Return To Zai Tun

©National Geographic
Return To Zai Tun

Synopsis

In a city, which comprises an area of eleven thousand square kilometers, there are more than six thousand temples where more than five hundred gods of different religions are worshipped, co-existing with each other. For almost one thousand years, this is a city where various religious beliefs are strongly held in the same place. Meanwhile, more than ten thousand vessels are anchored at the port. Merchants, missionaries and sailors from West Asia, Africa and Europe gather on the docks, trading the goods that they are proud of. Here is one of the biggest trading stations in the world in the Middle Ages, and the business model adopted here leads the world. This is Quanzhou, the city of light.

Episodes

Extra
  • Return To Zai Tun: A Melting Pot

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    Quanzhou marked the end-point of the Maritime Silk Road. Goods, cultures and faiths melded here, and its fame spread as far as mediaeval Europe.

  • Return To Zai Tun: A Trading Hub

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    Fleets of unique ships brought Chinese people and goods from Quanzhou around the world, although the emperors nearly destroyed all maritime trade.