Chinese's Quanzhou, Unesco's World Heritage
Located on the south-east coast of China, the city of Quanzhou was one of the most important Chinese ports along the historic Maritime Silk Roads.
“Quanzhou, the city where you can see how PEACE-LOVING Chinese people are!”
泉州市
泉州市位于中国东南沿海，是中国历史上海上丝绸之路上最重要的港口之一。该港口被来自阿拉伯世界的商人称为Zayton（或Zaitun），欢迎来自许多不同文化和宗教的水手和旅行者穿越这些路线。城市与其他地区，特别是南海周围的商业和文化互动，可以追溯到公元6世纪的中国南朝。随后，该港口成为唐朝（公元618-907年）使用的四大中国港口之一，并继续成为宋代（公元960-1279年）和元朝（公元1271-1368年）期间中国东部最大的港口。它还与海上丝绸之路沿线的大约一百个其他港口相连，包括印度的马德拉斯，伊朗的锡拉夫，阿曼的马斯喀特和桑给巴尔。从10世纪开始，在港口入口周围种植了Erythrina variegata树，以引人注目的红色花朵欢迎和打动水手，该植物的中文名称Citong（刺桐）反映在该市的阿拉伯语昵称Zayton中。
许多着名的中世纪探险家，如马可波罗，波代诺内的修道院气味和伊本白图泰，访问了泉州，并写下了关于该港口的描述，作为世界上最大的港口之一，各种大小和来源的船只停靠和起航，以及一个充满活力的市场，来自许多不同地区的商人交换他们的商品。马可·波罗似乎也开始了他的使命，从泉州出发陪同一位蒙古公主在波斯（现代伊朗）举行婚礼。
这个辉煌的过去被几个与泉州海上丝绸之路有关的历史遗迹所证明。在泉州湾和南中国海挖掘的沉船证明了港口的繁荣和活力，例如在后渚港（泉州湾）出土的木制船体帆船的残骸。这艘三桅远洋商船似乎最初是在泉州13号建造的。千世纪，在沉船发生时，从东南亚返回，装载着香料，药品和其他商品。此外，作为海上丝绸之路沿线的主要商业和交流中心之一，泉州在宋代是造船和导航技术发展的领先中心。
来自世界许多不同地区的水手，商人和探险家聚集在泉州，他们在这座城市的持续存在有助于该市许多不同种族和宗教群体之间的和平共处的发展，包括佛教徒，印度教徒，道教徒，聂斯托里派，摩尼教徒，犹太人，天主教徒和穆斯林。泉州市历史悠久的宗教场所和古迹的多样性就说明了这一点。开元寺及其双塔塔是中国最古老的佛教寺庙之一，而老君雕像是同类中最大的中国石像，说明了道教的存在。此外，清境清真寺是中国最古老的清真寺，见证了泉州与阿拉伯-伊斯兰世界之间的长期互动。此外，曹安（茅草屋）摩尼教寺庙拥有摩尼教先知摩尼的唯一石像。
此外，洛阳石梁桥、风景秀丽的安平长桥等一批市民古迹，不仅见证了泉州-宰屯港的繁荣，而且在设计和建筑上也体现了中国等文化的融合。
Located on the south-east coast of China, the city of Quanzhou was one of the most important Chinese ports along the historic Maritime Silk Roads. Known as Zayton (or Zaitun) by traders arriving from the Arab world, the port has welcomed sailors and travellers from many different cultures and religions as they traversed these routes. Commercial and cultural interaction between the city and other regions, particularly around the South Sea, can be dated to as early as the Chinese Southern Dynasties of the 6th century AD. Subsequently, the port was one of the four major Chinese ports in use under the Tang dynasty (618?907 AD) and went on to become the largest port in eastern China during the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) and Yuan dynasty (1271?1368 AD). It was also linked with around one hundred other ports along the Maritime Silk Roads, including Madras in India, Siraf in Iran, Muscat in Oman and Zanzibar. From the 10th century, Erythrina variegata trees have been planted around the harbor entrance to welcome and impress sailors with their eye-catching red flowers, and the Chinese name for the plant, Citong(刺桐), is reflected in the city's Arabic nickname of Zayton.
A number of famous medieval explorers, such as Marco Polo, Friar Odoric of Pordenone, and Ibn Battuta, visited Quanzhou and wrote descriptions of the port as one of the biggest harbors in the world, with ships of all sizes and provenances docking and setting sail, and a vibrant market in which merchants from across many different regions exchanged their wares. It also appears that Marco Polo set off on his mission to accompany a Mongol Princess for her marriage ceremony in Persia (Modern Iran) from Quanzhou.
This glorious past is attested by several historic sites linked to the maritime Silk Roads in Quanzhou. Shipwrecks excavated in Quanzhou bay and the South China Sea testify to the prosperity and vibrancy of the port, such as the wreck of a sailing ship with a wooden hull, unearthed in Houzhu Harbor (Quanzhou Bay). This three-mast ocean-going commercial vessel seems to have been originally built in Quanzhou in the 13th century, and at the time of the wreck, was returning from South-East Asia loaded with spices, medicines and other merchandise. Additionally, as well as being one of the major hubs of commerce and exchange along the Maritime Silk Roads, Quanzhou was a leading center for shipbuilding and the development of navigation technologies during the Song dynasty.
Sailors, merchants and explorers came together in Quanzhou from across many different regions of the world, and their continual presence in the city contributed to the development of peaceful coexistence between the many different ethnic and religious groups in the city, including Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Nestorians, Manichaeans, Jews, Catholics and Muslims. This is illustrated by the diversity of historic religious sites and monuments in the city of Quanzhou. The Kaiyuan temple, with its twin pagoda towers, is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China, whilst the Laojun statue, which is the biggest Chinese stone statue of its kind, illustrates the presence of Taoism. The Qingjing Mosque, furthermore, is China's oldest mosque, and stands as a witness to the long-lasting interaction between Quanzhou and the Arab-Islamic world. Additionally, the Cao An (Thatched Hut) Manichaean temple hosts the only stone statue of the Manichaean prophet, Mani.
Furthermore, a number of civic monuments such as the stone-beam bridge, Luoyang, and the scenic long bridge, Anping, not only stand as witnesses to the prosperity of the Quanzhou-Zaitun harbor, but also reflect a blend of Chinese and other cultures in their design and architecture.