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XIAMEN
At a glance |
General
Information | History
| Cuisine |
Travel |
Climate |
Attractions | Tours originating
Xiamen
Attractions:
Gulang Island |
Haoyue
Garden | Ji Mei |
Nanputuo
Temple | South Putuo Temple |
Sunlight Rock |
Wanshi (10 Thousand
Stone) Botanical Garden
 Xiamen
at a glance:
One of the five economic special
regions in China; beverage, leather goods, industry arts chemical fiber,
electric appliances and instruments are well-known all over the country; Xiamen
harbor is the important foreign trade harbor; named "Garden on the sea" and
"Peal on the sea". Location: located in the southern part of Fujian
province; between 11804´ east longitude and 2426´ north latitude.
Neighboring Areas: Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Taiwan provinces.
Physical Features: mainly downland, small plain near the sea; Xiamen
island and continent is connected by the sea bank; wide gulf with deep water,
without freezing and silting. Population: 1.24 million.
Urban Population: 1.24 million. Area: 1,565 sq. km.
Nationalities: Han, She, Hui, Miao, Manchu, and Gaoshan. Climatic
Features: subtropical monsoon climate; the black frost period last 364 days;
the average wind power is 3 to 5 level, mainly the northeast wind.
Average Temperature: annual average 20.8C, with the absolute highest
temperature of 38.4C, lowest of 2C. Rainfall: the annual
precipitation is 1100mm; concentrated on May, June and July. Mountains:
Gulangyu Island- Wanshi Mountain. Rivers: Yongding River, a branch
of the Haihe River. Local Highlights: Peanut Crisp, Spice Grapes,
tea, seafood.
General Information:
Xiamen is situated in the southern part of Fujian Province, west of the Taiwan
Straits. It has many attractions for visitors. It is a scenic port city on the
southeastern coast of China and a Special Economic Zone ratified by the State
Council as well as a city in separate state plan whose administration level is
vice provincial with seven administrative regions under its jurisdiction. The
city covers an area of 1,516 sq. km with a population of 1.2 million. The local language is Southern Fujian dialect.
Xiamen has been famed as a
hometown of overseas Chinese and Taiwanese. It is known as "the pearl of the
East Sea" due to its prosperous culture and education along with its developed
economy. Xiamen enjoys an agreeable climate, with the weather of spring all year
round. It has abundant tourist resources. More and more visitors from China and
abroad are attracted by its wonderful hills, seas, rocks, caves, temples,
gardens, as well as its historic sites, customs and cultures with special South Fujian characteristics.
Xiamen now ranks as one of the ten most popular tourist
cities in China. Xiamen has a natural deep-water port. Its highways lead to every part of the
country and a railway network connects with the entire nation. Passenger vessels
travel to and from Hong Kong regularly. Xiamen International Airport hosts more
than 40 domestic airlines as well as 6 international airlines from Xiamen to
Singapore, Manila, Malaysia, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. Xiamen
city proper adopts an all number programmable control telephone system, which
supplies a link with every city and region in China and more than two hundred
countries and regions in the world.
History:
 The administration
organizational system of Xiamen has begun since Sung Dynasty,
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644
AD) built the
city walls and established Xiamen as a major seaport and commercial center; the
city has significantly benefited from Taiwanese, overseas Chinese and foreign
investment and its designation as a Special Economic Zone in 1980.
Cuisine:
Xiamen cuisine, the most representative one of Fujian cuisine, is
characterized by its similarity to Canton food; sweet, light and very popular
with western taste buds! The food is certainly one of the best things about
Xiamen- particularly the seafood which is exceptionally fresh. Dishes here use
copious amounts of oysters, crabs, prawn and peanuts. Xiamen peanut soup is
served up with everything. The Sweet Peanut Shop (Huangzehe Huashengtang Dian)
on Zhongshan Lu is the best place to sample Xiamen's favorite nutty goodies. Local specialties here include fish ball soup, shrimp noodles and oyster soup. There are some great seafood restaurants around town. On Gulangyu Island there
are a wealth of places to choose from, particularly around the Lujiang Hotel. The hotel itself also serves good Chinese food including an impressive medicinal
banquet- the properties of the food are apparently good for the soul and body!
Those tired with seafood should seek out the Marco Polo Hotel on Jianye Road and
tuck into their authentic Peking Duck. There are also a couple of good
vegetarian restaurants in Xiamen; one in the Nanputo Temple and the other, the
Hao Qing Xiang Restaurant on Hubin Zhong Lu. Muslim food is also popular here. Tasty lamb dishes, kebabs and Xinjiang bread are all available from the street
vendors and in the little Muslim cafes dotted about town.
Travel:
 By
plane: Most travelers going to Xiamen resort to air-travel, making it the fourth
largest air traffic hub in China after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Daily
direct flights are available from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian,
Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Kunming, Shanghai and Shenzhen. In addition, you
can also go to international destinations such as Bangkok, Singapore, Manila and
Osaka. By Rail: Compared with air transport, railway transport seems to be no
match, for the city is in essence an island linked to the mainland by a bridge. The rail links to this part of the world are not the best, although they have
been improving recently. However train links to most parts of the North, due to
the mountainous topography of Fujian, still take fairly circuitous and time
wasting routes. By bus: It is possible to take a daily bus to go to Fuzhou and Quanzhou from the long-distance bus station or the ferry terminal. Distant
destination such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen are also reachable by regular and
frequent coaches. Luxury air-con buses also depart from the larger hotels.
By
boat: Regular ships leaves the Amoy Port Administration passenger station at Heping Pier on Tongwen Lu at
15:00 on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Every month nine ships leave for Shanghai (¥220 to
¥250) and three for
Guangzhou. Every week, there is a ship to Hong Kong (every Wednesday 17:00
depart from Xiamen, leave Hong Kong on every Tuesday 14:00). City Transport:
Going from one place to another within the city is fairly easy with over 50
public transport routes. Bus fares are ¥1. Minibuses also shuttle back and
forth in the city, but be prepared for delay because minibus drivers are liable
to wait until the bus is full. Fares for such buses are from ¥1 and above
depending on the number of stops. Taxis can be hailed with ease in the downtown
area and at major scenic spots on the outskirts.
Climate:
Xiamen, a tourist-oriented coastal city, appeals strongly to foreign
tourists largely due to its climate. Located in the subtropical zone, the city
receives abundant sunshine (a total of 2,276 hours annually), a big blessing for
those planning to go sunbathing on the beach. The annual average temperature
here is 20.8C. Even in winter the temperature here never hits anywhere
near the colder North. The coldest month, February, never goes below 10C. The wind chill at this time can be a little biting though, so it is worth
bringing a coat. The only other warning is that typhoon season can hit anytime
between July and September and is probably worth missing. The optimum time for
visiting Xiamen is from May to July with warm, but not excessive, temperatures.
Attractions: (
= voted as the highly recommended
attractions to visit)
Tours:
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