Worth visiting again and again! Discovering new moments in old Nanyang dreams

In the morning light of Quanzhou's West Street, the clock tower's hands slowly sweep through a century of time. Around the corner in Pei Lane stands a quiet three-story building in Nanyang style, its brick-red exterior walls and carved iron balconies gleaming warmly in the sunlight—this is LIIZEN Guesthouse. Pushing open the heavy teak door feels like traveling through time. The designer cleverly preserved the building's typical "five-foot way" arcade structure, with colonnade pillars bearing the Malay inscription "Kaki Lima" telling stories of migration to Nanyang under the Minnan sunlight. In the lobby, rattan sofas and teak coffee tables form a leisure area, while yellowed copies of qiaopi (overseas Chinese letters) hang on the walls, and weathered tin tea sets are displayed in glass cabinets—each antique piece is a carefully curated narrative element. The guesthouse rooms feature peacock blue walls paired with gold-lacquered carved wooden beds, with antique beaded shoes placed at the headboard. The bathrooms showcase black and white geometric Nanyang tiles and copper shower heads. The second-floor "Arcade King Room" is perfect for culture enthusiasts, with a window-side writing area equipped with vintage desk lamps and replicas of old Quanzhou maps. At night, open the shutters to see the clock tower's spire bathed in moonlight. All rooms are furnished with tea sets handcrafted by local potters, details that ground the Nanyang style in Minnan's cultural fabric. The guesthouse serves Mee Sua in Nyonya-style blue and white porcelain plates, accompanied by Malay-inspired coconut rice. The menu itself is designed like a qiaopi, with "Today's Specials" written in brush calligraphy. The afternoon tea is most popular, featuring a three-tier stand with both Malacca-style layer cakes and Minnan's signature orange cakes, served with Anxi Golden Osmanthus tea on the tiled balcony. The guesthouse holds a surprise—a "Qiaopi Archives" themed café. Here, guests can experience writing traditional qiaopi with quill pens while wall projections loop oral histories of old overseas Chinese. Every Saturday evening, the rooftop cinema screens Nanyang-themed films like "Chicken Rice War," followed by local scholars' talks on cultural connections between Minnan and Nanyang. Step out of the guesthouse onto West Street, and you'll find the East and West Pagodas of Kaiyuan Temple nearby. An 8-minute walk east leads to Goldfish Lane, with its row of arcade buildings and authentic oyster omelet stalls. A 15-minute walk takes you to Yuanhe 1916 Creative Park, where converted factory spaces regularly host Nanyang-themed exhibitions.