Preface

Columbus' goal was not a New World but a shortcut to India and to Marco Polo’s fabled Zayton in Fujian, China. Columbus never made it to Zayton, but you can.

Fujian Adventure's stories and hundreds of photos bring to life the people and places of Fujian (Fukien), the cradle of Chinese seafaring (200 B.C.), start of the Maritime Silk Route, port of departure for Marco Polo and ibn Battuta, and ancestral home of most overseas Chinese.

Meet the "real Sinbad," Admiral Zhenghe; the ancient Southern Shaolin Kung Fu Temple’s youthful abbot; the Hui'an maidens who cover their heads, bare their bellies, and only sleep with their husbands 3 nights a year; the firewalkers who brave flaming coals bearing heavy idols; melancholy Miss Mo, who became the sea goddess Mazu; Zayton’s famous marionette makers; the Anxi farmers who produced the tea tossed overboard during the Boston Tea Party. Visit China’s first Protestant church and the planet’s last Manichean temple.

Explore the Roaring 20's "Richest square mile on earth,” Gulangyu, which even today has over 1,000 “Amoy Deco” mansions. Discover the secret of the Hakka roundhouses that Nixon and the CIA thought were missile silos, and then visit the nearby Amoy tiger preserve. Enjoy scenic Sanming, with China's 4th largest gem beds, China’s largest sleeping Buddha, Ming Dynasty villages, enchanting caverns and underground lakes. Marvel at Wuyi Mountain’s 2,000-year-old Min Palace, and the Eden-like biological diversity that drew French naturalists in the 1700s to study the rare plants, king cobras and 33 foot pythons.

And there's Fujian food. Moliere said "Man should eat to live, not live to eat," but Dr. Bill says, "Moliere never ate Chinese food—especially in Fujian, where folks will eat anything that does not eat them first.

"8 parts mountain, 1 part water, 1 part field"--that's how locals have for century described Fujian. But this torturous terrain not only gave rise to an innovative and tough people but also to more local dialects and greater cultural diversity—including cuisines—than any other province. Every hill, valley and river has a story behind it, and Dr. Bill invites you to explore them.

Author Bill Brown, Prof. of Organizational Behavior and Business Strategy at School of Management, Xiamen University, was Fujian's first foreign permanent resident and has driven over 200,000 km. around China, including Mongolia, the Gobi Desert and Tibet, but he still considers Fujian the most fascinating province for foreigners.

In addition to textbooks such as Art of Business Warfare (Beijing University Press) and Organizational Behavior (Jiangsu People's Press), Dr. Brown has written  ten books about Fujian, written and hosted several TV documentaries, including a 62-episode mini-series, "Fujian in a Foreigner's Eyes", and now, in addition to teaching, hosts the weekly FJTV program "Xingfu Fujian" 《幸福福建》.

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