Xiamen trip (Dec 27 + 28 2004)

| Amoy Magic | About Xiamen | More about Xiamen |

The waterfront | Stone and Gun museum | Nan or South Putuo Temple | Gu Lan Yu

Home | Photo Series | Photo Series China | Xiamen 2010

Xiamen, with its earlier name Amoy is a very ancient port-town in the South of Fujian province
The Waterfront
Welcome to the subtropical city of Xiamen
Taiwan controlled Jinmen Island is so near that big characters have been erected for the Taiwanese to see them:
"Yi Guo Liang Zhi tong Yi Zhong Guo"
or
" One Country two Systems and then China Can be United"
This used to be shouted over the sea as well, using loudspeaker arrays
The beach is clean
The beach is empty
The beach supports economy
And also gives space to modern art
Made by Colette Hosmer of USA
As well as other sculptures arranged in the beach-park
Stone and Gun museum
Xiamen's Stone and Gun museum at Hulishan houses an enormous 280 mm gun with a barrel of 10m capable of shooting 700 pounders up to 20KM far
The same Stone and Gun museum houses also a set of very extraordinary stones, seemingly having hair growing on it
Nan Putuo or South Putuo Temple
South Putuo Temple

is situated below the Five Old Gentlemen Peaks in the southern part of the island of Xiamen.
It was first built in the Tang Dynasty and is one of the sacred places of Buddhism in Southern Fujian.
Inside the temple there are the Heaven King's Hall, the Daxiong Hall, the Great Compassion Hall, all of which are built in an exquisite and grand style
©http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Work/Lujiang-Nanputuo-Temple.html
Beautifully decorated rooftops
An extensive layout
Symbols of prosperity (the Chinese word for fish, Yu, sounds like, surplus)
And you are tempted to try your luck by leaving a coin on the surface of a rock
In every crevece one finds either small statues
In many shapes
Or sticks, left as token for "support" and prayers
While curved roots and branches of trees make the narrow stairs even narrower
Gu Lan Yu in 2010 we were again on Gu Lan Yu
Gulanyu Island --Piano Islet


A mere 500 meters across the harbor from downtown Xiamen lies the famous 1.77 square kilometer island of Gulangyu (or "Drum Waves," because the breakers pound the rocks like drums).

International Settlement It won't take you long to understand why foreigners chose this tiny island for their International Settlement. And even today Gulangyu possesses one asset almost unheard of elsewhere in China: quiet! Vehicles and bicycles are forbidden on the tiny island. (In fact, Gulangyu has not had cars for centuries!).

The one sound you will hear on Gulangyu is pianos. This tiny community of 20,000 has more pianos per capita than anywhere else on the planet -hence Gulangyu's nickname "Piano Isle."

Early on, Protestants started several churches on Amoy and Gulangyu Islands--including China's 1st Protestant Church. (in 1848). David Abeel, Elihu Doty, Rev. William Pohlman, William Burns, J. Macgowan, Rev. John Van Nest Talmage--the list of well known missionaries and mission doctors (like Sir Patrick Manson, Father of Tropical Medicine) in Amoy is endless.

Catholics were busy too. The Vicariate Apostolic of Amoy (created in 1883 under the Dominicans) oversaw 11 European and 8 Chinese priests, 32 churches or chapels, 3 orphanages, and 13 schools (and included Taiwan in its domain). The piano played an integral part in all religious services-and Gulangyu folk have been hooked on them ever since.

It is no surprise that an inordinate number of famous pianists have come from tiny Gulangyu island. Gulangyu has more pianos per capita than any other city in China (perhaps even in the world)-over 350 pianos, or one in every five homes.

Virtually every evening some family is holding a recital for their budding pianist, and many go on to study in the Amoy Music Academy, and from there to play in London, New York, Paris-or the local churches from whence the pianos came in the first place.

© http://www.amoymagic.com/gulan.htm
At the entrance to the port of Gulanyu, the statue of Zheng Chenggong (1624-1662), or Koxinga, as the Dutch rulers of Amoy for 38 years, called him.
The Dutch surrendered on January 27, 1662, to Koxinga, who himself "died of overwork."
Xiamen side of the strait
And the landmark Gulangyu's Sunlight Rock
Rustique, colonial houses remind of the past
Neatly restored
And really attractive
The Dutch Centre on Gulanyu
The only Spanish Church on an Island full of churches
And Alleys
Also typical Chinese styled houses
Although some in a dilapidated state
A tree, choosing a wall rather than the soil to grow
Another tree, can hardly be seen from the wood
Gulanyu beach
Gulanyu harbour Octopus
Gulanyu has a museum, showing the past.....
...the Dutch occupation and its brutality...
...the Chinese victory over the Dutch oppressors...
And the leadership of early modern China:
Deng Xiao Ping, Zhou en Lai, Liu Shao Qi and Mao Zhe Dong
A famous handicraft of the region is , done by hammering small dots into polished black marble, which is only done by women
the sun sets over Gulanyu




Xiamen trip (Dec 27 + 28 2004)

| Amoy Magic | About Xiamen | More about Xiamen |

The waterfront | Stone and Gun museum | Nan or South Putuo Temple | Gu Lan Yu

Home | Photo Series | Photo Series China | Xiamen 2010