Marco Polo once wrote that for every shipload of pepper reaching Alexandria, a hundred docked in Quanzhou. Centuries later, that pepper still lingers \u2013 sprinkled over bowls of beef soup, simmered with seafood, woven into the city\u2019s kitchens. It is a taste of the maritime trade routes that once made Quanzhou the \u201cemporium of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Quanzhou received Unesco World Heritage status for its role as the eastern terminus of the Maritime Silk Road. Four years later, in October 2025, it earned a second Unesco title: Creative City of Gastronomy.<\/p>\n
The latter honour recognises a cuisine that has always looked to the sea. Quanzhou\u2019s food is a branch of Minnan (southern Fujianese) cooking, but it stands apart from its neighbours.<\/p>\n
![\"Fujian-style](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/03\/31\/9b3e21fb-4ba4-497a-89f7-f0767647c2e2_3fefb016.jpg\" "\\"Fujian-style")
<\/div>This lightness, however, does not mean blandness. Among Fujian\u2019s four regional styles \u2013 Fuzhou\u2019s sweet-sour soups, western Fujian\u2019s heat, southern Fujian\u2019s elaborate sauces \u2013 Quanzhou presents the strongest flavour with the least oil. The secret lies in the different culinary currents that converged here.<\/p>\n
The first flowed overland. During the Jin dynasty (1115\u20131234), waves of refugees fled war-torn regions in the Central Plains for the south, settling in Fujian. They brought with them the slow-simmered geng<\/em> soup tradition \u2013 a method of thickening broths using grains or root starches. That technique survives today in Quanzhou classics, like oyster soup and mianxianhu<\/em> (thickened vermicelli soup).<\/p>\n The next current came by sea. Between the 10th and 14th centuries, Quanzhou traded with more than 100 regions, its docks flooded with spices: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. Arab traders settled in the city, establishing foreign quarters known as fan fang<\/em>, and with them came new ingredients and techniques.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Among these was a love of beef \u2013 radical in a country where cattle were sacred. For centuries, Chinese law protected oxen as essential farm labour; killing one was a crime. But Quanzhou\u2019s Muslim traders operated outside this taboo. They slaughtered cattle according to halal requirements, cooked beef freely, and gradually introduced their tastes to local kitchens. Quanzhou became one of the first Chinese cities to embrace beef cuisine.<\/p>\n The third current sailed from across the Pacific. In the late Ming dynasty, merchant Chen Zhenlong introduced sweet potatoes from Luzon (present-day Philippines) in 1593, famously smuggling the vines past Spanish authorities by weaving them into a rope.<\/p>\n Sweet potato starch would transform Quanzhou cooking in two distinct ways. In oyster omelettes, it bound fresh oysters and eggs into a crispy-chewy pancake that sustained soldiers and fishing communities alike. In beef soup, it replaced traditional thickeners to create a silky, lighter broth.<\/p>\n Today, that legacy lives on in every bowl of beef soup, an icon of Quanzhou cuisine. Arab beef, Central Plains soup tradition, New World sweet potato starch and a final pinch of white pepper \u2013 all colliding in a single spoonful.<\/p>\n Beyond the spices and starch, even the humble carrot tells a similar story. Known in Chinese as hu luo bo<\/em> (the \u201cforeign radish\u201d), it arrived via the same maritime routes that shaped Quanzhou\u2019s identity, likely during the Song-Yuan era, when spices and new crops flooded its docks.<\/p>\n Now, the region around Quanzhou, particularly Jinjiang, has become Fujian\u2019s largest carrot production base. The coastal sandy loam soils, rich in calcium and zinc, produce carrots so exceptional that they are now a nationally protected agricultural product, prized for their tender flesh and natural sweetness.<\/p>\n This preference for natural sweetness defines Quanzhou\u2019s flavour profile. Local ingredients deliver it from both land and sea. From the land, Jinjiang carrots and Shishi sand-soil radishes are prized specifically for their qingtian<\/em> quality (refreshing sweetness). From the sea, seafood like Xunpu oysters, Baiqi clams and Xiaozuo dried squid concentrate umami with underlying sweetness. This sweetness is never cloying, always in dialogue with the ocean\u2019s salinity and the earth\u2019s freshness.<\/p>\n Nowhere is this balance more evident than in Quanzhou\u2019s signature braised rice dish. Lam\u2019s version at Ming Pavilion \u2013 Quanzhou-Style Braised Rice with Dried Squid, Conpoy and Sakura Shrimp \u2013 is, in his words, \u201ca comforting, aromatic dish that captures the essence of Minnan fishing villages, featuring dried squid, conpoy, Sakura shrimp and vegetables braised together in a flavourful broth\u201d.<\/p>\n The dish is based on traditional Quanzhou savoury rice, a nostalgic staple made by stir-frying and braising rice with ingredients like radish, pork, mushrooms, oysters and dried shrimp. Contemporary versions adopt carrots instead of white radishes, as they add natural sweetness without turning the rice soggy. The result is a \u201ccollision of mountain and sea flavours\u201d, as Yeung says \u2013 natural sweetness from carrots, umami from seafood, all without heaviness.<\/p>\n This culinary resourcefulness is precisely why Unesco took notice. As Lam puts it, the city was selected \u201cbecause of its profound culinary heritage tied to the Maritime Silk Road, where it served as a starting point for global trade, fostering a fusion of flavours from diverse cultures\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cQuanzhou\u2019s commitment to preserving traditional dishes, sustainable practices, and vibrant food scenes highlights its role in cultural exchange and gastronomic innovation,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s a model for creative cities worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Quanzhou-style](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/03\/31\/da23dfc3-5211-48ce-b7ca-ebfe9bb077a6_b4a5a3b5.jpg\" "\\"Quanzhou-style")
<\/div>![\"Quanzhou](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/03\/31\/ec7b5bab-c90e-4a13-be84-ad7cc6e65c44_32afda76.jpg\" "\\"Quanzhou")
<\/div>![\"Quanzhou-style](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/03\/31\/6a6650bd-3bce-4319-a82f-44f659953e55_b4a5a3b5.jpg\" "\\"Quanzhou-style")
<\/div>