From the Archives #012: Shophouses in Quanzhou, July 13, 1999

In the summer of 1999, I had an opportunity to spend 5 weeks in China, mostly in the southeastern city of Quanzhou (泉州)　in Fujian Province. I quickly filled up many sketchbooks...
With the rapid rate of change in China's cities over the last 12 years since this sketch, I wonder how many of the scenes remain today.

As it turns out, historically Quanzhou was an important trading port that linked all the way to Europe - much like Malacca (Malaysia) and Nagasaki (Japan)... both cities have played a significant role in my life.