Fuzhou, 25 July 2021 (TDI): East China’s port city of Quanzhou won the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status on Sunday, increasing the country’s total number of UNESCO World Heritage sites to 56.
UNESCO accepted “Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China” as a cultural property on its World Heritage List during the ongoing 44th session of the World Heritage Committee which is held in Fuzhou.
Alternatively known as Chinchew, the port city of Quanzhou is located on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It was one of the world’s largest ports along the historic Maritime Silk Road, particularly in ancient China’s Song Dynasty (960-1279) and Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
It was the second time that Quanzhou had applied for the title. In 2018, China’s nomination “Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou” was referred back for a second chance when the committee met in Bahrain. China made some important technical adjustments and resubmitted the application as “Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China,” with the former 16 sites included in the serial nomination expanded to 22 sites, according to Zhang Lei, head of the world cultural heritage department under China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration.
