Quanzhou was the “Number One Port of the East” during the Song-Yuan period. Its highly developed shipbuilding industry was characterized by Fuchuan (literally “Fujian junks”), a classic model of ships. Fuchuan has a flat deck and a V-shaped bottom; the prow is sharp, the stern is wide, and both ends of the ship rise upwards. The whole ship is full of aesthetic elements. Quanzhou-built Fuchuan is world-famous for its watertight-bulkhead technology and superior ability to remain afloat. 

The watertight-bulkhead technology is a great invention in the shipbuilding industry as it divides the ship’s cabin into separate compartments with bulkheads, which has the function of improving the ship’s ability to remain afloat and increasing the safety of voyaging. 

In September 2009, the watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. 

By displaying the Song-dynasty shipwreck, the process of building Fuchuan by inheritors and the internal structure of the ship model, the exhibition demonstrates the techniques of building Fuchuan and the significance of the techniques to the prosperity of commerce and trade in Quanzhou during the Song-Yuan period.