Shipwrecks excavated in Quanzhou Bay and the South China Sea provide tangible evidence of the port’s historical dynamism and far-reaching maritime connections. Among them, a wooden-hulled, three-masted merchant vessel uncovered at Houzhu Harbor stands out—built in Quanzhou in the 13th century, it was returning from Southeast Asia carrying spices, medicines, and commercial goods when it sank.

A number of renowned medieval travelers—including Marco Polo, Friar Odoric of Pordenone, and Ibn Battuta—visited Quanzhou and documented its stature as one of the world’s largest harbors. Their accounts describe a port bustling with vessels of every size and origin, arriving and departing in steady succession, and a dynamic marketplace where merchants from diverse regions gathered to trade their goods. It is also recorded that Marco Polo embarked from Quanzhou on a diplomatic mission to escort a Mongol princess to Persia (modern-day Iran) for her marriage.