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Voykit pocket guide · China
Quanzhou
泉州
Give Quanzhou 2 nights: the old town's temples, mosque and bridges are walkable, and it beats Xiamen on historic buildings. Skip if you only have 3 days in Fujian.
Quanzhou was the eastern terminus of the Maritime Silk Road and, in the 13th century, one of the world's busiest ports — Marco Polo's Zaiton. UNESCO listed 16 Song-Yuan sites here in 2021. The old town is compact and walkable, the traffic is genuinely bad, and most travellers reach it by high-speed rail from Xiamen or Fuzhou.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 泉州
- Best months
- Oct–Dec, Mar–Apr
- Avoid
- Jul–Sep (typhoon season, 30°C+ humidity)Jul–Sep (typhoon season, 86°F+ humidity)
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥250–450 excl. bed · Mid ¥450–900 excl. bed · High ¥900+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | ¥20–40 |
| Noodle soup or rice dish | ¥15–35 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a convenience store | ¥15–30 / ¥5–10 |
| 5 km taxi3.1 mi taxi | ¥15–25 |
| Temple entry (Kaiyuan, Qingjing Mosque) | ¥3–10 |
| Qingyuan Mountain adult ticket | ¥70 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | ¥50–100 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- JJN · Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport
- In Jinjiang, across the river; domestic flights plus some to Hong Kong and other Asian cities. Check current routes.
- XMN · Xiamen Gaoqi International
- More international connections; about 1 h by high-speed rail from Xiamen to Quanzhou.
Typical fares
- High-speed rail Xiamen → Quanzhou
- about ¥35, 1 h (check)
- Taxi Quanzhou Station → old town
- ¥30–50, about 25 min (check)
- Bus across town
- ¥1–2
Get around
Taxis start around ¥8 and most old-town hops cost under ¥20. Local buses connect the station, museums and Luoyang Bridge. The old town is walkable; traffic is worse than most Chinese cities, so cross with care.
See and do
Known for
- Maritime Silk Road port history
- Kaiyuan Temple and its twin pagodas
- Qingjing Mosque (1009 CE)
- Luoyang Bridge
- Minnan opera and string puppetry
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Luoyang Bridge | Bus 19 or Tourist Bus 4 to the south side | About 45 min |
| Jinjiang | Bus or taxi south across the river | About 30–45 min |
| Chongwu | Bus from the railway station square | About 1 h |
| Xiamen | High-speed rail from Quanzhou Station | About 1 h |
Sleep
- Licheng old town (near Kaiyuan Temple / West Street)
- Walk to the temples, mosque and West Street shops; the best base for a short trip.
- Fengze District (near the railway station / East Lake)
- Closer to the high-speed rail station and the museums; less atmospheric, more practical with bags.
- Jinjiang (south of the river)
- Near the airport; a separate city administratively, useful for early flights.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xièxiè |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duōshǎo qián |
| Can I pay by card? | 可以刷卡吗？kěyǐ shuākǎ ma |
| Where is the toilet? | 厕所在哪里？cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ |
| I don't understand | 我不懂wǒ bù dǒng |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Traffic is aggressive even by Chinese standards — look both ways twice.
- Quanzhou Museum was closed for renovation as of April 2026: check before going.
- Summer brings typhoons and heavy rain; check forecasts if travelling Jul–Sep.
- Some temples charge small entry fees (¥3–10); carry cash for those that don't take cards.
Quanzhou is generally safe for tourists; the real risks are traffic, summer heat and typhoons. Petty theft is rare. Keep an eye on your bag in crowded markets.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Quanzhou yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Maritime Silk Road port history
- Kaiyuan Temple and its twin pagodas
- Qingjing Mosque (1009 CE)
- Luoyang Bridge
- Minnan opera and string puppetry
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- UNESCO — Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China: whc.unesco.org/en/list/1561/
- Qingyuan Mountain scenic area: www.qysfjq.com/english/
- Wikivoyage: Quanzhou, revision 5268146 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5268146
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Quanzhou泉州
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Most countries have embassies in Beijing and consulates-general in Guangzhou or Shanghai; check your own country's nearest office. The US has a consulate-general in Xiamen (check the address).
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/quanzhou). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.