China's maritime trade flourished during the Song and Yuan dynasties, when overseas trade between Guangzhou and Quanzhou was highly developed, and Quanzhou's port trade surpassed Guangzhou during the Yuan Dynasty and became the world's largest port. More than 700 years ago, marco Polo, a famous Italian merchant and traveler, came to Quanzhou. At that time, Quanzhou was prosperous in trade and brightly lit at night, known as the "City of Light". Marco Polo was also impressed by the great prosperity of the time.
Six Victory Tower
Later, the story of Marco Polo's trip to China spread throughout Europe, and more and more foreign merchants came to China, and China's maritime trade activities were further developed. At that time, Quanzhou Port mainly exported ceramics, satin, tea and copper and iron products, and imported spices, pepper, gemstones, ivory and so on. Quanzhou is also the only starting city of the "Maritime Silk Road" recognized by the United Nations. Just in July 2021, Quanzhou successfully applied for heritage, with a total of 22 sites, which is a veritable "World Marine Trade Center of Song and Yuan China".
Ruins of the Municipal Shipping Division
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Quanzhou's commercial activities were highly developed, and the most important commercial transaction was Chinese porcelain. Among the 22 sites in Quanzhou, there are two ceramic kiln sites, namely the magnetic stove kiln site and the Dehua kiln site, which also witnessed the highly developed porcelain production process in China during that period. Through the Maritime Silk Road, a large number of Chinese porcelain was shipped to countries around the world, and at the same time, it was exchanged for a large amount of silver, and porcelain also became a veritable gold sucking king.
Dehua kiln site
The glory of Chinese porcelain continued until the Qing Dynasty, but europeans never had an idea? No, in the mid-16th century, Europeans also began to manufacture porcelain, but their level of craftsmanship was not as good as Chinese porcelain.
The magnetic stove kiln is the site of the golden chair mountain kiln
In the early Qing Dynasty, a French missionary presented Kangxi with a batch of wine, thus gaining the right to preach in Jingdezhen. After more than twenty years of activity, the Frenchman finally mastered the complete porcelain firing process and raw material recipe, and also obtained the production technology of various color glazes. Since then, the secrets of The Chinese porcelain making process have been mastered by Europeans.
Chinese porcelain can go global, inseparable from the Maritime Silk Road. Because the transportation of porcelain is inconvenient and easy to break, land transportation is extremely difficult, and after sea freighter transportation, Tianliang Chinese porcelain is sent to countries around the world. We saw that Quanzhou's application for heritage was successful, which is the 56th World Heritage Site in China. However, world heritage sites are not only landscapes, but also deeper than the boiling of thousands of years of history, and its innate majesty is admired by the world. Today, when we look back on history, we should also do our part for the world heritage, "rich drunkards guarding the world heritage."
Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple
The relics of ancient civilizations and cultures have gone through vicissitudes over thousands of years, and today we look back on that period of history, and when we see those ancient relics again, in addition to admiration, we must pay more attention to the protection of these precious relics. Every brick and tile of Quanzhou's world heritage, as well as the ancient stone carvings and towering ancient pagodas, are the memories that cannot be erased from that era. Whenever we look at the blue sea in the east, we seem to see the grand scene of thousands of merchant ships sailing away. Today, let each of us contribute a little to the protection of world heritage! It also makes the world heritage come alive, so that more people can understand it and protect it.