Maritime Museum

Fujian


On the northeastern side of town, this fabulous museum explains Quanzhou’s trading history, the development of Chinese shipbuilding and the kaleidoscope of religions in the port’s heyday. The Religious Stone Hall and Islamic Culture Hall are highlights, boasting a beautiful collection of gravestones and reliefs of different religions dating from the Yuan dynasty. Take bus 7 or 203 and alight at Qiáoxiāng Tǐyùguǎn (侨乡体育馆).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Fujian attractions

1. Lingshan Islamic Cemetery

0.47 MILES

Set at the foot of the mountain of Língshān, this leafy cemetery is one of the most intact historic cemeteries in China. Two of Mohammed’s disciples are…

2. Jǐnxiùzhuāng Puppet Museum

1.29 MILES

A very simple museum behind Tumen Jie displaying puppet heads, intricate 30-string marionettes and comical hand puppets. Shows run intermittently.

3. Guandi Temple

1.31 MILES

This magnificently carved temple is immediately identifiable by its showy dragon-decorated roofs and a shroud of smoke emanating from furnaces burning…

4. Qingjing Mosque

1.36 MILES

Built by the Arabs in 1009 and restored in 1309, this stone edifice is one of China’s only surviving mosques from the Song dynasty. Only a few sections …

5. Confucius Temple

1.39 MILES

A living relic of the Song dynasty built in 976 and the largest Confucian Temple in southern China, with colourfully daubed, ornately carved wood ceilings.

6. Kaiyuan Temple

1.65 MILES

In the northwest of the city, one of the oldest temples in Quanzhou dates back to AD 686 and is the largest in Fujian. Surrounded by trees, Kaiyuan Temple…

7. Tianhou Temple

1.91 MILES

Originally built in 1196, this small temple that has undergone numerous renovations is dedicated to the goddess of seafarers.

8. Xunpu Village

4.63 MILES

The fishing village of Xunpu (sometimes Xunbu), some 10km southeast of the city centre of Quanzhou, was on the old trade route of the maritime Silk Road…