Xunpu village is located on the eastern coast of Quanzhou city, southeast China’s Fujian Province, and the northern bank of the Quanzhou Port, the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.
There is a unique custom related to flowers in Xunpu, according to ZhuangQun, a staff member from Xunpu community. “Sending flowers as gifts signifies giving blessings, while wearing flowers means receiving blessings,” Zhuang added.
In the early years, Xunpu girls would tie their hair in a chignon, which is shaped like a seashell, with a fish bone to secure it starting from twelve or thirteen years old. The bun was then adorned with a wreath of two to three layers of seasonal fresh and silk flowers. The hairpin flowers worn by local women are commonly known as “zanhuawei,” a type of traditional headdress in Xunpu village.
During the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, Quanzhou saw a prospering maritime trade, and Xunpu witnessed numerous merchant ships, leaving an indelible imprint in the course of the Maritime Silk Road.
PuShougeng (1250–1284), an Arab merchant appointed as a high-ranking official of Quanzhou built a flower garden and planted flowers from Saudi Arabia, including royal jasmine, one of the flowers used in “zanhuawei,” according to Zhuang.
“Zanhuawei,” listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008, is still followed by women in Xiapu village today.—Xinhua
