On the Relationship between Ports and Sea Transportation in Guangzhou in Tang Dynasty

Guangzhou ports in the Tang Dynasty included Fuxu port outside the city and some ports inside the city.Fuxu port was an inevitable place for ships to crisscross Guangzhou city.People usually stopped there for visiting Nanhai Temple.Fuxu port played a much more important role in sea transportation than in trades.The prosperity of foreign trades in Guangzhou was closely associated with sea transportation.Most government offices and posthouses were located along seaside in the south and west of the city.Corruption of the successive local government officials in Guangzhou had negative effect on foreign trade development in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.