Quanzhou

Quanzhou 泉州市 Chinchew
Prefecture-level city
Clockwise from top: Old City of Quanzhou, Zhangping–Quanzhou–Xiaocuo railway over the East Creek [zh], Quanzhou Worker's Cultural Palace, Luoyang Bridge and Chaotian Gate.
Quanzhou Show map of Fujian Quanzhou Show map of China
Coordinates (Quanzhou municipal government): 24°52′28″N 118°40′33″E / 24.8744°N 118.6757°E / 24.8744; 118.6757
Administered by	People's Republic of China
Claimed by	Republic of China
PRC Province	Fujian
ROC Province	Fuchien
Municipal seat	Fengze District
Government
• CPC Secretary	Kang Tao
• Mayor	Wang Yongli
Area
• Prefecture-level city	11,218.91 km2 (4,331.65 sq mi)
• Urban	872.4 km2 (336.8 sq mi)
• Metro	4,274.5 km2 (1,650.4 sq mi)
Population  (2020 census)[1]
• Prefecture-level city	8,782,285
• Density	780/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
• Urban	1,728,386
• Urban density	2,000/km2 (5,100/sq mi)
• Metro	6,669,711
• Metro density	1,600/km2 (4,000/sq mi)
GDP[2]
• Prefecture-level city	CN¥ 1.016 trillion US$ 147.3 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 115,768 US$ 18,180
Time zone	UTC+8 (CST)
Postal code	362000
Area code	0595
ISO 3166 code	CN-FJ-05
License Plate Prefixes	闽C
Local Dialect	Hokkien/Min Nan: Quanzhou dialect
Website	www.quanzhou.gov.cn
Chinese name
Chinese	泉州
Hokkien POJ	Choân-chiu
Postal	Chinchew
Literal meaning	"Spring Prefecture"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Quánzhōu Wade–Giles Ch'üan2-chou1 IPA [tɕʰɥɛ̌nʈʂóʊ] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Choân-chiu Tâi-lô Tsuân-tsiu
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Designated	2021 (44th session)
Reference no.	1561
Region	China

Quanzhou is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, People's Republic of China.^[a] It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, with an area of 11,245 square kilometers (4,342 sq mi) and a population of 8,782,285 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up area is home to 6,669,711 inhabitants, encompassing the Licheng, Fengze, and Luojiang urban districts; Jinjiang, Nan'an, and Shishi cities; Hui'an County; and the Quanzhou District for Taiwanese Investment. Quanzhou was China's 12th-largest extended metropolitan area in 2010.

Quanzhou was China's major port for foreign traders, who knew it as Zaiton,^[b] during the 11th through 14th centuries. It was visited by both Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta; both travelers praised it as one of the most prosperous and glorious cities in the world. It was the naval base from which the Mongol attacks on Japan and Java were primarily launched and a cosmopolitan center with Buddhist and Hindu temples, Islamic mosques, and Christian churches, including a Catholic cathedral and Franciscan friaries. A failed revolt prompted a massacre of the city's foreign communities in 1357. Economic dislocations—including piracy and an imperial overreaction to it during the Ming and Qing—reduced its prosperity, with Japanese trade shifting to Ningbo and Zhapu and other foreign trade restricted to Guangzhou. Quanzhou became an opium-smuggling center in the 19th century but the siltation of its harbor hindered trade by larger ships.

Because of its importance for medieval maritime commerce, unique mix of religious buildings, and extensive archeological remains, "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China [zh]" was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021.^[3]

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