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Quakertown

Quakertown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

By plane
Philadelphia International Airport is the main airport to arrive in. Quakertown is about 41 miles northwest of PHL. From there, you can get to Quakertown by taking a taxi or renting a car through numerous companies.

Lehigh Valley International Airport is a locally-based airport located 16 miles north of Quakertown in Allentown.

By train
The closest Amtrak station is in Paoli (PAO), roughly 29 miles south of Quakertown on Lancaster Pike & S. Valley Rd.

By car
From Pennsylvania Turnpike - From I-476, take the PA-663 N exit, EXIT 44, toward PA-309/Quakertown. Turn left onto PA Route 663 northbound (John Fries highway). At PA Route 309, the road will become PA Route 313 eastbound. Rt 309 is close to the western border of the Borough of Quakertown. Continuing on PA Route 313 eastbound will lead you to the "uptown" and "downtown" districts. Don't be confused about the highway direction labels, Route 663 is labelled "north" and "south" while Route 313 is labelled "east" and "west", it's continuation of the same road. In town Route 313 is named Broad Street, east of town it's named Doylestown Pike.

From the North - Go south on PA Route 309 to 313 East. Follow above.

From the East - Go west on PA Route 313 into Quakertown. Follow above.

From the South - Go north on PA Route 309 to 313 East. Follow above.

From the West - Go north on PA Route 663 (John Fries Highway) to the intersection of Rt 309 and Rt 313.

Get around
Many people drive their car to commute to and from work and school. However since Quakertown is a smaller town, people can walk or bike to get to closer places downtown. There is no public transportation or taxi service easily available.

See
The Quakertown Swamp is a 518-acre wetland, home to a variety of wildlife species, including beavers and waterfowl. You can go on a tour or explore the swamp on your own.

Do
Quakertown has a considerable number of public parks in the area. Cedar Grove Park is located in the western end of Quakertown, off Roan Tree Dr. It has a playground and basketball and street hockey courts. On Mill St. is Memorial Park, complete with a baseball stadium, basketball and tennis courts, a jogging and bicycling path, a skating pond, and pavilions. The Quakertown Public Pool is also located within the park. At the southern end of Main St. is Main Street Park, with basketball courts, a playground, and a softball field.

Nockamixon State Park on 1542 Mountain View Dr. covers 5,283 acres including the 1,450-acre Lake Nockamixon. One can boat, fish, bike, picnic, hike, swim, and explore the natural beauty of the park.

Buy
Quakertown Farmers Market and Flea Market offers over 120 indoor flea market vendors and up to 400 outdoor vendors (in season) covering over 225,000 sq. feet. Open Friday and Saturday 9AM to 9PM and Sunday 10AM to 5PM. Goods from numerous departments: books, electronics, grocery, meats/poultry, construction, automotive, instruments, candy and nuts, flowers, crafts, arcade, bakery, furniture, barber shop, music/CDs, cell phones, deli, jewelry, clothing and accessories, pets, gifts, shoes, produce, tools, sports collectables, tobacco shop, and videos/games. Some specific vendors include Q-Pet, Dollar Center, Sneaker Outlet, Davis Meats and Bakery, Kim's Produce, JK Fashions, Coffee Grinder, Oasis Guitar, Ultimate Comics, O'Flynn's Furniture, and Video Bonanza. Located on 201 Station Rd (Front St).

Eat
John's Plain and Fancy Diner serves breakfast, lunch and dinner items 24 hours a day. It is located on Route 309. Also on Route 309 is the Quakertown Family Restaurant delivering huge portions and a friendly staff. Right across from the Quakertown Family Restaurant is The Trainers Corner Shopping Center (225 North West End Boulevard) which offers many dining options including: TGI Friday's, Applebee's Bar and Grill, Red Robin Restaurant, McDonalds, Burger King, Coldstone Creamery, Starbucks Coffee, and Il Garda Restaurant. The small local chain and drive-thru Yum Yum Bake Shop on 1461 W. Broad Street specializes in donuts and coffee. This shop is a local favorite and offers various muffins, pastries, and breakfast foods as well. On 213 W Broad St stop by for a snack at the Philly Soft Pretzel Factory for hot, freshly baked, hand twisted pretzels. Just over a few blocks is Dominick's Restaurant & Pizzeria on 327 W. Broad St. This local hotspot has been around for over 35 years, serving pizza, pasta, burgers, strombolis, hoagies, salads, and homemade deserts. McCoole's at the Red Lion Inn serves fine dining at a casual dining price. The Brick Tavern Inn offers relaxed country dining with new American Cuisine. The Spinnerstown Hotel features pub fare and sandwiches on its menu.

Drink
Hobo's Bar and Grill is a local late night hang out spot for the 21 and over crowd. Large selection of beers, specialty drinks and martinis, and after dinner drinks. Located on 85 S West End Blvd.

Applebee's Bar and Grill (145 N West End Blvd) is a great spot to watch sporting events on TV or grab a drink after a day at work.

Sleep
McCoole's Historic Red Lion Inn is located on 4 S. Main St at the corner of Broad St and Main St. McCoole's offers entertainment, live performances, free wireless internet, and non-smoking rooms. There is an on-site restaurant with outside dining and a bar, serving a variety of reasonably priced menu items.

Best Western Motor Inn sits at 1446 W Broad Street. It offers free wireless internet access, complimentary continental breakfast, a fitness center, and free parking. Minutes from numerous shopping and restaurants.

Right off the Quakertown exit on John Fries Highway are an Econo Lodge & Suites (1905 John Fries Highway) and a Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites (1918 John Fries Highway).

Connect
Many surrounding hotels have free wireless internet access, however some have restrictions for guests only. Lacey's Pub and Grill on 1907 John Fries Highway offers free wifi, as well as Starbucks on 610 N West End Blvd and McDonald's on 2 N West End Blvd.

For more information, contact the Borough of Quakertown 35 N Third Street, ; E-mail: manager@quakertownboro.com.

Go next
Bucks County has numerous parks and attractions in the surrounding area. Other small towns nearby to visit include Doylestown, New Hope, Bensalem, Yardley, Newtown, Bristol, Perkasie, Sellersville, and Chalfont. Neighboring bigger cities and towns are Philadelphia, Allentown, Reading, and Easton.

title: Quakertown


text:
Quanah

Quanah is a small town in the North Central Plains region of Texas.

Understand
Quanah was named after Quanah Parker, known as the last chief of the Comanches. His mother, Cynthia Ann Parker, was captured in 1820 by the Comanches. She became assimilated into the group, marrying a Comanche and having children, of whom Quanah was the first. She was later "rescued" by the white settlers in a location near Copper Breaks south of town, and never allowed contact with her husband or children again, starving herself to death two years later. Quanah went on to lead a large band of Comanches in attacks against hunters and the US Army in an effort to retain tribal lands and save the great buffalo herds, which the whites were mercilessly and wastefully killing off at an alarming rate. He participated in many famous battles throughout the Panhandle, including the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, near modern-day Borger. When finally cornered at Palo Duro Canyon in 1875, Quanah's band was the last group of free Plains Indians to be forced onto a reservation, bringing an end to the Red River War. Quanah subsequently became something of an advocate for westernization, quickly learning English and Spanish and converting to a form of Christianity. He was eventually named chief of all the Comanche people. By 1905 he was parading with Geronimo in the inaugural parade for Theodore Roosevelt, with whom he went on occasional hunting trips. Quanah Parker is now buried at Fort Sills in Oklahoma.

Get in
By car, Quanah is most easily accessible by US Route 287, halfway between Childress and Vernon. The second option is by Texas Route 6 which connects the city with Eldorado, Oklahoma to the north, and Copper Breaks State Park to the south.

The nearest commercial airport is in Wichita Falls.

Get around
A car is the best option. Almost everything lies along the main strip of US 287.

Buy
Like many small towns in the area, antiques are the only truly interesting shopping to be had.

Eat
Practically everything is located on the main drag, 11th Street, otherwise known as US 287. In addition to a Pizza Hut, Subway, and Sonic, you will find the following local outfits.

Sleep
All the hotels are located on 11th Street/US 287.

Go next

 * Copper Breaks State Park is just south on Texas Route 6, offering camping, hiking and a couple of lakes.
 * Medicine Mound Museum, about 4 miles south on farm road 1167 east of town. Medicine Mound, a Texas ghost town located east of the mounds themselves, saw its last residents in the 1950s but has an interesting museum housed in one of the original buildings.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Quanah


text:
Quan Lạn

Quan Lạn is an island in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

Understand
One of the outlying islands of the Ha Long Bay region and in Bai Tu Long Bay, Quan Lạn has been sparsely inhabited for quite some time. There are a few thousand residents and an influx of local tourists from Hanoi on weekends and holidays. The island is pretty sandy and has little in the way of forest, unlike others nearby such as Ban Sen. There are ports at the northern and southern tips of the island. It is a less developed and less touristy alternative to the more popular Cat Ba Island.

There are two larger villages on the island with some scattered houses and guesthouses on the roads in between. Minh Chau village is in the north and has a strip of hotels, guesthouses and cabanas along the white sand beach. Quan Lan village is in the center of the island with a street of guesthouses, restaurants, and karaoke venues. The Son Hau beach area has a few resorts and guesthouses near its white sand beach. The beaches of Minh Chau and Son Hau have been claimed to be some of the best in northern Vietnam, if not all of Vietnam, by locals and foreigners.

Get in and out
Buses leave for the ports in Halong City and Cai Rong from Luong Yen or My Dinh bus stations in Hanoi.

For the Halong City port, catch a bus going to "Hon Gai" which will take about 4 hours. From Hon Gai (Halong City) the ferry leaves at 13:00 or 13:30 and comes back at 06:30 (or at in the summer) and takes around four hours. As of May 2012 the price was 70,000 dong for Vietnamese and 130,000 dong per person for foreigners. This route gives you a scenic boat ride through Bai Tu Long bay and drops you off at the port just south of Quan Lan village.

For the Cai Rong port, catch a bus going to Cua Ong and tell the staff you want to get off at "Cho Cua Ong" (Cua Ong market) and they will drop you off at an intersection in front of taxis that can take you to Cai Rong town about 12 km away. The trip will take 5-6 hours to get to this point. From Cai Rong port there is a ferry at 07:00 (or 06:3 in the summer) and 14:00. Boats from Quan Lan going back to Cai Rong leave at 07:00 (or 06:30 in the summer) and 2 PM. The ferry takes two hours. There is a speed boat that makes the trip in 45 minutes that leaves at 07:00, 08:00, 23:00 and 14:00 from Cai Rong for 140,000 dong per person. Return boats leave around similar times. Private wooden boats can also be chartered for 1,600,000 dong per boat and take around three hours.

Ferry boats will drop you off at the port south of Quan Lan village while private chartered boats can drop people off at the northern port near Minh Chau.

Get around
Transport is pretty limited: there's really nothing on the road after sundown. The island is about 15 km and getting around on two wheels on your own is fairly easy.

Hiring a local to drive you somewhere can be an expensive proposition compared to metered taxis elsewhere but you do travel in a xe om (tuk tuk) that is less common to see in bigger cities in Vietnam. Prices are given per vehicle so it is cheaper if you travel with groups. A ride to get half way up the island costs foreigners 100,000 - 150,000 dong. From Minh Chau port or beach to Quan Lan village, almost the entire way across the island, is 250,000 dong. It is best to organize early morning rides to the port with a guesthouse or hotel the evening before. There are a few buses that cost 10,000 dong that only run on weekends.

Bicycles can be rented from hotels or guesthouses for 50,000 - 70,000 dong of varying quality. Motorbikes can be rented for 100,000 - 150,000 dong. Petrol can be found at the corner stores at the intersection in Quan Lan village for around 40,000 - 50,000 dong. Look for the large water bottles full of Ecto Cooler looking neon green liquid. The roads are generally in decent condition but still have potholes, are often covered in sand, and have construction cars careening across them. There would appear to be little vehicle crime as locks are not given with rentals.

See
Half-way down the island, the western side features an industrial port at the tip of a very long breakwater that dissects an expansive tidal mangrove flat.

On the eastern side of the island directly east of the breakwater is a fantastic beach, which can be reached either by trudging across undeveloped dunes and tidal waters, or heading south slightly then following the road down to the single building on the beach, billing itself as a hotel.

There are a few temples scattered across the island.

Do
Walk about and explore, or swim. Don't expect much except scenery, and you'll have a good time.

Visit Minh Chau (northern) or Son Hau (central/eastern) beaches with beautiful water and soft white sand. Minh Chau beach has cabanas lining the beach with rentable hammocks, loungers, and chairs. There are inner tubes and volleyball nets for rent as well.

Buy
There are no ATMs on the island. A few small shops scattered in the villages carry the straw, coolie and safari hats you can see locals wearing as well as some clothing. There is a fish market at 05:30 - 06:30 and 14:30 - 15:30.

Eat and drink
Food can be more expensive than the mainland. The cheapest food is generally found in smaller family run guesthouses. During the week food can be hard to come by and visitors should get used to variations of things made with instant ramen noodles. Staying at resorts and guesthouses out of town usually involves informing the staff of future meals and some heavy bargaining and negotiation for high prices.

Food in Quan Lan village can be found for around 25,000 - 50,000 dong for a noodle, rice noodle or congee (rice soup) dish. Rice and noodle dishes later in the day can be found for 25,000 - 80,000 dong. Seafood dishes abound in town and can be found for a wide range of 60,000 - 150,000 dong.

Food in Minh Chau is more expensive and can get into the 100,000 - 200,000 dong range. There is western, particularly French, food available at Le Pont hotel.

Coffee is the strong and bitter Vietnamese variety served black or with condensed milk and can be found for 15,000 - 40,000 dong. Beer can be found at places labeled "Bia Hoi" for around 10,000 dong for draft beers and 15,000 - 30,000 for cold cans. Cold drinks are hard to find as electricity is not constant. Ice cream in smaller stores have the consistency of melted and refrozen treats.

Most menus do not have prices and it would be wise to ask before ordering. Vietnamese menus are generally more extensive than the one- to two-page English menus. Wandering around town at off hours may also mean that staff are napping or off site and inquiring with neighbors is the fastest way to see if anything is available.

Sleep
Prices are higher during weekends and holidays as many people go to Quan Lan Island as a weekend trip from Hanoi. The prices during high season (mid April - mid September) can be as high as double low season rates. The accommodation in Minh Chau and Son Hau tend to be more expensive as they are walkable to the nicer beaches. The lodging and food is generally cheaper in Quan Lan village. Not much English is spoken although most people are happy to write down prices for you on paper or using their cell phone. Electricity is only on from 10:00-14:00 and 18:00-23:00 by generator with some of the larger hotels and resorts having their own personal generators but controlling the hours air conditioning can be used.

Quan Lan village
During high season during the week on Dong Nam street (the main and really only street) in Quan Lan village, rooms with two double beds can be found with fan for 200,000 - 300,000 dong at most of the family run and some of the larger guesthouses and hotels.

Telephone
There are multiple stores on the island selling SIM cards. All mobile carriers have cell and data service on the island.

Internet
WiFi internet is available at many of the restaurants and cafes at the older and bigger hotels.

Go next
Cai Rong and Cat Ba are two other prominent outlying islands of Ha Long Bay.

title: Quan Lạn


text:
Quantico

Quantico is a military base and town in eastern Prince William County, Northern Virginia, situated on the Potomac River.

Understand
Marine Corps Base Quantico is one of the principal stations of the U.S. Marine Corps, home to numerous training and research units and commands. Facilities on the base are also used for research and training by federal civilian law enforcement agencies, notably the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The base completely surrounds the Town of Quantico, for which it was named and mostly on whose former land it occupies.

The area was originally settled by the Patowomack people in the 16th century, and Quantico is believed to be an Algonquian word. The English began to settle the area around Aquia Harbor in the 18th century. The military presence in the area began as far back as the American Revolutionary War, when Virginia based many of its naval forces here, but it was mostly a rural getaway for Washington and Richmond residents until 1917, when Marine Barracks, Quantico was established and became a key training center with the U.S. entry into World War I. In 1920, it became a permanent training center, and in 1942, it expanded by some.

Get in
Quantico is just off Interstate 95, but traffic congestion in this area is legendary. A surface alternative is U.S. Route 1, which parallels I-95 through the area.

Quantico has its own rail station, served by the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter system's Fredericksburg Line and by Amtrak's Northeast Regional and Carolinian trains. Both services connect Quantico with Washington, D.C. to the north. There is no intercity or commuter bus service direct to the Quantico area; connections are available at Triangle, to the north.

The nearest airport to Quantico is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to the north in Arlington. The airport has its own Metro station on the WMATA Blue Line, which can be used to transfer from the airport to King Street, in Alexandria, where connections are available to Amtrak and VRE. VRE connections are also available at Crystal City, on the Blue and Yellow Lines, and at Franconia-Springfield, the terminus of the Blue Line. Most long-distance and international flights arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport in eastern Loudoun County, from which no direct transit connections are available; see the "Get in" advice for Arlington or Washington, D.C. for connection options.

Get around
Mass transportation is limited in the Quantico area, and visitors are advised to rent a car. A local bus service, OmniLink, is operated by the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC), the regional transit authority. Route R1-L connects the Quantico rail station to the neighboring communities of Triangle and Dumfries for $1.40, paid with exact change or SmarTrip card. It may be easier, however, to call for a taxi; Prince William Yellow Cab can be reached at 703-491-2222.

title: Quantico


text:
Quanzhou

Quanzhou (泉州; Choân-chiu in Minnan, Quánzhōu in Mandarin) is a coastal city in Fujian Province north of Xiamen and south of Fuzhou. Older romanisations, no longer in use, include Ch'üan-chou, Chuanchow and Chinchew.

Marco Polo sailed home from here around 1292; he called the city by its Arabic and Persian name, Zaiton, and described it as the world's busiest port and stunningly rich. A few decades later, Ibn Battuta both arrived in and departed from China via Quanzhou. Since then the city has come down in the world somewhat, but is still a major port and still quite prosperous. For travellers, much of the history is still quite visible; the town is positively overrun with interesting old buildings.

Many readers from Western countries may never have heard of the city, but they have been somewhat affected by it nonetheless. The English word "satin" comes from "Zaiton", the port from which that fabric first reached the Middle East and thence Europe. The tea that American colonists threw overboard to protest British taxes at the Boston Tea Party was shipped from Quanzhou and grown in nearby Anxi.

Districts
Quanzhou urban area consists of four districts:
 * Fengze District (丰泽区; Fēngzéqū)
 * Licheng District (鲤城区; Lǐchéngqū)
 * Luojiang District (洛江区; Luòjiāngqū)
 * Quangang District (泉港区; Quángǎngqū)

Other communities in Quanzhou Prefecture are covered in separate articles: Anxi, Dehua, Hui'an, Jinjiang, Jinmen, Nan'an, Shishi, and Yongchun. Jinjiang is the most important suburb; on the map it is the area south of the river and as of the 2010 census its population was just under two million.

Nearby Xiamen was administered as a district of Quanzhou for centuries, but it grew very rapidly due to foreign trade after it became a treaty port in the 1840s. Today it is a separate city, at least as important as Quanzhou.

Understand
About a millenium ago, the city was the main eastern terminus of the Maritime Silk Road and home to a large (over 100,000 by some estimates) international community, mostly Arabs but also including Persians, Indians and others. At one time, the city had seven mosques; the only one surviving today is the Great Mosque, built in 1009 CE.

Quanzhou was one of the main bases for the great Chinese treasure ships that routinely traded in Southeast Asia and India and sometimes reached at least as far as Persia and Aden. When Vasco da Gama — sailing the Cape Route to become the first European to reach India by sea — reached East Africa in 1498, he found Chinese trade goods such as blue & white pottery already in the market. The Chinese ships were far larger, longer range, and more advanced technically than European vessels of the period. See Voyages of Zheng He for some of the details.

There is a Maritime Museum in Quanzhou with many relics of this period.

Marco Polo sailed home from Quanzhou about 1292. He described it as the world's busiest port, with Alexandria a distant second. At about that time, Kublai Khan's fleet for the invasion of Japan sailed from Quanzhou. It was wiped out by a storm, the kami kaze or "spirit wind". This is the origin of the name for kamikaze (suicide) pilots during the Second World War; it was hoped they would save Japan in a similar way.

In the 1420s, there was a shift in power in Beijing; the Confucian scholars won out over the eunuchs, and many of the admirals and captains were eunuchs. The emperor cut off all foreign expeditions, destroyed the records of previous voyages, and let the great ships rot. After this, Quanzhou declined considerably. Also, over the centuries the harbour became partly clogged with silt. Today, Quanzhou is less well-known than the provincial capital Fuzhou or booming Special Economic Zone Xiamen, and certainly gets fewer tourists than either. However, it has more historic buildings than either, some interesting modern architecture, and some good shopping.

As the historical centre of the South Fujian region, Quanzhou is also the cradle several traditional art forms, including the Minnan opera genres of Gaojia opera and Liyuan opera, as well as Minnan-style string puppetry.

Like most Chinese cities, Quanzhou has some of the standard 8-storey concrete apartment blocks. However, there are far fewer of those than elsewhere and whole districts are much prettier. The city government has regulations that require new buildings in some areas to follow certain architectural conventions. Downtown, there are many modern 4- to 6-floor buildings with the traditional Chinese tile roofs with points on the corners. Near the old mosque there are new buildings with Islamic themes, such as arched windows, in the architecture. The rebuilding of the Zhongshan Road shopping area got a UNESCO award for heritage preservation, and Quanzhou got an international award in a contest for most livable cities in 2003; neighboring Xiamen had won the previous year. In 2021, 16 sites in and around the city were listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site named "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China".

Talk
The local language is Minnan, which is also spoken in neighbouring Xiamen, as well as across the sea in Taiwan, where it is known as Taiwanese. The dialect in Quanzhou differs slightly from the dialect in Xiamen and Taiwan, but nevertheless, they are similar enough for mutual comprehension. Most locals are bilingual in Mandarin and Minnan, so learning Minnan is not necessary to communicate, though attempts to do so will most certainly impress the locals.

As with elsewhere in China, English is not widely spoken, though staff at more luxurious hotels will usually have at least a basic command of English.

By plane
Quanzhou, or rather Jinjiang across the river, has an airport with flights to various mainland cities, as well as some international flights to Hong Kong and other Asian cities.

Nearby Xiamen has a more important airport with good domestic connections and quite a few international flights, including several long-haul ones. The Fuzhou airport is also reasonably close.

By train

 * The station is served by frequent high-speed trains running on Fujian's coastal high-speed railway between Fuzhou and Xiamen. The line continues north beyond Fuzhou to Wenzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, and south beyond Xiamen to Shantou and Shenzhen. A few trains also go to inland destinations, such as Nanchang in neighbouring Jiangxi province, Wuhan, and points beyond. See High-speed rail in China for details.

There is a bus station in the square outside of the train station, with several local bus routes connecting the station with the city, and suburban routes coming from places such as Chongwu.

Older maps and guidebooks may show the old Quanzhou Railway Station in the northeastern outskirts of the city, off Chenghua South Rd (Hwy G324). This station is closed.

By bus
There are frequent buses from Xiamen (¥27-35, 1½ hours) and Fuzhou (¥46-65, 2½ hours).

There are also direct overnight buses from more distant places such as Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, in the ¥300 range.

There are two main bus stations, a fairly large one in a new building toward the east of town and one that is much more central and looks more run down. The latter is the "new bus station". A small bus station next to the Overseas Chinese Hotel has buses to Fuzhou and Shenzhen.

By boat
There is regular ferry service from Taiwan-controlled Kinmen (Quemoy) Island to the port of Shijing (石井), some 50 km south of downtown Quanzhou. (¥150, or NT$750). However, as of early 2012, only PRC (China) and ROC (Taiwan) citizens can use it. The ferries from Xiamen to Kinmen, however, are open to most nations.

Get around
Taxis start at ¥8 and you can go almost anywhere in town for under ¥20.

Be warned about local traffic! Traffic anywhere in China often horrifies visitors (see Driving in China), but Quanzhou is worse than most places. On some travel blogs, even Chinese complain about Quanzhou traffic.

Religious structures
The town has an assortment of religious buildings, some quite old. It has been called a museum of world religions. There are Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian temples, as anywhere in China, plus Christian churches and one mosque. There are also Hindu and Zoroastrian temples. Neighboring Jinjiang has the world's only surviving Manichean temple.

Souvenirs
There is large area of antique and curio shops on the north side of the mosque. They sell mainly to locals. Quality, variety and price are all better than most tourist areas. You do have to bargain fiercely, though. White pottery from the village of Dehua outside Quanzhou has been an export item for centuries, known in Europe as "Blanc de Chine". Other ceramics are also made in the area. There are kilns going back a millennium or more.

Tea
Anxi outside Quanzhou produces one of China's most famous teas, Tieguanyin Oolong. Guan Yin is a Buddhist Bodhisattva sometimes described as the Goddess of Mercy; "tie" means iron. China's three main types of tea are unfermented green tea, partly fermented oolong and heavily fermented Pu'er tea. The best known oolong teas are Tieguanyin, Da Hong Bao from Wuyi Mountain in inland Fujian, and Dongding from Taiwan. Tieguanyin tea is available in countless shops throughout Quanzhou, in most you can sit and try a variety of grades of tea to decide which you want.

Prices for a jin (half kilo) of tea in a typical shop start at about ¥40 and there are some very nice teas under ¥200. However, tea in Chinese culture is priced like wine in the West; a variety that is top quality, rare, or just well-marketed can fetch an amazingly high price. It is not uncommon to see teas at ¥600-2,000 a jin and the record for a rare top-grade tea sold at auction is ¥9,000 a gram. As for wines, a single variety — such as burgundy or tieguanyin — is available in a wide range of grades, the expensive products are best avoided unless you know exactly what you are getting, and most drinkers will be quite happy with lesser types.

Many Quanzhou tea shops also sell the miniature tea sets that are most commonly used in this area; making and drinking tea this way is somewhat labor-intensive (each cup is smaller than a shot glass and a 'pot' is about as big as a coffee cup) but an enjoyable social experience. Making and serving tea in this way is not really a tea 'ceremony' in the sense of a Japanese tea ceremony, but it is still a ritualized and celebrated process.

North of the mosque, across the arched bridge over the small creek (Baguagou), is a traditional courtyard house that has been converted into a teahouse. This is a good place to get an introduction to the local tea service, your server can show you how to prepare the tea. Most tea shops will also be happy to give you an impromptu lesson in brewing tea.

Books and maps
The labirynthine Quanzhou Book City (泉州书城), located underground in Zhongshan Park (Zhongshan North Road, just south of Quanshan Gate), is pretty good for books and maps of all kinds (mostly in Chinese, of course). Lots of provincial atlases from StarMaps "军民双用" ("Military and civil use") series, which are superior to most other publishers' products.

Bicycles
Quanzhou's bike shops of all kinds are concentrated in Zhongshan Nan Lu (Zhongshan South Road). The more southern section, from Tianhou Lu to Yiquan Lu, has primarily electric bike shops. More to the north, from Yiquan Lu to Tumen Lu, regular (pedal) bicycles are found as well, in a at least a dozen shops. There are a few high-end places for various brands, as well as several shops for Chinese mass-market bikes, in the ¥200-500 range. The small family-owned Triace shop at 376 Zhongshan South Road (山南路376号) can be recommended for its friendly and knowledgeable staff. They speak good Mandarin and a bit of English, and can provide local advice and help you get in touch with local bicycle enthusiasts.

Electronics
Need a new iPad? A Chinese cell phone? Some spare parts for your laptop? Computer, cell phone, and electronics shops can be found in Jiuyi St (九一街), west of Wenling Rd. There are also many cell phone shops farther east, as Jiuyi St becomes Fengce Rd (丰泽路).

Learn
The original Shaolin Temple, one of China's greatest centers of kung fu, is in Henan, but during one of China's many wars a lot of the monks fled South and founded Southern Shaolin with three temples in Fujian. The one in Quanzhou, at the foot of Qingyuanshan, dates back to the ninth century; the ones in nearby Putian and Fuqing are even older but are now less active. The Quanzhou temple has been burnt down at least once, but has been rebuilt; it takes foreign students for intensive training at rates (as of 2010) around $500 a month including room and board.

Eat

There are several vegetarian restaurants near Chengtien Temple on Nanjun Road

Bars

Zhuangyuan Street (Bar Street) is to the east of Zhongshan Road north of the center of town. The street is parallel and slightly south of East Street. It has many bars.

Sleep
Quanzhou is not a tourist-oriented city and there are relatively few hotels.

By 2015, a fair number of Quanzhou hosts have registered with airbnb.com.

Budget
There is a hotel attached to the main bus station; turn right as you come out of the station and look for the London/Moscow/Beijing/... row of clocks in the reception area. There are several more hotels along the (fairly long, but walkable) street that leads west from there toward the center of town.

On Wenling Road or Chongfu Road are several cheap business hotels, for ¥50-100.

Splurge
Thete are several high-end hotels along Baiyuan Road and nearby streets; they look like palaces and are easy to spot.

Connect
The area code for Quanzhou is 595.

Go next

 * Bus to Fuzhou leaves from the bus station at the southern end of the main tourist street (not the main bus station) and takes about 3 hours (¥60-70).
 * There are also buses to Fuzhou, Xiamen and overnight to Shenzhen from the small station next to the Overseas Chinese Hotel. This will be a convenient location for many travellers, but larger stations have a better choice of routes and departure times.
 * Several times a week, there is an early-morning bus to Mount Wuyi and Jingdezhen. This bus is small dirty sleepers, arrives at many of its destinations very late at night, and drops passengers off by the side of the highway rather than the bus station. Consider taking the train instead.
 * Chongwu is an old walled town near Quanzhou. There are good beaches near it.

title: Quanzhou


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Quarteira

Quarteira is a coastal city in the Algarve region of Portugal.

Understand
Quarteira (/kwɐɾˈtejɾɐ/, kwahr-TAY-ruh), a civil parish of Loulé, has almost 22,000 people (2011). The civil parish includes the resort area of Vilamoura.

By bus
For buses from and to local nearby towns and cities, checkout the timetables of the local transport company Eva Bus.

By plane

 * Faro Airport near Faro. From there, interchange at the Faro bus station.

By taxi
Get in at Faro Airport and its very easy to get a taxi for around €23-€27 to Quarteira and the journey takes around 20 minutes. You can book a taxi before you travel as well. All you have to do is look on the Faro Airport webpage and book from several recommended companies. You can pay when you book or when you arrive at the airport. The driver will have a sign with your name on it in arrivals. There are also some car hire companies at the airport.

By train
While there are no trains to Quarteira itself, both regional and long-distance trains call at a station just a few kilometers inland, halfway between Quarteira and the town of Loulé. There are connecting buses from the station to the city centre.

Get around
Quarteira is pretty easy to get around. A few hotels are close to all amenities and there is a bus and taxi stop in the centre of town if you want to visit other places. A taxi to neighbouring Vilamoura, a very popular upmarket resort, costs around €4-5. There are also car hire companies in Quarteira if you want to hire a car and drive around the Algarve.

See

There is a wide, clean beach in Quarteira with clean water. There is also a nice promenade, and an aqua show for families nearby.

Vilamoura

 * The museum of Cerro da Vila in the centre of Vilamoura
 * Marina – The Vilamoura's Marina is one of the most prestigious centres of leisure in the Algarve. Restaurants, cafés, and leisure and sporting structures.
 * An area with in the western part of Vilamoura is listed by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area, as it is an important site for Porphyrio porphyrio, and 20 other bird species during reproductive season, as well as an important number of transaharian passerines.
 * An area with in the western part of Vilamoura is listed by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area, as it is an important site for Porphyrio porphyrio, and 20 other bird species during reproductive season, as well as an important number of transaharian passerines.

Do

 * You can book a cruise for a few hours a day for as little as €15 a person. A travel agent is located near Quarteira Sol Hotel. You can also book them in Vilamoura.
 * Play golf at the town's five golf courses.

Buy
There are a lot of shops in Quarteira selling touristy stuff and a lot of traditional Portuguese embroidered stuff. Quarteira is also the place to go for fish as the local fishermen bring in fresh produce everyday. Quarteira is pretty cheap but if you have more exclusive tastes go to Vilamoura for all the designer shops. Quarteira has a weekly gypsy market on Wednesday that is superb. There is also a great local produce market (also on Wednesday) selling fish, fruit, vegetables, etc.

Eat
There are a lot of restaurants and snack bars in Quarteira for all budgets. There are many places selling traditional Portuguese food and a lot of English food can be found in the restaurants along the promenade.

In Vilamoura, most restaurants are in the Marina area. There is a wide variety of foods available, from traditional Portuguese to Thai.

Drink
Lots of English and Portuguese bars around. Several bars and clubs in the Vilamoura Marina area. Sete Cafe attracts footballers. The Irish bar has a live band most nights and gets busy after 11PM. Close by is the Atlantic Bar with a show every night except Sundays.

Sleep
There are lots of hotels in Quarteira all very near amenities and very close to the beach. They are pretty affordable too.

title: Quarteira


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Quarto d'Altino

Quarto D'altino is a city in Veneto.

Sleep
Hotel Claudia Augusta, Vicolo S. Francesco d'Assisi 3, 31032 Casale sul Sile, Tel. +39 0422 78 33 11 Fax +39 0422 78 33 33. . 3 star hotel located near the main highway to Venice.

title: Quarto d'Altino


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Quartzsite

Quartzsite is a former mining town in La Paz County, Arizona. In 2020, it hosted a permanent population of 2,400 people, but during the balmy winters from December to February the population explodes to well over 100,000 as RV campers descend in droves. The town is also well known for gem shows, which draw over a million visitors yearly.

Understand
Quartzsite of 1850 and Quartzsite of today are the same: Quartzsite is a crossroads.

Climate
Quartzsite is located on the La Posa Plain, an arid desert region that receives little average precipitation. Winter temperatures can be mild while summer temperatures can be hot.

Get in
I-10 and Hwy 95 are the main thoroughfares into and through town.

By car
Interstate 10 (I-10)/Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Fwy passes through Quartzite in an east/west direction. It is the main stopping area when traveling from Phoenix and before crossing into California. Quartzite is accessed from Exits 11 and 31 with Exit 17 and 19 specifically into town.
 * Business_Loop_10.svg Main St serves as local road access from Exit 17 of I-10, through downtown Quartzite to Riggles Ave where it connects back to I-10 at Mile 19. The old US Routes 60 & 70 that used to go (concurrently) through town as Main St before the freeway was built.

& Central Blvd divides the town in directional quadrants at its intersection with Main. Central divides east from west and Main divides north from south. Going north on US-95, it goes concurrently on I-10 to Blythe, CA (at Exit 242) and through the eastside of Blythe on Intake Blvd towards Needles at I-40. Going north on Central Blvd the road becomes AZ-95 towards Parker and to the south as US-95 towards Yuma.

begins/ends at Mile/Exit 31 of I-10 which is another east on I-10. It goes northeasterly towards Wickenburg and than into Phoenix through Peoria and Glendale concurrent with US 93 (from Wickenburg). US 60 and 70 (which ran concurrent) used to continue west from here toward Los Angeles on the present I-10. US 70 now ends in Globe and 60 ends here.

Get around
As there is no public transportation, a car is essential.

Sleep
Most accommodation in Quartzsite is in the form of RV parks; a list is maintained by the Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce. The other limited options are listed below.

title: Quartzsite


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Quba

Quba (or Guba) is a city in Northeastern Azerbaijan, on the northern slope of the Caucasus, 180 km northwest of Baku.

Understand
This ancient city is the major city in the Quba Rayon. Quba is famous for producing high quality apples. In late summer, cars stuffed with apples are often seen on the road carrying the fruit from Quba to other regions or from small towns to the city's cannery.

Quba is also the hub for many summer vacationers. It attracts visitors with its cooler summer climate and beautiful mountain scenery.

Quba is built on the western bank of the Qudailchay River. On the eastern bank is a rather exclusive Jewish community known as Red Settlement (Qırmızı Qesebe in Azeri or Krasnaya Sloboda in Russian), because of the collection of red roofs that can be seen from the nearby hilltop. The houses in Quba are noticeably smaller than the neighbouring community.

Due to its close proximity to Russia and its former inclusion in the U.S.S.R., most in the city know Russian. It is often assumed that outsiders will know this language. This might also explain a sense of paranoia with strangers found with some. You may be stopped by police and asked to show identification.

By bus
There are buses that run daily from Baku to Quba. The price for a minibus/van is 4 manat, and it takes about 3 hr. There are also buses from/to the surrounding region.

By train
The nearest railway station is Khachmaz, about 20 km east. However, if you do not have any particular reasons to go by train, the bus will be more convenient.

By taxi
Cabs can be found going from Baku to Quba at January 20th station and Shamahinka station.

By car
From Baku take the M1 for about 2–2.5 hr. The road, with the exception of the last 35 km, is a highway with a speed limit of 110 km/h. In the Quba itself, you can park anywhere, except for obvious prohibitions – you can park on the central square near the information centre.

Get around
Quba is an easy walk.

Do
Visit Balbulaq, Tengealtı.

Buy

 * Rugs/carpets

ATMs
International Bank of Azerbaijan:
 * Kuba, Quba, 41, Fatali khan street (Quba branch of İBA)
 * Kuba, Quba, Qırmızı (Red) settlement (P.O.)
 * Kuba, Quba, H.Aliyev avenue ("Shahdag" market centre)

Go next

 * Qusar – Just north of Quba, located in the Grand Caucasus mountainous system, close to the border with Russia.
 * Khinalig (Xinaliq) – A scenic, remote and ancient mountain village, and the mountain of the same name nearby. Once a centre of Zoroastrianism; today the few inhabitants are an ethnic isolate believed to be descendants of the Caucasus Albanians (unrelated to modern-day Albanians of Albania).
 * Khachmaz (Xaçmaz, Khachmas) – It is considered a very popular tourist destination for the combination of a warm summer climate, woods along the sea and clean golden beaches.

title: Quba


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Queanbeyan

Queanbeyan is a city of 36,000 people (2016) in New South Wales that could almost be considered a suburb of Canberra. It is a short 15 minute drive from Canberra.

Understand
Queanbeyan is a convenient stopping point on the way to the Snowy Mountains on the Monaro Highway. It is also convenient to Canberra if you have a car. It is close to the airport, and free parking and motel accommodation is easy to come by.

There are some attractions in the town itself, and it certainly offers the full range of facilities and supplies.

There is a large tourism information centre in town, offering information on Queanbeyan, and wherever you may be heading to next.

Get in
Queanbeyan lies to the southeast of Canberra.

The Canberra to Sydney NSW TrainLink service stops at Queanbeyan 3 times daily in each direction.

By car, from Sydney or Melbourne follow the signs to Canberra, and then turn off to Queanbeyan shortly before arriving. Driving from Sydney it is not necessary to go through Canberra at all.

By plane, Canberra airport is as close to Queanbeyan (9 km) as it is to Canberra.

NSW Regional Trains connect Queanbeyan with Canberra and Sydney's Central Station. There is no direct rail link with Melbourne.

Murrays Coaches travel between Sydney and Canberra and can stop at Queanbeyan on the way.

Get around
Canberra's bus network does not extend into Queanbeyan.

QCity Transit bus service have buses to Canberra Civic and to Woden, at least every hour. You can interchange with the Canberra bus network at Civic. The ticketing system for ACTION buses in Canberra (MyWay) is not compatible with the one in use in Queanbeyan, and transfer fares are not available.

Queanbeyan has several dedicated mountain bike trails, making cycling a suitable option to explore the town and its natural surrounds.

See

 * Queanbeyan Suspension Foot Bridge

Do

 * Watch the Queanbeyan Whites Rugby team play at 'Campese Oval'.  Former players include Wallaby Great David Campese, Australia's highest paid player Matt Giteau, Scottish International Dave Muir and James Wark.

Sleep
A list of hotels in Queanbeyan is available on the local tourism website. Hotels in Queanbeyan are generally less expensive than those in Canberra.

Go next

 * You're a short drive away from the nation's capital Canberra.
 * Explore the rest of the Southern Highlands starting with the small town of Braidwood.

title: Queanbeyan