Fuzhou has a long history of building ships. During the Yuan Dynasty, the government established a series of favorable policies to develop the shipping industry and set up specialized agencies to manage overseas trade. In the winter of 1921, Marco Polo passed by Fuzhou and described it as “a beautiful, wealthy place where overseas trade flourished.” The fast development of the shipping industry during the Song and Yuan Dynasties laid a firm foundation for Zhen He’s travels to the West at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Some ships of Zheng He’s fleet were built in Fujian Tai Ping port.

Due to Fujian’s mountainous landscape, making arable land scarce, local people feed on sea and overseas trade. In addition to its unique geographical conditions, Fujian is rich in forest resources, which provide a material basis for the development of the shipbuilding industry. On the other hand, Fujian has a long history of shipbuilding and has accumulated rich experience. Changle is the first place to build ships in China, and Quanzhou is also famous for Fu ships in ancient China.

The raw materials for building ships, such as fir trees, elm, chestnut, Chinese wood oil and lime, were rich in Fujian, which also promoted the development of the shipbuilding industry of Fujian at that time.

Some experts who study Zheng He’s travels to the West find that Zheng He’s fleet had 48 to 63 ships every time and Fujian built 380 in total during the same period, which was enough for Zheng He’s six journeys abroad. Besides, the ships were built in Changle, Fujian province!

In Qing Dynasty, Zuo Zongtang established the “Chuan Zheng School” in Fuzhou in 1866. Most graduates contributed a lot to China’s development of shipbuilding, mining, telecommunications, railways and other industries. It also was home to the first self-made ironclad ship and water-landing airplane. The institute cultivated many talents, such as Yan Fu, Ye Zugui, Deng Shichang, Liu Buchan, Wei Han, Sa Zhenbing, Chen Jitong, Wang Shouchang and Zhan Tianyou. Among them, Yan Fu was a famous military educator in Chinese history and Wei Han was the general manager of the Kowloon-Canton Railway. 

In 2005, the Shipbuilding Theme Park was opened and its preservation of the old base earned the Excellent Chinese Habitat prize. In 2006, the Mawei Shipbuilding Museum was opened. The Fuzhou government continues its contribution to protecting this heritage.

By Yan Fei

Editor: Xie Fang