Quanzhou， a famous historic city. History Quanzhou is a city with .doc

Quanzhou, a famous historic city.History Quanzhou is a city with a great past. It was founded in 718, the sixth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, with other names Coraltree City, Carp City and Wenling. It is a a famous hometown for numerous overseas Chinese and Taiwan compatriots. It has always been a political , economic and cultural centre of the Jin River basin. The present city administrates Jinjiang, Nanan, Huian, Anxi, Yongchun and Dehua, covering an area of 10,865 km2,with 5,200,000 population.Quanzhou was a busy city for ocean transportation and foreign trades in anicent times. The Song and Yuan dynasties saw the old Coraltree Port become one of the Worlds major port and the starting point of the Silk Road on the Sea, marking the golden age of ocean transportation and foreign trades. When Marco Polo came to Quanzhou in the 13th century, he was of the opinion that the city had the secondlargest trading port in the world after Alexandria. Quanzhou had trade relations with over 100 foreign and Chinese cities, mostly in Asia and Africa. The most important export items were porcelain, silk and tea, as well as bronze and iron articles; the major import items were spices, perfumes and precious gems. Quanzhou is well endowed with beautiful scenery and natural resources, and is distinctive for its ancient and unsophisticatted custom. The historic sites enjoying a long history of reputation include the East and Weat Pagodas at the Kaiyuan Temple, the He Zuos Tomb at the Qingjing Mosque, Stone Old Saint, ruins of Manichaean church, Luoyang Bridge and Five-Mile Bridge, among the two huandred attracttions. The native products such as Tieguanyin Tea, Dehua porcelain and Huian stonecarving have long been sought after for their high quality and fame. The ancient Southern Music, Gaojia Opera and Liyuan Opera, like the melodious local dialect flavour of Jin and Tang Dynasties. Religious Holy PlacesEast and West Pagoda The majestic East and West Pagodas stand as a symbol an