Quanzhou is the largest city of Fujian Province, China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two (Ningde and Nanping) and faces theTaiwan Strait.
The prefecture-level city of Quanzhou has an area of 11,245 square kilometres (4,342 sq mi) and, as of the 2010 Census, a population of 8,128,530 inhabitants.
Quanzhou has been called the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. From the Arabic name of the city, Zayton the word satin would be coined. Zayton is also the word for olive and the symbol of peace in the Arabic and Persian languages.