Local musicians play Nanyin music from southern Fujian at the Huaqiao Temple in Quanzhou.

At one time Quanzhou was home to a large number of temples, monasteries and mosques, yet today most have been reduced to no more than tumbledown walls. Unlike in other places, the religious structures in Quanzhou all seem to have disappeared at the same time, causing much speculation among visitors as to the reason why.
This great and sudden change was the result of the Yuan empire's policy to use ethnic peoples to rule the Han people. At that time people in China were divided into three categories: first came the Mongolians, who were the local rulers, second were other ethnic groups and third, the Han Chinese. Since there were not many Mongolians around in Quanzhou they were unable to rule the city, therefore the reigns of power were given to Chinese Arabs. Troops garrisoning the city were mostly Persians, a situation that soon resulted in trouble for the imperial court.
During the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty, there was a mutiny among the Persian troops, an event which ushered in ten years of upheaval. The Ming Dynasty sent troops to suppress the Persians, and the local Han Chinese took advantage of this opportunity to seek revenge. The Ming troops even went so far as to try to suppress religion among the Arabs, to whom Islam was an integral part of life. For these reasons the social unrest and feuding between different nationalities heightened. Quanzhou was thrown into chaos. In addition, the Ming court decided to close off the coast, therefore all trade via the maritime route was stopped. Since that time the once prosperous city of Quanzhou began its decline, never to regain its former glory.