By Lu Yan

Liu Zaiye， a freelance pho- tographer， recently received several orders to take photos at Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou， a coastal city in Fujian Province. With its buildings featuring exquisite carvings first constructed more than 1，300 years ago， the place is a stunning example of Chinese architecture and art. “In the past， the temple was mostly only known by locals like me. But with the influence of social media， many tourists now come to check it out，” Liu told Beijing Review， adding historical sites in Quanzhou could hopefully be recognized internationally as the city is applying for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The 44th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee kicked off on July 16 in the provincial capital Fuzhou， and will see a total of 45 candidates reviewed for entry onto the UNESCO World Heritage List， including “Quanzhou， Chinas World Ocean Trade Center in the Song Dynasty（960-1279） and Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368）.”

Making a comeback

Quanzhou was a leading port in China and one of the worlds busiest during the Song and Yuan dynasties， connecting ancient China to Southeast Asia and beyond. Described by Italian explorer Marco Polo as the largest port in the world， the city was a starting point of Chinas ancient maritime trading route known as the Maritime Silk Road.

“Quanzhou is an example of Chinas marine culture. It can help other countries realize that China had an open and inclusive attitude to the world in ancient times，” said Huang Mingzhen， Curator of the Quanzhou Museum. She said that the city represents peaceful， friendly trade， advocated by the Belt and Road Initiative， a China-proposed global development project consisting of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.

In 1991， a team from UNESCO visited the city， as part of the organizations Maritime Silk Road expedition， in recognition of the role it played， according to UNESCOs official website.

This is the second time Quanzhou has applied for inclusion on the World Heritage List. At its 42nd session in 2018， the World Heritage Committee deferred the application of the “Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou （Zayton），” requesting supplementary information about the sites.

At that time， a total of 16 monuments and sites were nominated， including historical sites as well as artifacts of navigation， trade， multi-culturalism， urban construction and land transport.