Quanzhou Travel Guide

Quanzhou lies on the southeast coast of Fujian, looking out across the Taiwan Strait. Known in older sources as Zayton, between the 10th and 14th centuries it served as one of the principal eastern termini of the maritime trade routes that linked China with the wider world, drawing merchants from many parts of Eurasia.In 2021, the historic center of Quanzhou and a group of related monuments was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the name "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China". Within the cluster, the Qingjing Mosque is one of the oldest surviving mosques in China; the Kaiyuan Temple is said to date back to the Tang dynasty; and Tianhou Palace is dedicated to the sea goddess. Quanzhou keeps a remarkable density of religious architecture side by side.Red-brick traditional houses line the lanes, and walking them gives a real sense of the old port's weight. The local food is Fujian cooking and seafood, served in snack form: very thin wheat noodles in a thickened broth for breakfast, oyster omelets, sticky-rice dumplings, and jellied seafood salads. Working through the city's old snack shops is one of the pleasures of a Quanzhou stay.The Song-Yuan maritime trade left Quanzhou a multicultural city that still reads as one. High-speed trains link Quanzhou with Xiamen and Fuzhou within a short ride. Walk the lanes slowly — the port-town past is felt in every block.