Temple
Kaiyuan Temple
Fujian's largest Buddhist temple, built in 686 AD, featuring the iconic East and West Pagodas - China's tallest ancient stone twin pagodas. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
6:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Free
Quanzhou's history dates back over 1,700 years. The city was officially established during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and quickly developed into an important trading port.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Quanzhou became China's most important international port, handling trade with Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, and beyond. The city's shipbuilding industry flourished, and Chinese maritime technology reached new heights.
The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) marked the golden age of Quanzhou. Marco Polo visited the city around 1292 and described it as "one of the two ports in the world with the greatest flow of merchandise." The city's population exceeded 500,000, with communities of Arab, Persian, Indian, and Southeast Asian merchants living and trading there.
This cosmopolitan era left a remarkable religious legacy. Buddhist temples, Taoist shrines, Islamic mosques, Hindu temples, and even Manichaean churches coexisted in the city. The Qingjing Mosque, built in 1009, is one of China's oldest mosques and still stands today.
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) brought changes as maritime restrictions limited foreign trade. However, Quanzhou remained a cultural and religious center. During this period, many Chinese emigrated from Quanzhou to Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and beyond, establishing Quanzhou as one of China's major ancestral homelands for overseas Chinese.
Today, Quanzhou continues to honor its maritime heritage while developing as a modern economic powerhouse. The city's UNESCO World Heritage designation in 2021 has brought renewed international attention to this remarkable chapter of global history.
