Quanzhou Harbor

Quanzhou, in Southeast China's Fujian Province, was hailed as "the very great and noble city" by Italian explorer Marco Polo (1254-1324). The coastal city was added to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage List on July 25, bringing to 56 the total number of the country's UNESCO World Heritage sites. 

The UNESCO accepted"Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China" as a cultural property on its World Heritage List during the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee, which was held in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, on July 16-31.

The Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1206-1368) dynasties witnessed a peak in ancient Chinese maritime trade, and Quanzhou, then known overseas as Zayton, grew into one of the world's busiest seaports along the historic Maritime Silk Road.

"Located on the southeast coast of China, the serial property Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China reflects, in an exceptional manner, the spatial structure that combined production, transportation and marketing, and the key institutional, social and cultural factors that contributed to the spectacular rise and prosperity of Quanzhou as a maritime hub of the East and Southeast Asia trade network during the 10th-14th centuries AD," said a report by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the committee's official advisory body.

As introduced on UNESCO's official website, the component parts and contributing elements of the property include sites of administrative buildings and structures, religious buildings and statues, cultural memorial sites and monuments, production sites of ceramics and iron, as well as a transportation network formed of bridges, docks and pagodas that guided the voyagers. They comprehensively reflect the distinguishing maritime territorial, sociocultural and trade structures of Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties.

The historic sites in Quanzhou demonstrate its glorious past. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, kilns were sprinkled around the city to make exquisite porcelain items for export, while docks and bridges saw cartloads of goods come and go.

Quanzhou's buzzing markets and busy docks were recorded in the writings of famous medieval explorer Marco Polo. "And I assure you that for one shipload of pepper that goes to Alexandria or elsewhere, destined for Christendom, there comes a hundred such, aye and more too, to this haven of Zayton; for it is one of the two greatest havens in the world for commerce," Marco Polo wrote in his book on travels.

Local women in Quanzhou

The maritime trade tradition, which cherishes inclusiveness, diversity and common prosperity, has turned ancient Quanzhou into a key commercial hub, and a melting pot of diverse cultures.

In ancient times, people of different religious beliefs worked and lived in harmony in Quanzhou, leaving many religious relics and cultural legacies, such as mosques and temples. Dubbed the museum of the world's religions, Quanzhou today still boasts venues of at least four religions and beliefs.

Li Qun, head of China's National Cultural Heritage Administration, says Quanzhou's serial sites have helped display the splendid history of exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese civilization and the world.

While spreading ancient China's agricultural technologies, literary classics and philosophical thoughts to the world, via maritime commerce and trade, Quanzhou also learned from other cultures and provided available space where different cultures and religions could coexist and  integrate, Li adds.

Photos Supplied by Shen Haibin

(Women of China English Monthly October 2021 issue)