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Pearl River Delta Junk Shipping

Type Object Region South China Time c. 1400

The Guangdong junk (a type of junk within the Fuchuan tradition) was the main carrier for South China's coastal and inland river trade, its multiple …

Timeline

  1. c. 1400–1600Guangzhou · GuangzhouThe Guangdong junk is a branch of the Fuchuan tradition, with a broad, stable hull and multiple masts with fore-and-aft sails, adapted to the Pearl River estuary and the South China Sea monsoons. Ming-era Guangdong shipyards and private shipbuilding formed a regional tradition in Huangpu, Foshan, and other places.
  2. 1631–1640Macau–Guangzhou–Huangpu · Pearl River EstuaryIn the 1630s, the Pearl River estuary became a hub of East Asian international trade. Guangdong and Fujian junks sailed between Macau, Manila, Nagasaki, and Vietnamese ports, carrying silk, porcelain, sugar, and Southeast Asian spices; junk shipping was the core of regional logistics.
  3. 1631–1640Foshan–Shunde waterways · FoshanIn the 1630s, inland river junks of the Pearl River Delta carried Foshan handicraft products and grain from Shunde and Zhongshan through the waterways to Guangzhou and Macau for export, forming an integrated inland river–coastal transport chain that supported the prosperity of South China's towns.

Sources