Medieval travellers called it Zaitun, and to Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta it was one of the greatest ports in the world. Quanzhou, on the coast of Fujian facing Taiwan, flourished under the Song and Yuan dynasties as a hub of maritime trade, where Arab, Persian, Indian and Southeast Asian merchants lived alongside Chinese traders, and ships left laden with silk and porcelain. In 2021 UNESCO inscribed a group of sites as Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China, including temples, mosques, tombs, kilns, bridges and docks that together tell the story of this cosmopolitan city.
In the city itself, the Kaiyuan temple with its twin stone pagodas, the Qingjing mosque, one of the oldest in China, and the Islamic tombs on Lingshan hill, where two companions of the Prophet are said to be buried, show the mix of faiths that trade brought. A statue of Laozi carved from a single rock sits on Qingyuan mountain, smiling gently over the city.
Riding here comes with serious caveats. Many Chinese cities restrict or ban motorcycles in central areas, and foreign riders need a Chinese driving licence and often an organised tour to ride legally. The roads around Quanzhou are busy, with heavy traffic, electric scooters, trucks and buses, and the coastal plain is densely built up. Out in the hills of inland Fujian, among tea plantations and the round earthen tulou houses of the Hakka, the roads are quieter and more scenic. The best seasons are autumn and spring; summer brings heat, humidity and typhoons.
Fuel and services are everywhere in this prosperous region, and Jinjiang, the nearest large town, is a centre of the shoe and textile industries. Quanzhou's food is a highlight: oyster omelettes, noodle soups and the beef broths of the old town, with tea from the hills of Anxi, home of the famous Tieguanyin oolong.