Quanzhou, formerly known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city beside the Taiwan Strait in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of 11,245 square kilometers and, as of the 2010 census, a population of 8,128,530. Its built-up area is home to 6,107,475 inhabitants, encompassing the Licheng, Fengze, and Luojiang urban districts; Jinjiang, Nan'an, and Shishi cities; Hui'an County; and the Quanzhou District for Taiwanese Investment. Quanzhou was China's 12th-largest extended metropolitan area in 2010. Quanzhou was China's major port for foreign traders, who knew it as Zaiton, during the 11th through 14th centuries. It was visited by both Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta; both travelers praised it as one of the most prosperous and glorious cities in the world. It was the naval base from which the Mongol attacks on Japan and Java were primarily launched and a cosmopolitan center with Buddhist and Hindu temples, Islamic mosques, and Christian churches, including a Catholic cathedral and Franciscan monasteries. A failed revolt prompted a massacre of the city's foreign communities in 1357. Economic dislocations—including piracy and an imperial overreaction to it during the Ming and Qing—reduced its prosperity, with Japanese trade shifting to Ningbo and Zhapu and other foreign trade restricted to Guangzhou. Quanzhou became an opium-smuggling center in the 19th century but the siltation of its harbor long reduced its capacity for trade by larger ships. Quanzhou, China is a port and a city on the eastern coast of the Fujian province, and located on the north bank of the Jin River. The city is now a regional market and commercial center for agricultural products. There is smaller levels of industry in Quanzhou, such as the manufacturing of porcelain or the process of sugar refining. The city has been so nice that it has attracted investors from the overseas Taiwan and other Chinese communities. The city is thriving economically and continues to improve. They also now have a new express highway that allows for quicker travel between majors cities in its province. It also has a top class airport that flies to major cities. The city has several buildings that are made of stone because it is staying with the medieval themes. Today, Quanzhou is a big attraction for tourists visiting China. One famous traveler to explore Quanzhou was Ibn Battuta. He visited sometime between the years 1260 and 1368. Quanzhou is a sea port in China so it was easy for Ibn Battuta to visit. Quanzhou is a Southern Chinese city where people generally lived in their own neighborhoods. In these neighborhoods, mosques were built for people who wished to pray. There was also hospitals there so if people fell sick or needed medical attention, it was right there. Also, the silk in Quanzhou was cheap and nice in quality there which caught Ibn Battuta's eye. Ibn Buttuta believed Quanzhou is the start of the Silk Road.
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