Qinzhou, a coastal city in southern Guangxi, is not as famous for its beautiful landscape as Guilin, nor does it attract tourists with its silver beach like Beihai, nor does it have the prominent status of Nanning as the capital. Qinzhou just lies quietly on the northern shore of the Beibu Gulf, like an old man forgotten by time, guarding the sea breeze and stories of a thousand years.
Walking in the old city of Qinzhou, you will mistakenly think that you have fallen into the dream of an ancient Lingnan city. There are continuous arcades, green ivy climbing on the mottled gray walls, and the protruding wooden lattice windows on the second floor are half-open, as if a woman in cheongsam will open the window at any time and cast a glimpse of the streets. These arcade buildings were built by overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia during the Republic of China period. They combine Lingnan style and Nanyang elements to form a unique "lower store and upper house" pattern. Most of them are now dilapidated, but they still stand stubbornly, becoming the most vivid history textbook of Qinzhou.
The soul of Qinzhou lies in the water. The waves of Sanniang Bay beat against the reefs on the shore day and night, and white dolphins occasionally jump out of the water, drawing a beautiful arc. The mangroves of Maowei Sea appear and disappear between tides, and their roots are entangled into a maze of life. The Qin River, like a green ribbon, passes through the city, dividing the city into north and south banks. In the parks built along the river, there are always three or five old people playing chess, singing operas, or simply staring at the river in a daze. Water has given Qinzhou people a slow-paced philosophy of life and shaped their open and inclusive character.
The history of this city can be traced back to the Southern Dynasties, when it was called Anzhou. It was renamed Qinzhou in the Tang Dynasty, taking the meaning of "Qin Shun", and became an important node on the Maritime Silk Road. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Qinzhou Port was a hub connecting China and Southeast Asia with thousands of sails and merchants. When Zheng He sailed to the West in the Ming Dynasty, Qinzhou was an important supply station. This glorious history of maritime trade is hard to find in today's Qinzhou. Only a few pieces of shipwreck porcelain in the museum silently tell of the prosperity of the past.
Qinzhou dialect is a wonderful language fossil, which retains the entering tone characters of ancient Chinese and incorporates elements of Zhuang, Cantonese and Vietnamese. When an authentic Qinzhou person speaks, the ending tone often rises gently, like the rhythm of waves gently hitting the side of the ship. This unique voice is a living evidence of the integration of thousands of ethnic groups. In Qinzhou's vegetable market, you may hear vendors switching freely in three languages: speaking Qinzhou dialect with local customers, speaking Guiliu dialect with people from other parts of Guangxi, and speaking Mandarin with foreign tourists.
Food is the best window to understand Qinzhou. Qinzhou cuisine belongs to the Cantonese cuisine, but it has a bit more wildness because it is close to the sea. The most famous is the Qinzhou oyster, which grows at the intersection of salt and fresh water. The oyster has plump meat and can be grilled, steamed, cooked into porridge, or made into oyster sauce. Pig's trotters are the breakfast of Qinzhou people. The pig's trotters are cooked for hours until they are soft and tasty. They are served with smooth rice noodles and a spoonful of soup. It is simple but memorable.
Sandworm porridge is a delicacy for the brave. This annelid living on the beach looks like an earthworm, but tastes extremely delicious. The attitude of Qinzhou people towards food reflects their love and open-mindedness of life.
The most prominent feature of Qinzhou's cultural character is the "salty and fresh water" characteristic. Salty and fresh water is a hydrological phenomenon at the confluence of the ocean and the river, and it is also a metaphor for the spiritual world of Qinzhou people. They have both the pragmatism and shrewdness of Lingnan people and the adventurous spirit of coastal peoples; they adhere to traditions and are willing to accept new things. This duality enables Qinzhou to always find its place in historical changes. Today, Qinzhou Port has developed into an important sea outlet in southwest China. The container terminal is open day and night, continuing the indissoluble bond between this city and the ocean.
