Quanzhou

Quánzhōu shì ; 泉州市; Quanzhou
	Quanzhou
	Quanzhou
Coordinates	24 ° 55 ' N , 118 ° 35' E Coordinates: 24 ° 55 ' N , 118 ° 35' E
Basic data
Country	People's Republic of China
province	Fujian
ISO 3166-2	CN-FJ
surface	11,244 km²
Residents	7,860,000 (2010)
density	699 Ew. / km²
politics
mayor	KĀNG Tāo (康涛)
Political party	CCP
	Road traffic in Quanzhou

Quanzhou ( Chinese 泉州市 , Pinyin Quánzhōu shì ; obsolete n. Post Chinchew , short: 泉 , Quán , 鲤 , Lǐ ) is a district-free city in the southeast Chinese province of Fujian . The administrative area of Quanzhou has an area of 11,244 km² and a population of 7.86 million (2010). The city had one of the most important ports in the world during the Yuan Dynasty . Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta are among the city's most famous visitors .

Administrative structure

Quanzhou City County Level

At the county level, the city of Quanzhou consists of four urban districts, three independent cities and four counties. They are:

Fengze district 丰泽 Stadt, 132 km², 180,000 inhabitants;
District Licheng鲤城区, 52 km², 270,000 inhabitants;
District Luojiang洛江区, 382 square kilometers, 170,000 inhabitants;
Quangang District 泉港区, 326 km², 370,000 inhabitants;
Jinjiang City 晋江市, 721 km², 1.03 million inhabitants;
City Nan'an南安市, 2,035 square kilometers, 1.48 million;
Shishi City 石狮市, 189 km², 310,000 inhabitants;
Anxi安溪县county , 2,983 km², 1.07 million inhabitants, main town: Fengcheng凤城镇municipality ;
Circle Dehua德化县, 2210 km², 310,000 inhabitants, capital: greater community Xunzhong浔中镇;
Hui'an惠安县county , 762 km², 920,000 inhabitants, main town: Luocheng螺城镇 municipality;
District Yongchun永春县, 1452 km², 550,000 inhabitants, capital: greater community Taocheng桃城镇.

In addition, the People's Republic of China regards the Jinmen island group off the coast, which is under the control of the Republic of China in Taiwan , as Jinmen County (金门县) of the city of Quanzhou.

location

Quanzhou is located near the junction of the Jin Jiang and Taiwan Straits in southern Fujian Province. The city has a very mild climate with average annual temperatures of 15 to 21 degrees Celsius.

history

Under the name Zaytoun , also Zaytun or Zaitun , ( 刺桐城 , Cìtóng Chéng ), which was derived from the Chinese tree name Citong for the many Indian coral trees in the area, Quanzhou was an important trading port as early as the fifth century. From here was silk exports to the Arab world and the name of the city was in Arabic to the term for silk with satin weave : atlas zaytuni "silk Zaytun". This word gets into German as satin through Spanish and French mediation .

Its importance reached its peak in the thirteenth century, when the Silk Road had become too unsafe due to numerous wars and robberies and the Silk Road of the Seas was therefore preferred. The Quanzhou ship's discovery testifies to the brisk trading activity during the Song Dynasty . Many Arab and Persian merchants lived in the city during the Song and Yuan dynasties . There were trade routes to Africa and Arabia in the west and to what is now Indonesia . There are also theories that the Quanzhouse Arabs brought Chinese inventions such as gunpowder and printing to the West and thus to Europe .

In the Ming and Qing dynasties , the port slowly fell into disrepair, not least because of the sea trade ban that existed for a time. The overpopulated city was affected by numerous waves of emigration to Southeast Asia and Taiwan .

economy

Quanzhou is the city with the greatest economic power among the prefecture-level cities of Fujian. Quanzhou is an important stone cutting center and in the area around the city there are quarries as well as countless companies that are involved in the production of memorial plaques, statues or just beautiful stones. Tiles with which many houses in China are clad on the outside are also made. As a result, Quanzhou and the surrounding area are exposed to very high levels of dust.

Gross domestic product : 122.3 billion yuan
GDP per capita: 16,650 renminbi

Figures: Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2003 (figures from 2002)

Attractions

The Buddhist Kaiyuan Temple ( 开元寺 , Kāiyuán Sì ) is a huge temple complex built during the Song era just outside the city center. Although only partially preserved, it still covers an area of 6000 square meters. It is dominated by the twin pagodas added in the 13th century , which are very solidly built and, in addition to some earthquakes, have survived the Cultural Revolution unscathed. The pagodas and the main hall are adorned with precious carvings. At the western end of the complex there is an old mulberry tree on which, according to legend, lotus blossoms appeared, which gave rise to the construction of the temple and which is also responsible for the temple's surname, the lotus blossom temple .

Qingjing mosque

The Muslim Qingjing Mosque ( 清淨寺 , Qīngjìng Sì ) is also only partially preserved, but it was founded around the year 1000 and thus one of the oldest mosques that still exist in China. Since it has a very Arabic style by Chinese standards, it is evidence of how high the number of Arabic-born residents of Quanzhou must have been during the city's heyday.

The Daoist Tonghuai Guanyue Temple ( 通淮关岳庙 , Tōnghuái Guanyue Miao ) colloquially usually Tumen Guandi Temple ( 涂门关帝庙 , Tōnghuái Guandi Miao called), is a so-called Daoist Wenwu Temple ( 文武庙 , Wénwǔ Miao ) . The temple is dedicated to the heroes Guan Yu , Yue Fei and the philosopher Confucius . This very lively temple is guarded by life-size guardian statues on horses. Inside the temple you can see wall engravings showing scenes from the life of Guan Yu.

The “Maritime Museum of the History of Overseas Traffic ” ( 泉州海外交通史博物馆 , Hǎiwài Jiāotōngshǐ Bówùguǎn ) shows the history of the sea trade that once made Quanzhou rich. It has countless ship models, including those of the legendary Admiral Zheng He , and illustrates how far ahead China was than medieval Europe.

reachability

Quanzhou has a newly built airport about 20 km east of the city. But it only has a few domestic connections.

Quanzhou is about a two- hour drive north of Xiamen City and a 4-5 hour drive south of Fuzhou City , both with international airports. There are frequent bus connections from both cities. There are also long-distance buses to many other cities in China.

Quanzhou has had a train station since 2010, which serves China's high-speed rail network. There are direct connections to Xiamen, Fuzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai, among others.