Locals enjoying the view near West Lake. [Photo by Liu Tao/For China Daily]

Breathtaking scenery, beaches and forests - and that's just the beginning.

I know many people who have visited Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, but not one of them had gone there with the sole purpose of sightseeing.

For a long time, Fuzhou has generally been a mere afterthought for tourists heading for the cities of Quanzhou, 180 kilometers to the southwest, or Xiamen, another 200 km or so down the road. The modus operandi seems to be that if you have a day or so up your sleeve you jump on the train for the two-or three-hour trip to Fuzhou, but if there is no time, the city disappears from your itinerary.

Which means Fuzhou is not exactly teeming with tourists, and indeed few people even seem to know it is the provincial capital, and that seems a trifle unfair, because those who take the trouble to visit it almost invariably have good things to say about it and end up going back there. If you are anything like me, after spending a few days there you will leave only very reluctantly.

Rarely have I heard a bad word said about Xiamen, but for my money Fuzhou trumps it with its slower pace, strong ancient cultural feel and its numerous parks, which are particularly attractive when flowers are in bloom.

Add to that its breathtaking scenery, beaches, forests, history and delicious food and it is small wonder that it has been home to many well-known people who have recorded their feelings for the place in books, poems and other pieces of writing. Among them are the poets Lu You and Xin Qiji and the Zhu Xi and Cai Xiang, all of whom lived during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) and great writers such as Zeng Gong of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).