Quanzhou has successfully applied for the world heritage, and China has added another world heritage list! 22 representative historic sites

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"Quanzhou: China's world marine trade center in song and Yuan Dynasties" project

Successfully passed the evaluation of the 44th World Heritage conference,

Become the 56th World Heritage site in China!

Quanzhou was once one of the highly prosperous business centers in the world marine trade network in the 10th-14th century. As a dialogue window between China and the world in the song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou showed China's complete marine trade system, developed economic level and diversified and inclusive cultural attitude.

The 22 representative historic sites in Quanzhou's World Heritage application include: jiuri mountain Qifeng stone carving, shibosi site, dejimen site, Tianhou palace, Zhenwu temple, nanwaizongzhengsi site, Quanzhou Fuwen temple, Kaiyuan Temple, laojunyan statue, Qingjing temple, Islamic holy tomb, maniguang Buddha statue in Caoan, Cizao kiln, Dehua kiln, Caopu iron smelting site in Qingyang, Anxi, Luoyang Bridge Anping bridge, Shunji bridge site, Jiangkou wharf, Shihu wharf, Liusheng tower and Wanshou tower.

On July 16, the 44th World Heritage Conference opened in Fuzhou“ The project submitted to the world ocean trade center in Quanzhou, China for deliberation. After the opening ceremony, the conference was held online, which was the first time in the history of UNESCO to consider World Heritage issues online.

As early as June 4, the World Heritage Center website updated the evaluation results of 45 declared projects this year. China's declared "Quanzhou: China's world marine trade center in the song and Yuan Dynasties" obtained the evaluation result of ICOMOS to meet the standard (IV) "it is recommended to be included in (I)" without reservation.

Quanzhou is a world-wide and unique city

General secretary Xi Jinping wrote in the preface of "Fuzhou ancient house": Fuzhou, Quanzhou and other four national historical and cultural cities are the pride of Fujian. During his work in Fujian, General Secretary Xi also personally presided over the study of Quanzhou's World Heritage application.

According to historical records, Quanzhou, known as "Erythrina" in ancient times, was built in the Tang Dynasty. Since then, the city has been continuously built, repaired and expanded through the song, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are rich historical relics buried in the city and its affiliated areas, including urban defense facilities, street offices, temples and so on.

Secondly, Quanzhou is not only a famous historical and cultural city in China, but also known as the world-famous "largest port in the East" in the song and Yuan Dynasties. It is also the starting point of the maritime Silk Road in China.

From the 10th to the 14th century, that is, the song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou flourished in the prosperous international marine trade. It had trade with more than 100 countries and regions, gathered multi-cultural exchanges and coexisted harmoniously, and became a port city with business travel and multi-cultural integration of all countries.

Today, the relevant relics left in Quanzhou include relics related to ocean trade such as ports, shipwrecks, city ship secretaries, porcelain kilns and porcelain, as well as cultural relics left due to foreign exchanges and exchanges. Their representatives include religious facilities such as Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Nestorianism, which reflect that Quanzhou once gathered and integrated different nationalities Culture and religion.

As revealed today, the 22 historic sites and their related environments in Quanzhou constitute the representative sites of Quanzhou's world marine trade center in song and Yuan Dynasties, and become the common cultural heritage of mankind.

22 heritage elements and their associated environments carrying key value characteristics, including administrative organization and facility sites, multi community religious buildings and statues, historical sites of cultural monuments, ceramic and iron smelting production bases, and water and land transportation network composed of bridges, docks and navigation towers, It completely reflects the distinctive overseas trade system and diversified social structure of Quanzhou in the song and Yuan Dynasties.

This series of heritage records the remarkable prosperity and achievements of Quanzhou in the song and Yuan Dynasties. It is an outstanding example of a world marine trade engine port. It has a highly integrated regional integration spatial structure with production, transportation and marketing functions, as well as a diverse settlement landscape with Chinese and foreign styles, showing the exchange of economic and cultural development views between the agricultural civilization of the East Asian Empire and the world marine commercial civilization, It has witnessed the diversified and common prosperity marine business tradition accumulated and inherited so far.

As a dialogue window between China and the world civilization in the song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou showed a complete institutional system, developed economic level and inclusive cultural attitude, and made outstanding contributions to the high prosperity of Asian marine trade and the social development of East and Southeast Asia in that period.

Shi Jinsong, researcher and deputy director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that such a city, whether geographically or culturally, has its back to the inland and faces the sea. From this perspective, the archaeological significance of Quanzhou city is not limited to a city or a region. Whether Quanzhou was used as a port to communicate between the East and the West in the past or as a human cultural heritage today, it has worldwide significance.

In addition, Quanzhou has 4 and 34 world-class and national "intangible cultural heritage" lists and 44 national key cultural relics protection units. It is the only city in China with three categories of UN intangible cultural heritage projects. The openness and inclusiveness of marine culture and the economic vitality of Quanzhou have been maintained since ancient times. By 2020, Quanzhou has ranked first in Fujian Province for 22 consecutive years.

Quanzhou is also a famous hometown of overseas Chinese in China and the main ancestral home of Han compatriots in Taiwan. More than 7.2 million overseas Chinese and Chinese of Quanzhou nationality live all over the world. They are passionate about Sangzi construction in their hometown, or invest in setting up factories, schools and educating people, or donate money to charity, or set up public welfare, which has become a link and bridge between Quanzhou and the world.

Quanzhou also lists the 6.41 square kilometer ancient city of Quanzhou as the buffer zone for world heritage declaration. It adheres to the principle of "seeing people, seeing things and seeing life". Authenticity protection, living utilization and home style co construction make the elderly feel nostalgic, young people feel fashionable, overseas Chinese feel local and outsiders feel Southern Fujian.

The city has finally won praise from the world. In the future, it will also open a new situation of protection and utilization!

22 heritage sites for World Heritage Application

1. Jiuri mountain wind praying stone carving

Jiuri mountain wind praying stone carvings are a group of cliff stone carvings recording the wind praying ceremony held by national commissioners, local officials and royal family members responsible for overseas trade management in Quanzhou in the Song Dynasty, which reflects the advocacy and control of national forces on marine trade under the city ship system in the Song Dynasty.

2. Shibosi site

Shibo department is an administrative organ set up by the state power of song and Yuan Dynasties to manage marine trade affairs in Quanzhou.

3. Dejimen site

Dejimen site is the South Gate site of Quanzhou City in song and Yuan Dynasties. It records the history of Quanzhou city's expansion to the south in song and Yuan Dynasties. It is an important landmark of the commercial urban area in the south of the city and reflects the official administrative guarantee for marine trade and urban commercial development.

4. Tian Hou Palace

Tian Hou palace is the first stop for foreign merchants and goods to enter Quanzhou City. It is also the first stop for overseas trade along the Jinjiang River to Jiangkou wharf or Shihu wharf after people at sea worship the sea god Mazu.

5. Zhenwu Temple

Zhenwu temple is a Taoist temple offering sacrifices to Zhenwu emperor in the song and Yuan Dynasties. It is also an important landmark of the ancient stone port.

6. Nanwaizongzhengsi site

Nanwai zongzhengsi was an organization that managed the nanwai royal group who moved to Quanzhou during the Jianyan period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 ~ 1130).

7. Quanzhou Confucian Temple

Quanzhou Confucian temple and school Palace are the symbols of Quanzhou elite groups, including government officials and senior intellectuals. These social elites played an important role in the promotion and management of marine trade in the song and Yuan Dynasties.

8. Kaiyuan Temple

Kaiyuan Temple was the largest and most prominent Buddhist temple in Quanzhou during the song and Yuan Dynasties.

9. Laojunyan statue

Laojunyan statue is the stone statue of Laozi, the founder of Taoism, and the largest existing Taoist stone statue in China.

10. Qingjing Temple

Quanzhou Qingjing temple is a rare worship temple built of granite and diabase in China. The existing important relics include stone gatehouse and temple of heaven, showing the distinctive characteristics of Islamic temples in Western Asia.

11. Islamic holy tomb

According to the records of Min Shu, it is said that during the period of Wude of Tang Dynasty (618-626), four Muhammad disciples came to China and one of them preached in Guangzhou; Erxian missionary Yangzhou; Sanxian and Sixian preached in Quanzhou and died at the south foot of Lingshan mountain outside the east gate, so they are also called Sanxian and Sixian tombs. Deeply respected by Muslims, the tombs of the two sages are also called "holy tombs", which is one of the earliest historical material evidence of the introduction of Islam into China.

12. Statue of Mani light Buddha in Cao'an

The mani light Buddha statue in Cao'an is the only preserved stone statue of Manichaeism leader in the world

13. Magnetic stove kiln site

Cizao kiln site is an outstanding representative of export porcelain kiln sites in the suburbs of Quanzhou during the song and Yuan Dynasties, which reflects the industrial structure of Quanzhou characterized by foreign trade handicraft industry.

14. Dehua kiln site

Dehua kiln is one of the birthplaces of Chinese ceramic culture and occupies an important historical position in the history of Chinese ceramics.

15. Anxi Qingyang xiacaopu iron smelting site

It is a precious witness of Quanzhou's iron smelting handicraft industry in the song and Yuan Dynasties. Together with Quanzhou's ceramic production base, it shows Quanzhou's strong industrial capacity and trade export capacity in the song and Yuan Dynasties.

16. Luoyang Bridge

Luoyang Bridge is a milestone in the development of Quanzhou's transportation network. It strengthened the land transportation links between Quanzhou and Northern Fujian and inland, opened the bridge building movement of Quanzhou in the song and Yuan Dynasties, and promoted the establishment and improvement of the water and land transportation system of the national port.

17. Pingqiao

Anping bridge is located in the bay at the junction of Anhai Town of Jinjiang River and Shuitou Town of Nan'an, 30 kilometers southwest of Quanzhou City. It is the main road connecting Quanzhou with Zhangzhou, Guangzhou and other areas in the south. Because of the five miles on the bridge, it is commonly known as the "Five Mile Bridge", which is the longest existing sea crossing beam stone bridge in China.

18. Shunji bridge site

Shunjiqiao site is the land transportation node between the ancient city of Quanzhou and the South Bank of Jinjiang River. It is the main channel in and out of the commercial area of the ancient city built with the development of marine trade, which improves the water and land transportation system of Quanzhou.

19. Jiangkou Wharf

Since the song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou has successively built a series of navigation aids and wharf facilities along the waterway to guide ships to navigate and dock. The shipping facilities in different waters such as inner port, outer port and outer sea bear their own functions and have different characteristics.

20. Shihu Wharf

Shihu wharf is a wharf built on natural reefs. It is named after the village where it is located. It is the physical evidence of Quanzhou outer port wharf, which demonstrates the excellent port construction conditions of Quanzhou in the song and Yuan Dynasties. Together with Jiangkou wharf, it presents the water and land transportation system of Quanzhou port in the song and Yuan Dynasties.

21. Liusheng tower

Liusheng tower is a landmark for commercial ships sailing from the main channel of Quanzhou Bay to inland ports. It also plays a role in protecting commercial travel.

22. Longevity tower

Longevity tower is an important beacon tower in a series of heritages witnessing Quanzhou's long navigation history.