China · Fujian
Where to Stay in Quanzhou, Fujian
Where to stay in Quanzhou
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Where you stay in Quanzhou turns on the old city. The streets around Kaiyuan Temple and the mosque keep the temples, the markets, and the old lanes within a walk, and staying in the centre suits anyone here for the ancient port. The temple courtyards hush at dusk.
Rooms fill the old quarter near the pagodas. Out toward the newer districts and the coast, the city spreads into towers and wide roads. A room away from the centre trades the old lanes for malls, business, and an easy way to the bridges and the sea.
The coast opens past the suburbs. If you want the temples and the markets, stay in the old city; if you want the modern town, take a room outside. Either way, the old port is close at hand.
About Quanzhou
Quanzhou was the emporium of the medieval world.
What is Quanzhou known for?
Arab and European traders knew this port as Zayton, the busiest harbour in all of China, where the Maritime Silk Road met the sea. Kaiyuan Temple and the ancient Qingjing Mosque still stand from that golden age. Trade and many faiths made the city.
What are the main landmarks in Quanzhou?
Kaiyuan Temple is Quanzhou's greatest sight. Its ancient halls and twin stone pagodas rise among the old streets, the heart of the Buddhist city, while the Qingjing Mosque stands nearby from the age of the Arab traders. Bridges and shrines mark the coast.
The great Luoyang Bridge and Anping Bridge stride across the tidal flats, and the Cao'an temple and the Lingshan Islamic Cemetery keep the city's many faiths.
What is the history of Quanzhou?
Quanzhou rose to rule the Asian seas. Under the Song and Yuan dynasties it became the greatest port in China and perhaps the world, and merchants from Arabia, Persia, and India filled its docks, so that travellers called it Zayton and marvelled at its wealth. Many faiths came with the trade.
Muslims raised the Qingjing Mosque, Manichaeans built the temple of Cao'an, and Hindus and Christians worshipped beside the Buddhists of Kaiyuan Temple. Great works of stone spanned the coast. The people threw the mighty Luoyang Bridge and Anping Bridge across the tidal waters, marvels of medieval engineering, and carved a giant statue of Laozi into the rock of Mount Qingyuan.
The sea trade faded in later years. Silt and imperial bans closed the harbour, and Quanzhou slipped into a long quiet while other ports rose, but its temples and bridges endured. The whole ancient port was named a treasure of the world.
Quanzhou still remembers when it ruled the eastern seas.
Where is Quanzhou?
Quanzhou sits on the coast of the Taiwan Strait. The city spreads along the estuary of the Jin River in southern Fujian, where green hills meet a coast of bays, islands, and old harbours. Mount Qingyuan rises green behind the town.
The sea has always shaped the port.
What is the climate of Quanzhou?
Quanzhou has a warm, wet subtropical climate. Long, hot summers bring heavy rain and the threat of typhoons off the sea, while the winters stay short and mild on the coast. Storms sweep in from the strait in late summer.
The port stays green and humid year-round.
Good for
More cities in Fujian
Updated August 2026