Quanzhou: China’s forgotten historic port

by Chung-wah Chow

Quanzhou was the Shanghai of China ... 1,000 years ago.

The city in southeast Fujian was known as the largest port in Asia during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan dynasties (1271-1368).

According to legend, Marco Polo bid farewell to the nation from this town in late 13th century and described it as "the Alexandria of the East."

Today, Quanzhou is a regular seaside city of 8 million. It’s off the radar even for Chinese travelers -- most head to Fujian’s tourism magnet Xiamen, 90 kilometers to the southwest.

But with an amiable age-old charms and a tangible Maritime Silk Road legacy, this is the place to see coastal China at its most local.