Xiamen
Xiamen () is a coastal
sub-provincial city in southeastern
Fujian province,
People's Republic of China. It looks out to the
Taiwan Strait and borders the cities of
Quanzhou and
Zhangzhou to the north and south respectively.
Xiamen is also known as
Amoy internationally, especially in the old times. "Amoy" is how "Xiamen" is spoken in
Northern Min, the vernacular of the provincial capital
Fuzhou. In the Amoy vernacular, it is pronounced
'-mn̂g. The
toponym literally means "The Gate of the Grand Mansion".
The
subprovincial city of Xiamen administers 6
districts.
*Haicang District (海沧区)
*Huli District (湖里区)
*Jimei District (集美区)
*Siming District (思明区)
*Tong'an District (同安区)
*Xiang'an District ("安区)
The districts of Siming and Huli form the Special Economic Zone.
In May 2003, Gulangyu Island and Kaiyuan District were merged into Siming District, Xinglin District (杏林区) was renamed Haicang District, and Xiang'an District was created out of a section of Tong'an District.
The place was made Tong'an District (同安縣) in
282, a sub-entity of Jin'an Prefecture (晉安郡). In
1387, the
Ming Dynasty used it as base against
pirates, and was part of
Quanzhou.
Koxinga stationed here in
1650, naming it Siming Island (思明洲), 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 (省轄市), then upgraded to a vice-province-class city (副省級市), 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" (茶; tê), "cumshaw" (感謝; kám-siā), "
ketchup" (茄汁; kiô-chiap), "
satay" (沙爹), and "
Pekoe" (白毫; pe̍h-hô) 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.
In 2000, the largest corruption scandal in China's history was uncovered, implicating up to 200 government officials.
Xiamen comprises of
Xiamen Island,
Gulangyu Island, and a larger region along the mouth of
Jiulong River on
Mainland China. Huli District and most of Siming District (except Gulangyu) are on Xiamen Island, while the other four districts lie on the mainland.
Xiamen Island is located very close to the island of
Quemoy, which is governed by the
Republic of China (based on
Taiwan).
The local
vernacular language is Amoy, a dialect of
Southern Min, also called
Hokkien. The official language of the
People's Republic of China,
Mandarin, is also widely used.
*Xiamen is served by the
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, the base of
Xiamen Airlines.
*A
ferry service links
Xiamen Island and
Gulangyu Island.
*There are two major bridges linking Xiamen Island to
Mainland China.
National
*
Xiamen University (founded 1921)
Public
*
Lujiang University (厦门理工学院/鹭江职业大学)
*
Jimei University (集美大学)
*
Xiamen Oceanography Vocational College (厦门海洋职业技术学院)
Private
*
Xiamen Nanyang College (厦门南洋学院)
*
Xiamen Performing Arts College (厦门"艺职业学院)
*
Informatics College (Xiamen) (英华美(厦门)学院)
Xiamen is twinned with:
*Cardiff, Wales (since 1983)
*Sasebo, Japan (since 1983)
*Cebu, Philippines (since 1984)
*Baltimore, Maryland, United States (since 1985)
*Wellington, New Zealand (since 1987)
*Penang, Malaysia (since 1991)
*
Government website of Xiamen (available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese)
*
Expatriates Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Province*
City guide to Xiamen, updated frequently
