Infographics: Exchanges between Chinese and Arab civilizations on Silk Road (6)

UNESCO has identified Quanzhou city in southeast China's Fujian Province as the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road in China. Because Quanzhou is covered with Indian coral trees, or Citong in Chinese, it has been dubbed the "City of Coral Trees".

As a global maritime trade center in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou’s Citong port was known as the "largest port in the East" and the "warehouse of the world". The port played an important role in the maritime trade between China and nearly 100 other countries, including many Arab states.

In June 2014, the first Chinese Arab Cities Forum was held in Quanzhou. In July 2021, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee placed the entry "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China" on its World Heritage List.