Skyline of Quanzhou's historical neighborhood. [Photo by Chen Yingjie/chinadaily.com.cn]

Quanzhou is located on the southeastern coast of Fujian province and faces the Taiwan Strait. It was among the first group of famous historical and cultural cities designated by the State Council. Quanzhou was also an important harbor and starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. It is one of the main ancestral homes of many overseas Chinese and Taiwan compatriots.

Quanzhou has a land area of 11,015 square kilometers and a sea area of 11,360 sq km. By the end of 2025, Quanzhou's registered population stood at 7.73 million. It has four districts and administers three county-level cities and five counties, as well as the Quanzhou Taiwan Investment Zone and the Quanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Quanzhou was a maritime hub of East and Southeast Asia trade networks between the 10th and 14th centuries. In 2021, the city became China's 56th UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Quanzhou is recognized as one of the first 24 historic and cultural cities released by the State Council and the first Culture City of East Asia. By the end of 2025, Quanzhou was home to 964 cultural heritage sites under government protection at various levels, including 44 nationally protected key cultural relic sites, 128 sites under provincial-level protection, and 792 sites under municipal- and county-level protection. A total of 733 items has been included in intangible cultural heritage (ICH) lists at various levels, including eight world-class items, 36 national-level items, 128 provincial-level items, and 333 municipal-level items.

The city has a subtropical marine monsoon climate and a coastline of 541 kilometers. It boasts rich mineral resources such as iron, manganese, gold, coal, and quartz. The port of Quanzhou has facilities in four bays on the Taiwan Strait.

Quanzhou has implemented a number of supportive policies that grant Taiwan residents and companies the same treatment in terms of living, working, and studying as those on the Chinese mainland. More and more Taiwan-funded enterprises have set up offices in the Quanzhou Taiwan Investment Zone.

Quanzhou's gross regional product (GRP) reached 1.38 trillion yuan ($202.73 billion) by the end of 2025, up 5.3 percent year-on-year. The added value of the city's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries totaled 27.23 billion yuan, 695.77 billion yuan, and 654.84 billion yuan, respectively, up 3.6 percent, 6 percent, and 4.7 percent from the previous year.