Xunpu Village (蟳埔村) is a 1.5 km² fishing village on Quanzhou's east coast — fewer than 8,000 residents, narrow lanes, and walls built from layered oyster shells (hāohuā) that glow almost golden in the late sun. The villagers still fish, farm oysters, and above all wear the Zanhuawei (簪花围) flower headdress — a 1,000-year-old local female tradition of twisting fresh flowers onto a woven-hair frame. Inscribed on China's national intangible heritage list in 2008.
In early 2023, actress Zhao Liying was photographed here wearing Zanhuawei, and the image exploded on Xiaohongshu. Xunpu went from obscure to 8.5 million visitors in 2024, and over 4.26 million in the first half of 2025 alone. The village has absorbed the influx thoughtfully: dozens of local women now run flower-headdress studios out of their own homes, charging 100–300 CNY for hair plus costume plus photo rights. Nearly all of this revenue stays with the women who always wore the flowers.
What to actually do:
- Sit for a Zanhuawei flower-headdress session (book ahead on Xiaohongshu; 2–3 hours).
- Walk the oyster-shell wall alleys — especially Xunpu Avenue (old village spine).
- Visit the Mazu temple at the north end — Xunpu has its own local Mazu shrine distinct from Meizhou.
- Watch the fishing-boat return at the south pier around 17:00 — the village's actual livelihood.
Practical: free to walk the village; studios priced separately. DiDi from Quanzhou old town 20 minutes, ~30 CNY. Avoid weekends 10:00–15:00 (peak crowd). Evenings and early mornings are magical and nearly empty.