Huaqiao University freshmen from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan watch a martial art performance at the Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian province on Sept 19. [Photo/Xinhua]

More than 200 Huaqiao University freshmen from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan visited Quanzhou on Sept 19, to explore the unique charm of the city.

Quanzhou is a port city situated in East China's Fujian province and is the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Its profound culture and history fascinated the visiting group.

Hsu?Yi-chieh, a freshman from Kaohsiung, Taiwan was among them. It was the first time for Xu to visit Quanzhou, and he considered it a rewarding trip.

"Quanzhou is my ancestral home, but before now, I only got to know it in books," he said, "It is amazing to personally experience its unique cultural charm. It is a rewarding trip."

Hsu, along with other participants, toured some of the most famous scenic spots in the city, such as the Kaiyuan Temple and Shaolin Temple.

Quanzhou is known as a historical religious center and the Kaiyuan Temple, with a 1,700-year-old history, epitomizes the city's frequent cultural and religious exchanges with foreign countries.

Its distinctive styled architecture and sculptures amazed Tam Manchun from Macao. “The stone sculpture featuring a mixture of a human face and a lion's body and some items common in Hinduism left a deep impression on me," he said.

According to Liu Jie, vice director of the united front work department at Huaqiao University, the activity, first launched in 2009, has been held for ten consecutive years.

It aims to help those freshmen from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to better adapt into local life, enabling them to acquire some first-hand knowledge concerning the city through on-site trips, he said.

Despite?the first time to visit Quanzhou,?Hsu didn't feel strange about it at all, and the Taiwan youth attributed that to the inseparable cross-Straits ties. "Quanzhou and Taiwan share a lot in common, either in folk culture, marital customs or dietary habits," he said, adding that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are linked by blood and could not be separated from each other.