Architecture

Geographical Connections Specific locations mentioned in this article include: Quanzhou Prefecture, Licheng District (Old City), Zhongshan Road, Kaiyuan Temple, Confucian Temple, Tianhou Temple, Qingjing Mosque, Cai Family Ancient Dwellings (Guanqiao), Luoyang Bridge, Anping Bridge, and Nan’an. Have you ever thought about how a city’s face grows out of a pile of bricks and stones? I was flipping through the Quanzhou Architectural Records when one number stopped me cold: 12 years. That’s how long it took to build the Twin Pagodas. Not a building — a pair of stone towers, one 48 meters high, held together with nothing but mortise-and-tenon joints. No steel, no concrete. And it survived an 8-magnitude earthquake during the Ming Dynasty. ...