Quanzhou

[chwahn-joh]

Quanzhou, formerly Tsinkiang, town (1994 est. pop. 207,800), SE Fujian prov., China, on an inlet of Taiwan Strait. Local handicrafts, machine tools, fertilizer, sugar, and flour are produced. Quanzhou has been identified with Zaiton (Zaitun or Zayton), which was the departure point for Marco Polo's return journey. The Overseas Chinese Univ. is in the town. The name sometimes appears as Ch'üan-chou.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

Quanzhou

"Zaytun" redirects here. For the South Korean military division in Iraq, see Zaytun Division.

The characters 泉州 are also used for "Senshū," an alternate name for the former Japanese province of Izumi.

Quánzhōu Shì
泉州市
Chôan-chiu Chhi

Coordinates	24°54′49"N,118°34'59"E
Administration Type	Prefecture-level city
Area	11,015 km² (excluding Quemoy)
Population	7.52 million (excluding Quemoy)
GDP - Total (2007) - Per Capita (2007)	¥228.9 billion ¥ 29,664
Major Nationalities	Hokkien Chinese: Han
County-level divisions	12 (11 in practice, less Quemoy)
Township-level divisions	Unknown
Area Code	595
Postal Code	362000

Quanzhou (Min Nan: Chôan-chiu) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two (Ningde and Nanping) and faces the Taiwan Strait. In older English works, its name may appear as Chinchew or Chinchu. In medieval Western accounts it is known as Zaytun or Zaitun, from the Arabic transcription (زيتون).

The People's Republic of China claims Jinmen County — more widely known as Quemoy — as part of Quanzhou, but the territory is currently under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China.

History

Quanzhou was established in 718 during the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-907). In those days, Guangzhou was China's greatest seaport, but this status would be surpassed later by Quanzhou. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Quanzhou was one of the world's largest seaports, hosting a large community of foreign-born inhabitants from across the Eurasian world. Due to its reputation, Quanzhou has been called the starting point of the Silk Road via the sea. In The Travels of Marco Polo, Quanzhou (called Zayton, T'swan-Chau or Chin-Cheu) was listed as the departure point for Marco Polo's expedition to escort the 17-year-old Mongol princess pride Kököchin to her new husband in the Persian Ilkhanate.

Quanzhou is also a migration source of many Overseas Chinese living in South East Asia and to Taiwan during the last couple of centuries.

Geography

Quanzhou is a coastal prefecture bordered by Xiamen sub-provincial city to the south west. It also forms another border with Zhangzhou and Longyan prefecture level city towards the west. Putian and Fuzhou forms Quanzhou's north east border and Sanming from the north.

Quanzhou is mountainous and has many rivers and tributaries originating from the interior.

Dialect

Local people speak a variant of Min Nan which is similar to Amoy and Taiwanese.

Governance

The prefecture-level city of Quanzhou administers 4 districts, 3 county-level cities and 5 counties.

Licheng District (鲤城区)
Fengze District (丰泽区)
Luojiang District (洛江区)
Quangang District (泉港区)
Shishi City (石狮市)
Jinjiang City (晋江市)
Nan'an City (南安市)
Hui'an County (惠安县)
Anxi County (安溪县)
Yongchun County (永春县)
Dehua County (德化县)
Jinmen County (金门县) - disputed

Economy

Quanzhou is a major exporter of agricultural products such as tea, banana, lychee and rice. It is also a major producer of quarry granite and ceramics. Other industries include textiles, footwear, fashion and apparel, packaging, machinery, paper and petrochemicals.

Quanzhou is the biggest automotive market in Fujian, it has the highest number of private automobile possession.

Culture

Quanzhou is one of the twenty-four famous historic cultural cities first approved by the Chinese Government.

Liyuan Opera（梨园戯)
Puppet Show (傀儡戏）
Gaojia Opera （高甲戯）
Dacheng Opera （打城戯）

Famous products

Dehua Porcelain （德化瓷器）
Huian Stoneware （惠安石刻）
Anxi Tieguanyin （安溪铁观音）

Transport

Quanzhou is an important transport hub within south eastern Fujian province. Many export industries in the Fujian interior cities will transport goods to Quanzhou ports.Quanzhou Port was one of the most prosperous port in Tang Dynasty while now still an important one for exporting. Quanzhou is also connected by major roads from Fuzhou to the north and Xiamen to the south. Jinjiang Domestic Airport is Quanzhou's airport servicing flights within Fujian province and other destinations.