The Chinese city of Quanzhou between an adventurous Egyptian businessman and a famous traveler in ancient times

Xinhua News Agency reviewed the story of a successful Egyptian businessman, Hani Sobhi, who came to China 5 years ago and flourished in Quanzhou, which the famous traveler Ibn Battuta had talked about.

According to the agency, Hani Sobhi lives and works in the coastal city of Quanzhou in southeast China’s Fujian Province, which was recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It was reported that the 39-year-old Egyptian businessman moved to Shishi town of Quanzhou to start his export and import business, and despite the great difficulties he faced in the beginning in terms of language and environment, he succeeded in establishing his “own company after two years for the clothing trade.” Across the border, he buys locally made clothes and sells them to countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sobhi now has 16 employees in Shishi Town, and its turnover was about 200 million yuan, equivalent to about 30.88 million US dollars in 2020.

The Egyptian businessman says that “clothes and shoes made in China enjoy great competitiveness and wide popularity in the Middle East markets,” and the town in which Sobhi resides “homes a complete manufacturing chain of textiles and clothing, with about 1.1 billion garments being exported to about 160 countries and regions in the world.” every year, according to official data.

It is mentioned that Quanzhou is located “in the narrow plains along the coast of Fujian, and in ancient China was one of the largest ports in the world along the historical Maritime Silk Road, especially during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and the Yuan Dynasty (1271- 1368).

The famous Arab traveler, Ibn Battuta, talked about this city in his book “The Journey of Ibn Battuta – A masterpiece of the overseers in the strangeness of the lands and the wonders of travel”, and he said in his description: “When we crossed the sea, the first city we reached was the city of Olives … its anchorage from The greatest anchors of the world, or it is the greatest of them. I saw about a hundred large geniuses, and as for the small ones, they are not counted.

It is believed that the famous traveler Ibn al-Battuta “arrived in China at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and witnessed the prosperity of Quanzhou, the city of olives, as he described it, as a trading center and an important station along the ancient maritime Silk Road at the time, as it is believed that Quanzhou was the largest global port to the east at that time. With its counterpart the Egyptian port of Alexandria in the west.

Ibn Battuta confirmed what the ancient books talked about that kilns were spread throughout the city of Quanzhou to make wonderful ceramics for export, while the bridges and sidewalks saw carts loaded with goods come and leave, as it came in the famous traveler’s book saying: “As for Chinese pottery, it is only made in the city of Zaytoun. and the China Clan.

Source: Xinhua