[Educational Tour of China] - XiaMen 厦门

[凤凰教育]

Xiamen, the second largest city in Fujian province next to the capital Fuzhou, covers a total area of 1,516 square
meters. As one of the five earliest special economic zones, with heavy investment from Taiwan and Hong Kong, it has
been a city growing in strength. Despite its fame as an industrial powerhouse, this port city has not lost much of its
charm, and as a sightseeing haven has become one of the best areas to visit in Fujian and for good reason: With good
food, some great architecture and a mild to hot climate, Xiamen is hard to beat.

[凤凰教育]

Xiamen, known in the West as Amoy, has long been an important trading port both for the Chinese and the
Colonialists that were to make use of it. It is the island of Gulangyu, however, that nowadays most attracts
Westerners to this area of Fujian, with its hundreds of interesting and quietly crumbling colonial villas.

[凤凰教育]

For the Chinese, one of the main reasons for visiting this isle is to pay homage to the great general and pirate
Koxinga, who led heavy resistance against the invading Manchu armies in the seventeenth century, and who fought
and defeated the Dutch armies in Taiwan. Tributes to Koxinga are scattered all about the island, including the majestic
granite statue of him, staring out towards Taiwan.