Humanity history

Quanzhou has a long history and its economic development began as early as the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256 BC). In 260, during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), Dongan county was established in today's Fengzhou town in Nan'an, which marked the start of Quanzhou's prefecture system.

At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), due to wars in the central plains area, many people moved into Quanzhou and settled along the river. The river has been called Jinjiang ever since. The people brought advanced production technology and cultural knowledge, which led to rapid development on both sides of the river.

With the development of the economy, the administrative division system in Quanzhou changed several times. In January 1986, Quanzhou prefecture-level city was set up.

Quanzhou is one of the famous historical and cultural cities approved by the State Council, Culture City of East Asia, and the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. With profound cultural accumulation, Quanzhou is known as the "world museum of religions".

The city has 824 cultural relic protection units at all levels, including 31 at the national level and 87 at the provincial level. Renowned cultural relics include the oldest existing mosque in China, the thousand-year-old Kaiyuan Temple, and the oldest existing cross-sea girder bridge in China, Luoyang Bridge.

The rich cultural landscape, unique folk customs and natural scenery make Quanzhou a national and international tourist resort, attracting more and more tourists from across the world.

Quanzhou was an important port for foreign trade in Chinese history, with an over-1,000-year history of overseas transport. Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it has been one of the four major foreign trade ports in southern China. During the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, Quanzhou port rose to be the first of the four major ports, known as Zayton Port worldwide, and became the "largest port in the east" comparable to Alexandria in Egypt.

Quanzhou is also a famous hometown of overseas Chinese and the main ancestral home of Taiwan Han compatriots. Quanzhou is the ancestral home of over 7.2 million overseas Chinese living around the world, over 700,000 compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao, and over nine million compatriots of the Han ethnic group in Taiwan. Many of these people invest in plants, schools and public projects in Quanzhou. They have become an important force in the economic and social development of the city, and a link between Quanzhou and the world.

Economic development

Since China's reform and opening-up began in 1978, Quanzhou's economy has achieved leap frog development, becoming one of the fastest growing and most dynamic areas in China, as well as officially one of the 18 typical areas of reform and opening-up in China.

Quanzhou's GDP in 1978 was 779 million yuan ($111 million), 10 billion yuan in 1992, 100 billion yuan in 2002, 500 billion yuan in 2013 and 846.8 billion yuan in 2018. Per capita GDP increased from 171 yuan in 1978 to 97,614 yuan in 2018. Total revenue in the general public budget increased from 80 million yuan to 86.12 billion yuan. In 1978, the per capita net income of farmers was only 75 yuan, and in 2018 the disposable income of rural residents was 20,277 yuan. The per capita disposable income of urban residents increased from 324 yuan in 1978 to 46,111 yuan.

Quanzhou is striving to build a characteristic economy, promoting characteristic industries such as resin processing, shoes and garments, building materials, stone carving and oolong tea in China and around the world.

The process of urban and rural integration has been accelerated by professionalization, localization, regionalization and clustering of production, which have led to the construction and prosperity of Quanzhou. The city's urbanization level is 65.7 percent, the bay area is 220 sq km, and central urban green coverage is 43.2 percent, with a complete three-dimensional traffic network and municipal facilities. Quanzhou is among the three central cities in Fujian province.

Besides economic development, Quanzhou pays special attention to its culture and urban construction. The city has won various titles and honors such as International Garden City, National Civilized City, National Sanitary City and National Garden City.