Maritime trade sites in Quanzhou named on World Heritage List
2021-07-25
Skyline of historical neighborhood of Quanzhou [Photo by Chen Yingjie for chinadaily.com.cn]
"Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China" was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List on Sunday during the ongoing 44th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province.
The new entry includes 22 sites and monuments across Quanzhou, a city in the southeast Fujian province, that reflect a prosperous picture of maritime trade from the 10th to 14th centuries.
Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties witnessed a peak time of Chinese maritime trade, and Quanzhou, then known overseas as Zayton, grew to be one of the busiest seaports in the world during this era.
Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions: Carved in the cliff, these inscriptions record the ritual ceremonies held by state commissioners, local officials and members of the imperial clan responsible for the management of overseas trade in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Their purpose was to pray for favorable winds to aid voyages. [Photo by Wang Kaihao/ chinadaily.com.cn]
The 22 representative historic monuments and locations include sites of administrative buildings and structures, the infrastructure representing the structure of the city such as city gates, walls and road networks, religious sites and statues that witnessed multi-cultural communities, cultural memorial sites and monuments, production sites of ceramics and iron, as well as a transportation network formed by bridges, docks and pagodas that guided voyages.
These component sites comprehensively reflect Song-Yuan Quanzhou's highly integrated maritime trade structure that combines production, transportation and marketing, and the diversity social system that formed by the supporting institution, communities and cultural elements, according to Quanzhou World Cultural Heritage Nomination Office.
Site of Maritime Trade Office: This was an administrative agency established by the governments of the Song and Yuan dynasties in Quanzhou to manage maritime trade affairs. [Photo by Wang Jun for chinadaily.com.cn]
They demonstrate a whole set of processes and core parts of Quanzhou's maritime trade system in the Song and Yuan period, a diverse social structure of multicultural coexistence supporting operation of maritime trade functions, and vast and diversified geographical and economic regions that Quanzhou's maritime trade relies on.
Site of Deji Gate: The remains of the southern gate to the old city of Quanzhou. [Photo by Wang Kaihao/chinadaily.com.cn]
Key sites in the serial property include Kaiyuan Temple, Luoyang Bridge, Qingjing Mosque--one of the oldest mosques in China--and archaeological site of the Maritime Trade Office, which was first established in 1087 as a national-level institution guiding the trade and got excavated in 2020.
"Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China" is China's 56th entry to the World Heritage List.
Tianhou Temple: This site is dedicated to the worship of Mazu, the sea goddess. [Photo by Wang Kaihao/chinadaily.com.cn]
Zhenwu Temple: The Taoist temple is dedicated to the worship of Emperor Zhenwu and the landmark within the port was the venue chosen by Quanzhou officials to offer sacrifices to the sea. [Photo by Cheng Dongdong for chinadaily.com.cn]
Site of Southern Clan Office: This was an administrative agency established for Song Dynasty kinsmen who relocated to Quanzhou in 1130 and after. [Photo by Wang Jun for chinadaily.com.cn]
Confucius Temple and School: A place for Confucians to offer sacrifice and the city's highest institute of education. [Photo by Wang Kaihao/chinadaily.com.cn]
Kaiyuan Temple: The largest Buddhist temple in Quanzhou with top-ranked official status during the Song-Yuan period. [Photo by Cheng Dongdong for chinadaily.com.cn]
Statue of Lao Tze: China's largest surviving Taoist stone carving statue. [Photo by Wang Kaihao/chinadaily.com.cn]
