Maritime Silk Road hub leverages heritage into digital economy momentum

FUZHOU, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Kwok Wei Yan, an influencer whose ancestor immigrated to Malaysia five generations ago, recently visited Quanzhou in east China's Fujian Province, for the first time.

"I've always had a special affection for the city since I was a child. This place is rich in history, and I hope more people will come to know about it," said Kwok during her visit to the Quanzhou Maritime Museum during a sideline event of the 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Digital Silk Road Development Forum held earlier this week.

After viewing relics of ships and inscription stones displayed in the museum, Kwok said it made her reflect on the journeys taken by ancient Chinese people across vast oceans.

Quanzhou was one of the world's largest ports along the historic Maritime Silk Road, particularly in ancient times during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. The museum serves as the main exhibition hall for "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China" on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which contains 22 significant locations, such as administrative buildings and structures, religious buildings and statues.

"The museum offers foreign visitors a cultural window into shared history, where relics speak of trade, peace and cross-civilizational exchange," said Zhang Enqiang, deputy director of Quanzhou Maritime Museum.

From digital exhibitions to multilingual guided tours, the museum has been adopting modern technological innovations, in a drive to share its stories with a wider global audience.

Through the Maritime Silk Road, ancient Chinese traded silk and porcelain with exotic spices and rare treasures from foreign merchants. Nowadays, exchanges are still vibrant.

The just-concluded WIC Digital Silk Road Development Forum attracted over 600 guests from 49 countries and regions, as well as 13 international organizations.

"We are hosting the forum in Quanzhou to honor its profound heritage and send a message to the world amid global uncertainties: China is dedicated to extending the Maritime Silk Road through digital civilization," said Ren Xianliang, secretary-general of the WIC.

The forum, themed "Embracing the Digital and Intelligent Maritime Silk Road -- Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace," focused on digital trade cooperation, leveraging artificial intelligence to empower the private sector, and digital transformation and sustainable development of international logistics.

In fact, the forum's vision is already taking shape in Quanzhou, which is making strides in digital transformation. In the city's industrial park of Donghai Cross-border E-commerce Ecosphere, Milton International Logistics uses digital platforms to help clients sell products to multiple regions, such as Europe and North America.

"We tap into a one-stop digital platform to access information on overseas warehouse usage status, customs declaration methods and shipping routes. It enables us to deliver goods more efficiently and accurately," said Zhong Ling, general manager of Milton International Logistics.

The industrial park has also established an AI digital empowerment center to facilitate the matching of global orders, providing settled enterprises with advertising engines and product analysis tools.

"By leveraging AI models, we hope to help small- and medium-sized enterprises find their accurate client targets and speed up their decision-making process," said Zhuang Zhimin, head of the cross-border industry of the park.

In the first half of this year, Quanzhou's total import and export value reached 126.34 billion yuan (about 17.7 billion U.S. dollars), with major exports including textiles and garments, footwear, and electromechanical products.

This robust trade performance is underpinned by a deeper digital shift. According to the data administration bureau of Quanzhou, in 2024, the city's digital economy exceeded 700 billion yuan, contributing over 56 percent of its GDP and serving as a key driver of high-quality development.

"The digital economy is the future. Quanzhou's manufacturing sector is very important for its international links. New technologies will help local companies to connect with the outside world," said Gilbert Van Kerckhove with the Union of Western and Eastern Education, an NGO focusing on global cultural exchange.

(Li Leyao and Yang Ning also contributed to the story.)■