Quanzhou

 

(chwän'jō') , formerly Tsinkiang (chĭn'jyäng', tsĭn'kyäng') , 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.

"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.

泉州市
Quánzhōu Shì

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	Unknown
Major Nationalities	Han
County-level divisions	12 (11 in practice, less Quemoy)
Township-level divisions	Unknown
Area Code	595
Postal Code	362000

Quanzhou (Chinese: 泉州; pinyin: Quánzhōu; Wade-Giles: Ch'üan²-chou¹) 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 Taiwan.

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.

Dialect

Min Nan (traditional Chinese: 閩南語; simplified Chinese: 闽南语)

Governance

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

• Licheng District (鯉城區)
• Fengze District (丰澤區)
• Luojiang District (洛江區)
• Quangang District (泉港區)
• Shishi City (石獅市)
• Jinjiang City (晉江市)
• Nan'an City (南安市)
• Hui'an County (惠安縣)
• Anxi County (安溪縣)
• Yongchun County (永春縣)
• Dehua County (德化縣)
• Jinmen County (金門縣) - disputed

Culture

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

• Liyuan Opera（梨園戯)
• Puppet Show (傀儡戲）
• Gaojia Opera （高甲戯）
• Dacheng Opera （打城戯）

Famous Product

• Dehua Porcelain(德化瓷器）
• Huian Stoneware（惠安石刻）
• Anxi Tieguanyin（安溪鐵觀音）

Transport

JinJiang Domestic Airport

Colleges and universities

• Huaqiao University (national)
• Quanzhou Normal College (public)
• Quanzhou Medical College (public)
• Yang-en University (private)

References

• Brown, Bill (2004). Mystic Quanzhou: City of Light. Xiamen, China: Xiamen University Press.

External links

• History of Arabs in Quanzhou
• Government website of Quanzhou (in Simplified Chinese)
• Government website of Quanzhou (in English)
• Introduction to Quanzhou (archive link, was dead)
• English Guide to Fujian China

Prefecture-level divisions of Fujian Sub-provincial cities: Xiamen Prefecture-level cities: Fuzhou | Longyan | Nanping | Ningde Putian | Quanzhou | Sanming | Zhangzhou

List of Fujian County-level divisions

Coordinates: 24°55′N, 118°35′Ecdo:Ciòng-ciŭ

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