Quanzhou, the ancient start of the Maritime Silk Road
Posted By April on June 3, 2012
Quanzhou was founded in 718, the sixth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, with other names “Coraltree City”, “Carp City” and Wenling. Located on the lower reaches of the Jin River in the southeast of Fujian by the sea, it is a time- honoured city of civilization and a famous hometown for numerous overseas Chinese and Taiwan compatriots.
From old Quanzhou Prefecture to today’s Quanzhou City, it has always been a political, economic and cultural centre of the Jin River basin. The present city covers an area of 11,015 km2, with more than seven point eight million populations.
Quanzhou was a busy city for ocean transportation and foreign trades in ancient times. As early as the Neolithic Age, man began to settle here, and later developments enabled it to become a prosperous open port city in the Tang and five Dynasties.
The Song and Yuan dynasties saw the old “Coral tree Port” become one of the World’s major port and the starting point of the “Silk Road on the Sea”, marking the golden age of ocean transportation and foreign trades.
Quanzhou is well endowed with beautiful scenery and natural resources, and is distinctive for its ancient and unsophisticated custom. The historic sites enjoying a long history of reputation include the East and West Pagodas at the Kaiyuan Temple, the He Zuo’s Tomb at the Qingjing Mosque, Stone Old Saint, ruins of Manichaean church, Luoyang Bridge and Five-Mile Bridge, among the two hundred attractions. The native products such as Tieguanyin Tea, Dehua porcelain and Huian stone carving have long been sought after for their high quality and fame. The ancient Southern Music, Gaojia Opera and Liyuan Opera, like the melodious local dialect flavor of Jin and Tang Dynasties.
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