Xiamen, also historically known as Amoy, is a major city on the southeast (Taiwan Strait) coast of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province, with an area of 1,699.39 square kilometers (656.14 sq mi) and population of 3,531,347 at the 2010 Census. The city's urban area includes the old urban island area and covers all six districts of Xiamen (Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang and recently Xiang'an), and has a total urban population of 1,861,289. It also borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou making this a unique built-up area of more than five million people. The Jinmen (Kinmen) Islands administered by the Republic of China are less than 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away.
Being one of the major Hokkien-speaking cities in China and the world, Xiamen and the surrounding southern Fujian cities and counties such as Zhangzhou and Quanzhou are the ancestral homes to large communities of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, especially Singapore, various parts of Malaysia as well as the Indonesian Riau Province. The city was a treaty port in the 19th century and one of the four original Special Economic Zones opened to foreign investment and trade when China began economic reforms in the early 1980s. It is endowed with educational and cultural institutions supported by the overseas Chinese diaspora. In 2006, Xiamen was ranked as China's second "most suitable city for living", as well as China's "most romantic leisure city" in 2011.
history
Xiamen is an island city with a long history, later became a center of British trade in the 19th century and their foreign settlements, later taken over by Japanese invaders at the start of World War II, were established on the nearby small Gulangyu Island. Many of the old treaty-port and colonial buildings in Western styles survive. Xiamen was declared one of China’s first Special Economic Zones in the early 1980’s, taking advantage of the city’s heritage as a trading center. Today Xiamen is one of China’s most attractive and best-maintained resort cities.
Economy
Xiamen has a diverse and well-developed economy. Primary economic activities include fishing, shipbuilding, food processing, tanning, textiles, machine tool manufacturing, chemical industries, telecommunications and financial services. The city has economic and trade relations with 162 countries and regions worldwide, and benefits from foreign investment, particularly capital from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
In 2008, a total of 356 projects with foreign direct investment had been approved in the city, with a contractual foreign investment amount of USD1.896 billion and an actual foreign investment amount of USD2.042 billion. In 1992, Xiamen was ranked among the top 10 Chinese cities in relation to comprehensive strengths with its GDP increasing by an average of over 20% annually. In 2008, Xiamen's GDP amounted to 156 billion Yuan, an increase of 11.1% over the previous year; and the per-capita GDP was 62,651 CNY(USD9,017). Further economic reforms were introduced, and this brought the total volume of imports and exports in 2008 to USD45.4 billion, while that of exports totaled USD29.4 billion.
Xiamen is also the host of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade held annually in early September to attract foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland.
Xiamen has excellent road, rail, air and port infrastructure. In the last few years, Xiamen has invested more than RMB30 billion in infrastructure construction.
Transportation
Gaoji Causeway, Four main road bridges, the Jimei, Xiamen, Xinglin and Haicang Bridges, and one undersea tunnel, Xiangan Tunnel, link Xiamen Island with the mainland.
The main forms of public transportation in Xiamen are bus and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Xiamen's Bus Rapid Transit system features a dedicated bus-only closed road system with stations and ticketing system similar to light rail. Most of the 115 kilometers (71 mi) BRT network consist of bus lanes along expressways and elevated BRT viaducts on Xiamen Island. BRT routes have no traffic lights and travel speed is limited by design to 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph). Five BRT routes are currently in service: BRT-1 Route, BRT-2 Route, Huandao Avenue BRT Route, Chenggong Avenue BRT Route and Connecting BRT Route. The BRT is supplemented by 20 shuttle bus services that connect nearby places to the BRT stations.
Taxis can be easily hailed in most areas of the city. Bicycles are commonly used by residents, especially on Xiamen Island. Unlike most Chinese cities, motorcycles and mopeds are not permitted in Xiamen. On the small island of Gulangyu off Xiamen Island, automobiles are also banned.
Xiamen Metro has been under construction since 2013 and the first line is scheduled to start operation in 2017. A system of three lines has been approved so far, with plans to eventually expand to six lines including service to surrounding suburban areas.
Xiamen, lying in the sub-tropical Zone, Xiamen has maritime climate and congenial, spring-like weather in four seasons. 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 21 ℃ (69.8℉). The coldest month, February, never goes below 10 ℃(50℉).
People can enjoy the bright sunlight, the gentle breeze, the lush plants and the colorful flowers all year round.
Tourism
Xiamen and its surrounding countryside is known for its scenery and tree-lined beaches. Gulangyu, also known as Piano Island, is a popular weekend getaway with views of the city and features many Victorian-era style European edifices. Xiamen's Botanical Garden is a nature lover's paradise. The Buddhist Nanputuo Temple, dating back to the Tang Dynasty, is a national treasure. Xiamen is also famous for its history as a front line in the Chinese Civil War with Taiwan over Jinmen (also known as Kinmen or Quemoy) 50 years ago. One attraction for tourists is to view Kinmen, a group of islands a few kilometers away and under Taiwanese control, from Xiamen island.
Xiamen University is a beautiful campus with old traditional buildings and a tranquil lake outside the foreign language department. Nowadays the University is open to anyone, though some form of registration may be needed during peak holidays. To avoid long registration procedure, you may enter the university from three smaller gates which are across the Baicheng beach.
Water Garden Expo Park has a planning area of about 6.76 km2 (2.61 sq mi) (land area of 3.03 km2 (1.17 sq mi)), which consists of five exhibition park islands, four ecological landscapes islands and two peninsulas, including the main pavilion, Chinese Education Park, Marine Culture Island, Spa Island and other functional areas and related facilities
Culture
The local vernacular is Amoy, a dialect of Southern Min, also called Hokkien. Amoy is widely used and understood across the southern region of Fujian province as well as overseas. While it is widely spoken in and around Xiamen, the Amoy dialect has no official status, and the official language of all government business is Mandarin. Xiamen is famous for South Music, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, puppet show, Gezi Opera, temple celebration events, and the world famous singer, Ivy.
Population: 3.7 million
Temperature: average 21 ℃ (69.8℉)
