67-Year-Old Storyteller Preserving China’s Maritime Legacy

On a sweltering summer morning, Chi Qiurong wipes sweat from his weathered brow, but never breaks stride. His voice, still booming despite his nearly seventy years, carries across the ancient courtyard as he gestures toward weathered stone carvings. For more than a decade, this soft-spoken man has been the unofficial guardian of Minan’s collective memories.

The Admiral Who Changed History Without Conquest

Chi’s research reveals the fundamental difference in approach. "Zheng He carried goods and ideas, not weapons and conquest," he emphasizes. "When European explorers arrived somewhere new, they planted flags and claimed territory. When Zheng He arrived, he distributed gifts and built friendships. Zheng He established friendly relations through gift-giving and ceremonial exchanges rather than military force."

This legacy of "harmony in diversity" and "win-win cooperation" directly influences the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, providing historical precedent for infrastructure investment and international partnership based on mutual benefit rather than dominance. 

Zheng He's voyages demonstrate that great powers can engage globally through commerce and culture rather than conquest, which is a model increasingly relevant in today's interconnected world.

Minan stands as tangible proof that large-scale global exploration could occur without colonization, while China campaigns for UNESCO World Heritage status for Maritime Silk Road sites.

UNESCO Application and International Recognition

The ancient port, where foreign merchant ships were required to stop for over 1,500 years before reaching Fuzhou, now serves as a living testament to China's maritime diplomacy approach. Minan’s strategic location within the Mawei District positions it as a cultural gateway to Fujian’s broader Maritime Silk Road infrastructure development.

The success of nearby Quanzhou in achieving UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021 provides a model for how historical Maritime Silk Road sites can gain international recognition. 

Such recognition would position Minan alongside globally renowned heritage sites while highlighting China’s peaceful maritime exploration tradition — a narrative that supports contemporary Belt and Road messaging about mutual benefit and shared prosperity. Where those sites represent Chinese power and insularity, Minan represents openness and peaceful exchange.

The application also faces skeptical scrutiny from some quarters, with critics questioning whether China’s current international behavior aligns with the peaceful principles it claims to champion through sites like Minan.

The timing is crucial. In December 2024, Fuzhou hosted the Belt and Road Commercial Association Conference, with Minan featured as a key cultural heritage site, demonstrating China’s long tradition of peaceful international engagement. The conference, themed “Maritime Fuzhou Sets Sail, Creating New Chapters in Maritime Silk Road Cooperation,” highlighted how historical sites like Minan provide the cultural foundation for modern economic partnerships.

Bridge to Overseas Chinese Communities

Building on Zheng He's legacy of cultural bridge-building, Minan's modern relevance is most evident in its role connecting China with Southeast Asia's vibrant Chinese communities. The town's Mazu temples and ancestral halls, many established during or shortly after Zheng He's era, which now serve as cultural anchors for a sophisticated network of overseas Chinese associations spanning Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and beyond.

The DNA of peaceful engagement that started here 600 years ago is significant support for successful Belt and Road cooperation today. Minan shows that China’s approach to international relations has deep historical roots.

Maritime legacy in Minan creates lasting prosperity for all participants when guided by principles of respect, reciprocity, and shared development. In an era when international partnerships require both economic logic and cultural understanding, Minan Ancient Town proves that the most effective diplomacy often combines the wisdom of the past with the possibilities of the future.