2017年CRI Ancient Chinese trade port attracts global visitors

 

As the final preparations get underway for a major international conference in Beijing next month connected to the "Belt and Road" initiative, authorities in Fujian's coastal¹ city of Quanzhou are moving to revive interest in its historical links with the ancient Silk Road trading system which the "Belt and Road" concept is modeled on.

References to the "Silk Road" are most often associated to the overland routes traders took through Central Asia to conduct trade in China.

However, historians note that a good portion of the trade during the height of the Silk Road era actually flowed in and out of China through southern ports.

One of those ports was the city of Quanzhou in today's southeastern province of Fujian.

Chu Baoyang with Quanzhou's local PR department noted² the city's thriving maritime³ trading history can be traced back around 1,000 years ago.

"During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the maritime silk road was very prosperous. At that time, Quanzhou had already established trade relations with nearly 100 countries and regions," Chu said.

Quanzhou today is still renowned⁴ for its textiles, teas and ceramics⁵, as it was 1,000 years ago.

Traces of the city's historical ties with the rest of the world are still found today throughout the coastal city.

It is said flowers adorned⁶ on women's headdresses worn in Quanzhou is a style introduced into China by Arab merchants.

Quanzhou is also home to a number of historical homes which are still adorned with oyster⁷ shells dating back hundreds of years.

Wang Xiumei lives along Quanzhou's coast, not far from where the city's thriving port trade would take place centuries ago.

"At that time, Chinese cargo⁸ ships transported these goods to Persia, or even further places like the east coast of Africa. When the goods were sold out, they would stuff the empty compartments⁹ with oyster shells they collected from local beaches to stabilize¹⁰ the ship and prevent it from being capsized," Wang said.

The city submitted applications in February to UNESCO to try to have more than a dozen sites throughout Quanzhou given World Heritage status next year.

Among them is the only known existing statue of the Mani Buddha¹¹, as well as the oldest known existing mosque¹² in China built by Arab merchants.

Zhou Zhenping, Vice¹³ Mayor of Quanzhou, said protecting the city's history is one of the government's top priorities.

"Applying for World Heritage Sites is not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to protect the sites. Some of the steps we're taking include ratifying¹⁴ laws and regulations for the protection of the sites, as well as motivating the residents to love and protect those sites through publicity¹⁵ campaigns," Zhou said.

Previously¹⁶ bypassed by tourists who would instead opt¹⁷ to visit nearby Xiamen, Quanzhou's tourism has been seeing a drastic upswing in recent years.

Stats show that visits to Quanzhou by both domestic and foreign tourists have been increasing at double-digit rates over the past three years.

Last year, the city received close to 60 million tourists.

Countries along the Maritime Silk Road have also set their sights on Quanzhou for potential cooperation in tourism.

In February, a delegation¹⁸ led by Sri Lanka's Minister of Tourism, John Amaratunga, visited the city with the hope of increasing cooperation with local authorities.

Quanzhou officials are also working on a number of programs with countries and regions along the ancient maritime Silk Road on joint¹⁹ archaeological and cultural research.

But while protecting the city's past, Quanzhou's officials are also looking to the future, hoping to capitalize on the legacy²⁰ of the ancient maritime Silk Road to boost global trade and cultural exchanges in a new era.

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

4 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

5 ceramics   

n.制陶业；陶器

参考例句：

• an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
• The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。

6 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

7 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

8 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

9 compartments   

n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层

参考例句：

• Your pencil box has several compartments. 你的铅笔盒有好几个格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The first-class compartments are in front. 头等车室在前头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

11 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

12 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

13 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

14 ratifying   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They call their State Assembly a disgrace for ratifying the 35th. 他们把州议会通过的第35号修正案说成是可耻的行为。 来自辞典例句
• The Obama administration, unlike its predecessor, talks of ratifying the test-ban treaty. 该会议五年举办一次，回顾其间发生的事情。 来自互联网

15 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

16 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

17 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

18 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

19 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

20 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。