Changle

Changle (长乐; Cháng​lè​) is a small city (about half a million), administratively part of Fuzhou, in Fujian.

Although Changle is connected to the Fuzhou Metro system, most of the city is off the beaten path. Few foreign tourists visit here unless they have family members here.

Much of Changle is effectively an ancestral hometown. Chinese people from around the world, and virtually all Fuzhounese Americans in New York City, have ties or are descended from Changle (and not Fuzhou city proper), and nearly all of its development is funded by remittances from its diaspora. People grow up in Changle being told that their life purpose is to facilitate moving their families to the United States, in particular New York City, in search of prosperity, driven by the envy of watching families with U.S. ties build large homes and send large remittances that allow their Changle-based relatives to live in relative luxury. Changle is sometimes alleged to be a stronghold of Chinese snakehead gangs, who smuggle Chinese nationals into the United States and United Kingdom.

Local tourists visit Changle as a daytrip to visit its handful of commercialized attractions, most of which are the results of investments from remittances. Changle is a common field trip for students of economics who happen to pass by, since it is China's strongest case study for the power of remittances in local development. New Yorkers visit to have bragging rights for visiting "Big Fuzhou" (in contrast to Little Fuzhou). Most visitors have some reason to be there, like meeting family.

Get in

Old and new, downtown Changle

The Fuzhou airport is actually in Changle. It is about an hour from downtown by bus or taxi. There is a freeway, faster but with tolls, and an older road that is slower.

Changle has good highway connections — from Fuzhou via Mawei or south from Ningde.

The city can also be reached by high-speed train, though services are not very frequent. Most trains bypass the more centrally-located Changle Railway Station and stop only at Changle East Railway Station.

As of 2023, Changle Wanshou station is the terminus stop of Line 6 of the Fuzhou Metro. This will get you in from the city centre.

See

• 1 Nanshan Park (南山公园), Nanshan Road (南山路). Free. (updated Jan 2024)
• 2 Changle Qinjiang Manchu Village (Manchuarian Village, 琴江村). (updated Jan 2024)
• Beneath River Street
• Jin Gang Tui Park
• 3 Enterprise Building (企业号), Binhai Road (滨海路) (take bus no. 624 from the Wanshou Metro Station on Line 6; the building is about 2km from the bus stop; it will be possible to get a metro train here when the F1 line is completed in 2025). One of the headquarters of NetDragon, a company specializing in the development of online games and education software. Unusually, the building is designed to look like the Starship Enterprise from the Star Trek TV series, making this place a must-see for Star Trek fans. (updated Feb 2024)
• 4 Changle District Museum (长乐区博物馆), 198 Aixin Road, Wuhang Sub-district (吴航街道爱心路198号) (near the Changle Bus Terminal and about 1.1 km north of Shiyang Metro Station on Line 6; bus nos. 602, 611, 616, 617, 619, 620, 623, 629, 635 and 636), ☏ +86 591 28835906. 09:00-17:00, closed on Mondays. Free. (updated Feb 2024)
• 5 Changle Overseas Chinese Museum (长乐华侨博物馆), 233 Aixin Road (爱心路233路) (about 1 km north of Zhenghe Metro Station on Line 6; bus nos. 602, 611, 615, 616, 617, 618, 620, 622, 623, 629, 636). Museum about the many people who have migrated overseas from Changle. The items on display were all donated to the museum by overseas Chinese people with Changle ancestry. (updated Feb 2024)
• 6 Xianying Palace (显应宫), 222 Zone 6, Xianqi Village, Zhanggang Town (漳港镇仙岐村)六区222号) (take Changle Tourist Bus 2 (长乐旅游专线2) from the Changle Tourist Transportation Service Center; alternatively take bus no. 625 from the Changle Public Bus Interchange), ☏ +86 591 28611668. 08:00-17:30 (May-September), 08:00-17:00 (January-April). A notable Taoist temple close to the airport. It was first built during the Song Dynasty but burnt down in a great fire during the late Qing Dynasty. In 1992, during the construction of the airport, it was discovered that part of the old temple had survived underground, and a large number of sculptures and other artifacts from the old temple were also uncovered. A new temple was then built over the site. The surviving sections of the old temple have been preserved and incorporated into the new temple. ¥25. (updated Feb 2024)

Sleep

Budget hotels will typically not accept foreign passport holders but there are now a number of 3-star, 4-star and 5-star hotels where foreigners can stay, particularly in the area near the airport. See Fuzhou for more lodging options. As an alternative, look for lodgings that are on Line 6 of the Fuzhou Metro to have easier access to Changle.

• 1 Fuzhou Marriott Hotel Riverside (福州东湖万豪酒店), No. 18 Hujiang Road, Donghu Digital Town (东湖数字小镇壶江路18号) (take bus no. 640 from Changle East Railway Station; take bus no. 641 or 645 from the Wanshou Metro Station on Line 6), ☏ +86 591 87118888. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. Rates start from around ¥512 per night. (updated Feb 2024)
• 2 Changle Guohui Hotel (长乐国惠大酒店), 777 Wuhang Road (吴航路777号) (near the intersection of Wuhang Road and Guangchang Road; about 660 meters from Hangcheng Metro Station on Line 6), ☏ +86 591 27588888, +86 591 27568333. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. Rates start from about ¥328 per night. (updated Feb 2024)