Thus wrote Marco Polo when he visited QUANZHOU, China , then called Zaytoun (from the Arabic word for olive, symbol of peace and prosperity), in the late thirteenth century. At this time, Quanzhou was a great port, one of the two largest in the world, exploiting its deep natural harbour and strategic position in relation to the islands of Taiwan, the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia. It also became uniquely cosmopolitan, with tens of thousands of Arabs and Persians settling here, some of them to make colossal fortunes. It is thought that the Arabs of Quanzhou were responsible for introducing to the West the Chinese inventions of the compass, gunpowder and printing.

The Song and Yuan dynasties saw the peak of Quanzhou's fortunes; during Ming times, the city began to suffer from the effects of overcrowding and a decaying harbour, and an enormous exodus began, with citizens seeking new homes in Southeast Asia. According to Chinese government statistics, there are more than two million Quanzhounese living abroad today - which compares to just half a million remaining in the entire municipal area. Perhaps because of these depredations of history, Quanzhou today retains only a few reminders of its glorious past, though it's certainly worth an overnight stopover between Fuzhou and Xiamen.