万寿塔位于泉州城东南方向20公里的宝盖山巅，是一座仿木楼阁式石塔，由僧人介殊建造于泉州海洋贸易鼎盛的南宋绍兴年间（1131—1162年）。这里控扼泉州湾与外海交界处，在此建塔锁水口以保平安。万寿塔既是商船抵达泉州港的地标，也是镇守海口、护佑商旅的精神寄托，其望夫成石的传说承载了泉州民众对海洋贸易的历史记忆。

Wanshou Pagoda sits atop Baogai Hill, 20 kilometers southeast of Quanzhou town. It is a timber-framed-pagoda-styled stone pagoda built by monk Jieshu during the Shaoxing period (1131—1162) of the Southern Song dynasty when Quanzhou’s maritime trade reached its heyday.

Baogai Hill is a strategic location for controlling the mouth of the Quanzhou bay. Building a pagoda in such place could lock the outlet and ensure safety.

Wanshou Pagoda was the landmark for merchant ships arriving at the port of Quanzhou; it also served as a source of spiritual support for the local people by safeguarding the bay and providing divine protection for traveling merchants. The pagoda is associated with the legend of a woman gazing endlessly to the sea expecting the return of her seafaring husband, and eventually turning herself into a stone. This story is an integral part of the history of Quanzhou’s maritime trade in the minds of local people.