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. Xiamen CityBeing 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 is located in Southeast of Fujian province,it is considered as the cleanest port city in China thus people call Xiamen "the garden on the sea" or call it "green island". Back to Song dynasty it started its administrative founding until now.There are a great variety of sights to witness in Xiamen.Gulangyu Island, the most beautiful island near Xiamen, has won great reputation for its Sunlight Rock and Shuzhuang Garden.South Putuo Temple, which is located at the foot of Wulaofeng and is deemed to be the most renowned Buddhist temple in Xiamen.Xiamen Botanical Garden, known as the Wanshi Botanical Garden,which has scenic spots such as the Morning Bell of Heaven, the Reading and Music Playing Cave, the Cloud Locking Stones, the Jade Scepter Rock and the Peace Stone. In the past decade, Xiamen has changed a lot with rapid advancing in agriculture,industry,science technology and education areas.
厦门位于中国东南沿海,台湾海峡西岸,与台湾隔海相望。全市总面积1,569.3平方公里,2006年末全市登记户籍人口160万人,常住人口约233万人。下辖思明、湖里、集美、海沧、同安、翔安六个行政区, 厦门是中国最适宜居住的城市之一。这里气候宜人,风景秀丽,环境整洁,拥有“国际花园城市”、“国家卫生城市”、“国家园林城市”、“国家环保模范城市”、“中国优秀旅游城市”、“全国十佳人居城市”和“全国人居环境奖”等殊荣。2004年,厦门荣获人居环境方面的最高奖项--“联合国人居奖”。 厦门是中国最早实行对外开放政策的四个经济特区之一,是国家计划单列市,享有省级经济管理权限并拥有地方立法权。 厦门是中国最具竞争力的城市之一。在中国社科院百名专家联合完成的《2005年城市竞争力报告》中,厦门在中国200个城市综合竞争力排行榜中列第九名,在政府管理、企业管理、制度、环境、基础设施、开放程度等多个方面的竞争力均位于全国前列。在2006年世界银行公布的《政府治理、投资环境与和谐社会——中国120个城市竞争力的提升》报告中获“金牌城市”称号。 Xiamen, facing Taiwan across the sea, is an important window and base for foreign contacts in China's southeast coastal area, which is nearest to Southeast Asia and Oceania. Haicang, a part of Xiamen, is situated on the tip of South-Fujian Triangular Area and separated with Xiamen Island only by a strip of water. Haicang has a semi-tropical monsoon climate with meteorological data as follows: Annual average temperature: 21C, Monthly average temperature: maximum 28.5C, minimum 12.5C, Extremely low temperature: 2C, Extremely high temperature: 38.5C, Average annual time of sunshine: 2233.5 hours, Average annual rainfall: 1143.5mm. Haicang's terrain is a combination of hill, terrace and plain with a stable geological structure. It has never registered any destructive earthquake in its history. Considering its advantageous port conditions and the vast space for development, Dr. Sun Yaksen put forward a grand concept of building Haicang into an "Oriental Big Port" in his "Strategy to Build the Country". In early twentieth century, "Asia" of Britain and "Mobil" of the United States, two consortiums, used Haicang as their oil-transshipping port and fuel base