of peaked arches. Beyond Buddhists and Daoists galore, there were also Christians, many Nestorian, and even a Hindu community, 300 pieces of whose temple - the only one known in China - have been excavated in recent decades. A splendid museum celebrates the way these traditions influenced each other, the city's inclusive spirit - and the virtues of trade.
Perhaps most thrilling for a scholar of religion is what's described as the only Manichaean temple in the world, though it's apparently been flying under the radar as a Buddhist temple, and is operating as such today too. Someone's left a big stack of spirit money for burning here, and another was busily throwing augury rocks on the floor for guidance. Much more anon - I have seven hours on a train day after tomorrow - but for now here's a centenarian Chinese banyan near where we stayed, one of many marvelous trees. 
