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XIAMEN
Xiamen City is a welcoming entry port to China's southern Fujian province, set among wide highways, gardens and modern transport links, it is a mark of the rapid changes since becoming a special economic zone in the early 1980s.Fujian Province, on China's southeast, is rich in natural scenic beauties with a myriad of
mountains, lakes and caves, often with deep and long histories of monks seeking solitude and meditation over by-gone centuries. The region is also location to famous temples and sites of learning of Chinese philosophers.Xiamen, an island city, with a population of 1.3 million people, has long been a strategic port, once the home of pirates and rebel leaders, but now replete with road and airport infrastructure marking further symbols of China's rapid economic progress.
Founded in 1394 at the start of the Ming dynasty as a defense against coastal pirates, the city has been fought over on several occasions, opening to foreign traders after the Opium Wars in the 1840s.
Today, the city's gleaming new city skyscrapers are in full view, marking the heartland of Xiamen City port, 287 nautical miles from Hong Kong.
But evidence of the city's past history still abounds. Just a short ferry ride journey across the Lujiang River takes visitors to the Gulangyu islet - once a refuge of the colonial powers. Visitors stroll along vehicle-free narrow lanes, amid a Mediterranean-feel atmosphere, bounded by colonial mansions of a bygone era.
The best views come standing atop Sunlight Rock - the lookout on Longtoushan (Dragon
Head Hill), with panoramic views of both Gulangyu Islet and beyond to Xiamen City and the Port. A cable-car journey delivers the visitor to the bird sanctuary and gardens.From Tong Wen Road, just behind Heping wharf, it is easy access to the shopping streets of Zhong Shan Lu and Zhen Hai Lu (roads) where along with a few souvenir shops; department stores and individual shops thrive together with restaurants.
Away from the immediate city's busy malls and shops, contemplation can be found at the
South Putuo Temple in the island's central districts and reached by traveling through the one kilometer long Xiayueshan Tunnel. The historic temple, dating back 1,000 years, stands in the shadow of the "Five Old Men Peaks".
Xiamen is also a city of learning. The Xiamen University, set among wide campus grounds, was founded by in 1921 by overseas Chinese Tan Kah Kee. There is also the Jimeo Overseas Chinese Continuation School - also created by Tan Kah Kee, and the 1987 established Xiamen International Chinese Medicine Training and Exchange Center.
Across the Xiamen Bridge onto the mainland - just past the international airport, lie Jimei and Xinglin townships, along with cultural centers and the Kaige Golf Course. Further to the west are several major farms.
Regular domestic flights enable easy access to greater Fujian province. Available tours include to the World Heritage Site of Mount Wuyishan National Park in Northwest Fujian province. Here the Heavenly Tower Peak, accessible by a one-hour climb, offers panoramic views across the mountain ranges and gullies. It's mystery enhanced when enveloped by early morning mist, adding to a magical quality. Raft tours along the nine-bend river beneath the Peak offers a further perspective of the park's beauty.
On Mt Wuyi's southern reaches is Golden Lake, some 60 km long, and famous for the scenery of nearby mountains, clear waters, with more than 100 historical sites within close proximity.
Elsewhere in Fujian, other famed sites also center on region's natural heritage, temples and dynastic structures, including the Earthen Castles in the western region, as well as the Guanzhai Mountain in the Longyan Region. In central Fujian are the waters, caves and waterfalls of Jiuli Lake, while in Putian is the splendor of the famed Southern Shaolin Temple complex.
Fuzhou is the modern, bustling capital of Fujian. From here tours of several natural sites lie within reach. The capital is also one of the four national historic cities, together with
Quangzhou, Zhangzhou and Chanting.The weather of Xiamen is subtropical, generally mild and temperate with a winter through December to March mild and the summers free from extreme heat, with an average rainfall of 1,000 mm over the year.
International-domestic airports are found at Xiamen, Fuzhou, Wuyishan and Jinjiang, while modern railways connect to all corners of China, together with major road and highway connections between major centers completed in recent years, including Fuzhou and Beijing.
There are more than 30 international standard hotels centered on the major tourist venues of Xiamen, Fuzhou, Wuyishan, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou, with a similar number of travel agencies - mostly in Fuzhou, Xiamen and Wuyishan, available to provide services with English speaking guides.
THAI Airways International offers three weekly services between Bangkok and Xiamen, starting on 29 Oct 2002, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, utilizing Airbus A300-600 aircraft.
