Kuliang Old Street is in the historical part of the Guling Scenic Area, and was the “center of town” for the summer foreign residents who lived on the mountain when the weather was too hot and humid in Fuzhou City. For them it was a real delight to be able to gather in a place where English was spoken and they could have social activities and a time to really rest and relax from the strains of their everyday work. “The Club” was where they held social activities, and the post office was the center of their postal lifeline to the rest of the world. At the time there were also tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a big Public Well where they could draw water.
The parking lot and bus stop area at Guling Scenic Area
You can get to Kuliang Old Street either by taking one of the open tourist busses from the parking lot, or by walking past the Diamondream Bookstore (opposite the parking lot, up the hill – great coffee, pizza, sandwiches, waffles, etc) and continuing along the path.
If you take the walking route, you will first get to the old Swimming Pool with a tea house next door. It’s a nice place to sit and drink local tea. If you keep walking straight you will get to the beginning of Kuliang Old Street where the Summer Post Office is located, where 100 years ago vacationers received mail from the city and overseas. There are post cards and stamps for sale there, so that would be a good place to send a postcard home to friends. If you take the small tourist busses, you will come to the PO as your first stop.
Next to the PO is a big Public Well where they drew spring water. If you walk down the old street you will see where there used to be shops of various sorts, including several photography shops.
Further along the path is “The Club,” where residents and locals held various activities, social, literary, and musical gatherings, and also was where local villagers held Chinese festival activities. It now holds an interesting exhibition of both recent and old photographs of Kuliang. Make sure you have a look at the massive “Typhoon Wall” at the back of the Club. When serious typhoons (hurricanes) blast southern China, the winds are so strong that even the sturdiest mountain houses can lose their roofs or be blown over, so these walls were important to preserve the buildings at the top of the mountain.