Coastal Ancient City of Fuzhou, Not the Provincial Capital, But Leads the Province Economically for 21 Years
This place was formerly known as a Buddhist kingdom, with saints everywhere. This is not boastful exaggeration of modern people, but the inscription words of the famous Confucianist and rationalist master Zhu Xi from the Southern Song Dynasty for the at the entrance of the Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. Visitors can still see it in front of the main hall today. This shows that Quanzhou has been deeply connected with Buddhism since ancient times, and Zhu Xi's words are not empty talk.
Quanzhou is located on the southeast coast, and as early as the second year of Emperor Jingyun in the Tang Dynasty (711), Quanzhou City had already taken shape. Because at that time this place was not a major city, it did not receive much attention from the imperial court. The local's unique geographical location and water conditions were very suitable for shipping, so starting from the Song Dynasty, Quanzhou vigorously developed shipping. By the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it had become the world's largest commercial port, which was five to six hundred years ahead of European people's Age of Exploration.
Today, Quanzhou has been announced as the anchor point of the Maritime Silk Road by the United Nations. Various related historical materials and objects, and ruins all confirm this. Although Quanzhou is not the provincial capital of Fujian Province (Fuzhou is the provincial capital), nor is it the most outstanding tourist city in Fujian Province (such as Xiamen and Wuyi Mountain), Quanzhou is still considered the head of the most ancient history and the most distinctive religious cultural features in Fujian, it's undeniable!
As we all know, Quanzhou is one of China's most famous (qiu Xiang -), and now scattered throughout 129 countries and regions, there are nearly 800 Chinese-Fuzhou people ( – huaxiao huaren – Chinese overseas residents) living as Quanzhou natives. In the opposite of the Strait, Taiwan Island, there are about 900 Han Chinese people with Quanzhou roots. We stayed at a guesthouse in Huaqiuxin Village, Lincun, which is where the famous overseas Chinese people lived. There are many well-arranged and beautiful villas and buildings there. Now Huaqiuxin Village is gradually being developed into a leisure settlement district with integrated tourism homestay and art tourism (Huaqiuxin Culture and Creative Street, No. 5, Row 7, Huaqiuxin Village, Quanzhou).
The owner of our guesthouse, Mr. Afu, is a senior homestay player. He has been running the first youth hostel in Quanzhou to the west of the old street more than ten years ago. With the increasing fame of Quanzhou Ancient City in China, the small youth hostel can no longer meet the needs of accommodating tourists, so Mr. and Mrs. Afu moved their shop to the Huaixing Building in Huaixing Village. But the name of the guesthouse still used the original youth hostel's signboard – 'Guan Yi' (Guan Yi No. 7 Inn, No. 5, Row 7, Huaqiuxin Village, Quanzhou).
During a chat with Mr. Afu about the changes in Quanzhou's ancient city, I clearly felt his deep affection for Quanzhou. In his eyes, Quanzhou is a very special city. Calling it 'special' is not only because it has a history of a thousand years and abundant cultural relics and scenic spots, but also because it is a 'hidden gem in the city'
For example, although Quanzhou has the title of 'starting point of the Maritime Silk Road', it has not been deeply developed with related tourist attractions and scenic spots; if it is called 'China's Second Tier City', it does not rely on the general approach of 'demolition-construction-demolition-construction' adopted by many coastal cities in Southeast China to drive economic growth. Quanzhou always gives people a 'quiet and complacent' feeling.
Take the tourism industries of all districts in Fujian Province, for example. All cities with relevant humanities and natural resources – regardless of whether they have them – concentrate their efforts on promoting themselves to domestic and international tourists. Tourists come, money comes, and cities become prosperous. This seems to have become a matter of course, but Quanzhou has a history and cultural relics of more than a thousand years, and scenic spots are all over the place, but it has never been quiet and low-key all along.
Interestingly, Quanzhou, with its low-key style, has been ranking as the first in Fujian Province's economic rankings for 21 consecutive years since 1998. It's hard to imagine that Quanzhou's success didn't sacrifice too much land, didn't extensively dig and build, and didn't conduct large-scale demolition and construction. It simply relied on cultural heritage and service industry to revitalize the needs of economic development. If you have recently been to Quanzhou's old city, you may have noticed the large areas of ancient buildings that have been preserved intact – which is a great miracle!
