Xiamen---Travel In China

Xiamen is a coastal sub-provincial city in Fujian Province, southern China.

Area: 1565.09 km² (300 km² water)
Population: 1,371,600 (late 2002)
GDP per capita: ¥38567 (ca. US$4660) in 2003, ranked no 9 among 659 Chinese cities.
Xiamen is also known as Amoy internationally, which is how "Xiamen" is spoken in Northern Min, the vernacular of the provincial capital Fuzhou. In the vernacular of Xiamen, known as Southern Min, it is pronounced E-mng. The placename means "The Gate of the Grand Mansion".

History
The place was made Tong'an District in 282, a sub-entity of Jin'an Prefecture. In 1387, the Ming Empire used it as base against pirates, and was part of Quanzhou. Koxinga stationed here in 1650, naming it Siming Island, or "Remembering the Ming", but the city was renamed by the Manchus in 1680 to Xiamen Subprefecture. The name "Siming" was reverted after the 1912 Xinhai Revolution and made a county. The following it was reverted to Xiamen City. In 1949, Xiamen became a provincial city, then upgraded to a vice-province-class city, or a municipality. It was made a Special Economic Zone in 1980.

Xiamen was the port of trade first used by Europeans in 1541. It was China's main port in the 19th century for exporting tea. As a result, the Amoy dialect had a major influence on how Chinese terminology was translated into English and other European languages. For example, the words "Amoy", "tea", "cumshaw", "ketchup", "satay" originated from the Amoy dialect.

Xiamen was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China.

Administration
All six sub-municipal entities in Xiamen are districts, whereas other Fujianese municipalities have mixed districts and counties.

Haicang District
Huli District
Jimei District
Siming District
Tong'an District
Xiang'an District
Siming and Huli co-exist with the Special Economic Zone.

In May 2003, Gulangyu and Kaiyuan were merged into Siming. Xinglin District was renamed Haicang District. Xiang'an was created out of a section of Tong'an.

Geography
Xiamen Municipality comprises of Xiamen Island, Gulangyu Island, and a larger region along the mouth of Jiulong River on the mainland. Huli District and most of Siming District (except Gulangyu) are on Xiamen Island. The other four districts are on mainland.

Xiamen Island is geographically very close to the island of Quemoy, which is governed by the Republic of China (based on Taiwan).

Located at the southeast coast of China, Xiamen is a tourist city of Fujian Province famous for its attractive seascape. As one of the major seaports since ancient times, Xiamen boasts a wide gulf with deep water but without freezing and silting. The name of 'Xiamen' was consequently given, which means 'a gate of China'. As one of the forerunners of the special economic zones of China, Xiamen mainly consisting of Xiamen Island, Gulangyu Island, the north bank area of the Jiulong River and Tong'an County, is connected with the mainland by the Gaoji Seawall, Xiamen Bridge, etc. Xiamen has been called the Egret Island because of the hundreds of thousands of egrets inhabiting there. This is due to the beautiful natural scenery, the fresh air and the clean environment of the city.


Being of a subtropical monsoon climate with mild weather all year round expect the typhoon months, Xiamen is an ideal tourist destination for you. It is a typical littoral city with abundant tourist attractions such as islands, mountains, temples and parks, etc., providing you with a full sightseeing schedule. The well-known Gulangyu Island, Nanputuo Temple and other tourist areas like Jimei, Hulishan Battery, Wanshiyan, etc. are highly recommended. A sea tourist line is also available for you to enjoy the amazing scenery of many beautiful small islands around.


Xiamen enjoys convenient transportation. You can go there by air, by train, by coach or by sea. The transportation within the city is also satisfying. Most tourists consider the accommodation in Xiamen, consisting of many star rated hotels, convenient. Meanwhile Xiamen has plenty of special local products to be added to your shopping list, including various kinds of tealeaves, fruits like sugarcanes, olives and longans as well as sea products such as fish, prawns, crabs, abalones and lancelets.
Being the hometown of many overseas Chinese, Xiamen has actually benefited from the contribution of overseas Chinese and its economy has undertaken great advancement. To promote its tourism industry, it has established not only the corresponding infrastructures, but also a great variety of entertainment centers. The folk customs of the minorities, varied local festivals and especially the particular local dishes and snacks are also appealing to visitors. Xiamen, with distinct oriental culture and southern Fujian features, welcomes you from all over the world.