Quanzhou lies in the southeast of the Fuijian province on the Jinjiang estuary. From Xiamen and Fuzhou it is accessible by air or by sea.
Already in the 6th C Malayan ships docked in Quanzhou, and it was founded in about 700. Quanzhou grew until in the
10th C, under the Tang, it had become with Canton and Yangzhou one of the three largest Chinese international trading ports. From the 11th C to the 14th C the city had its greatest flowering. At this time the woven satin which was manufactured here was even sold in the European market. Some expert linguists think that the word satin is taken from ''Zaiton'', which is the name Marco Polo gave to Quanzhou in his work ''Millions''. The Venetian traveled back to Italy from Quanzhou in 1292, and noted in his travel journal: ''Zaiton is the biggest port in the world''.
During the following centuries, the city attracted many foreign dealers, missionaries, and travelers, many of whom finally settled here. In the 15th C the city lost its status as a trading center.
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