Allure of age-old port charms today's tourists

A port city with a rich maritime history and once a melting pot of the world's religions, Quanzhou offers tourists age-old charms.

Famous as the start of the Maritime Silk Road and the largest port in Asia during the Song and Yuan dynasties (960-1368), Quanzhou was once visited by legendary travelers Marco Polo and Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta, who compared Quanzhou to the Egyptian port of Alexandria.

The Maritime Silk Road, which ran from China through Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean to Europe, started about the time of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and reached its peak during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Chinese navigator Zheng He and his fleets in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) also participated in maritime trade along the route.

The Quanzhou Maritime Museum is an ideal place to learn about the harbor city's rich history.

One of very few maritime museums in the country, it is designed to resemble a sailing ship. It offers free entry and a free tour guide.

The museum has a number of replicas of ancient boats ranging from brigs to schooners and battleships from different dynasties.

A hall displaying carved headstones and monuments for foreign merchants and missionaries who died in the city reflect Quanzhou's status as a "World Museum of Religions" as selected by UNESCO.

While some gravestones mix Chinese, Persian and Arabic languages, several Christian tombstones bear interesting images of angels resembling apsaras - female cloud and water spirits from Buddhist mythology.

A display of treasures from the Maritime Silk Road, titled Over the Sea, is currently on show at the museum. The exhibition, which will run through March 8, presents more than 200 items from museums in nine cities that once played a role along the crucial route for trade and cultural transmission.

Exhibits include not only a wide range of exported porcelain, silk pieces and other specialties from China, but articles such as jewelry and mirrors from Europe discovered in the country as well as items from ancient international contact including some of the earliest Christian relics in China.

Not far from the maritime museum is the majestic Qingjing Mosque, another example of Quanzhou's tolerance of the world's religions. Also known as the Ashab Mosque, it was built in 1009 to resemble a mosque in Damascus, Syria, making it one of the oldest Arab-style mosques in China.

A 20-meter-high arched gate made of green granite shows the way to domes carved with lotus motifs and Arabic scriptures.

Islamic preachers followed Arabic trade contacts to Quanzhou as early as the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The Ashab Mosque's worship hall later became the center of Islamic religion in the region.

Although the hall's largest dome collapsed during an earthquake, the open-air, spacious and grassy field dotted with gigantic pillars still evokes an awe-inspiring sense of solemnity. In the city's northern outskirts, Qingyuan Mountain is also a tourist draw. In addition to numerous rocks and caverns, the leafy mountain boasts one of the country's largest statues of sage Lao Tzu, the founder of Chinese Taoism.

Built in the Song Dynasty and carved out of a single rock, the statue is 5.6 meters high, 6.85 meters thick and 8 meters wide.

It sits in a cross-legged position and seems to be smiling. Craftsmanship gave the statue a serene and carefree charm that makes it a symbol of the longevity long respected by local people.

Touring Quanzhou is relaxing and eye-opening. Because it is a less popular destination than Xiamen, a silver lining is the lack of other tourists, which undoubtedly makes visiting the city a more enjoyable experience. After a long day of sightseeing, visitors can wind down by enjoying one of the free performances of Nanyin traditional opera in several parks in the evening sung in the Minnan - southern Fujian - dialect that has been in use for more than 1,000 years.

Contact the writers through sunli@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/12/2015 page7)