Quanzhou

I recently came from a trip to Fujian where I stayed in Quanzhou for four days. This allowed me to visit 10 component sites leaving only the farthest ones out. Taking the recommendation of earlier reviews, I checked out the wind-praying inscriptions at Jiurishan upon arriving at the railway station. An AAAAA tourist attraction, the site is equipped with a luggage storage facility, which makes such arrangement convenient. Technically, Jiurishan is officially considered as the very starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, so it was good to start here. While the site does not have entrance fees, the two other "sacred mountains" of Quanzhou namely, Quinyuanshan (Stone statue of Lao Tze) and Lingshan (Islamic Tombs) require a steep 75RMB entrance fee each! Luckily, the ticket offices recognize the ICOMOS card, so I was able to enter for free. These three scenic spots, of which Quinyuanshan is in fact a sprawling national park that can easily take a day to explore, provide pleasant respites from the busy city. View points in Quinyuanshan offer amazing views of modern Quanzhou, too. What makes China enjoyable is the ease of transportation with their Alipay that already contains the Didi Travel app -- one cannot complain in paying only eight Dollars in covering a distance of 12 kilometers, for example. We used the old city as our base for the first two days, staying close to Kaiyuan Temple. This allows easy explorations to the temple and its historic block, and the adjoining Relic …

In my quest to cover every Chinese TWHS in the list I...wait, what? Already 2(!) reviews for Quanzhou?! I guess I don't need to add more than a thumbs up.

All jokes aside, it's no surprise Quanzhou has already been visited and reviewed due to the inscription attempt in 2018. It was first recommended not be inscribed but then overturned to have another look in 2020 (delayed until 2021 due to Covid-19). Normally the politics behind these inscriptions are not pleasant to read about because it all deals with cooperations between countries, favours (in this case Tunisia writing a referendum to have it inscribed) and plain old ass kissing. To compare, Saudi Arabia had the same situation with Al-Ahsa Oasis and after debating and all sorts of haggling within the nation's representatives it was eventually inscribed as world heritage site (referendum by Kuwait). So as you can see these games played for an inscription are ruining what was once a prestigious site that experts review for including them alongside The Great Wall, Yellowstone etc. that dilutes it into "one more won't hurt" rather than "quality of quantity". If the list grows to 2,000 in my lifetime I may just look back and see that every dust particle is inscribed. HOWEVER, in this case the advisory board got it completely wrong. You can definitely see all three criteria it aims for an inscription and I am surprised that it was viewed so badly during the advisor's visit. For me this …

What struck me during my recent China trip is that one is constantly time-travelling here: one city can be ultra-modern and the ‘next’ one still functioning in a time-warp 15 years back. This also is the case with Xiamen and Quanzhou, superficially similar cities located half an hour by fast train from each other on the South-East Coast. Where Xiamen feels like a subtropical version of Shanghai including the European architecture, Quanzhou is a run-of-the-mill Chinese city diligently working for progress. If we are interpreting the signs well, Quanzhou's historic monuments will be China’s WH candidate for 2020 after 'earning' a referral last year.

Quanzhou had its heydays in the 10th – 14th centuries when it was an important stop on the Maritime Silk Road. The Chinese traded from here with countries in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.

Quanzhou’s nomination undoubtedly will focus on its multi-religious character. Its Unique Selling Point for that is the Qingjing Mosque. Built in 1009, it today is the oldest Arab-style mosque in China. I visited on a Friday, it was prayer day and from all sides Chinese (and foreign-looking) Muslims were arriving. The old mosque has mostly fallen into ruins, but next to it is a new building that is still in full use.

Tourists have to buy a ticket for 3 Yuan at the visitor center at the back before being allowed to enter through the impressive gate. The old part of the mosque complex consists of 2 …

Visited June 2017

Quanzhou is located in Fujian province, on the southeast coast of China, around 100 km NE from Xiamen. It was a very important port and starting point of the Chinese maritime silk road during Middle Ages. From its Arabic name, Zaytoun, the English/French name of satin (sateen) was derived, because this fabric was originally made of silk.

The history of city is shaped by its maritime trading connections and activities. A long time ago its historical heart was located closer to the sea; now port facilities are far from the city center.

The nominated sites and monument are scattered around the city and its environs. And that means it is not possible to visit/see all components in one day, even if you have your own mean of transport. In total there are 16 components and they can be divided into three categories: 1. Sites and monuments related to maritime trade activities (examples: * site of worship: Jiuri Hill Relics and Inscription; * Administrative site: Shibosi Office Relic; * Navigation facilities: Shihu Docks, Fashi Docks, Wanshou Pagoda, Liusheng Pagoda; * Transportation facilities: Luoyang Bridge; Anping Bridge; *production sites: Kiln Sites at Jinjiaoyi Hill); 2. Sites and monuments related to culture/religion (Kaiyuan Temple – Buddhist and Hindu; Qingjing Mosque and Islamic cemetery – Islam; Cao’an Temple – Manicheism; Confucius Temple – Confucianism; Stone Statue of Lao Tze – Taoism; Tianhou Temple -Mazu, goddess of sea); 3. Sites and monuments related to urban development (city walls and gates; street layout …