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AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and Fujian
Xiamen Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu KulongsuGulangyu
Jimei Tan Kah Kee Jimei University Turtle Garden Jimei AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and FujianTong'an
Jinmen Quemoy Matsu Taiwan
Jinmen
Zhangzhou  changchow Zhangzhou
Discover Quanzhou, ancient start of maritime silk route ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed,  Sinbad the Arab visited.  ChinchewQuanzhou Wuyi Mountain Guide Zhuxi  tea Wuyi
Favorite Fujian tourist sites , in order: Xiamen Quanzhou Longyan Hakka earthen houses Wuyi mountain Ningde
#1Fujian Sites!
Photographs of Fuhken places like Zhangzhou, Longyan, Ningde, Sanming, Wuyi Mountain
Fujian Foto Album
Guidebooks about Fujian and Xiamen Fujian Adventure Discover Quanzhou Discover Gulangyu Magic Fujian etc.Books on Fujian
Letters from AmoyMagic ReadersReaders'Letters

Ningde Taimu Mountain ZhouningNingde Zhouning Carp VillageZhouning
Longyan Yongding Hakka round houses earthen architectureLongyan Sanming Scenic Wonderland Mingxi Gem bed rubies Sanming

Putian Fujian Xianyou Mazu TemplePutian Fujian covered wooden bridgesBridges
Xiamen travel agents and ticketing for trains, planes and automobiles
Travel Info,
Hakka Earthen architecture Hakka Roundhouses

Xiamen Travel Agents and Tour Guides English SpeakingTravel Agents

MISC. LINKS
Historical and Modern Amoy People -- Colorful Characters!Amoy People! amoy mission missionaries
Darwinian Driving Survival of the Fastest DarwinDarwin Driving
Darwin Chinese Driving Survival of fastest
South China Tigers -- our Amoy Kitty CatsAmoy Tigers
Chinese inventions compass gunpowder printing paper zoos newspaper etc.Chinese Inventions
1994 80 day 40,000 km drive to Tibet & backTibet in 80 Days!forty thousand kilometer drive around China
Dethroned Perils of Chinese Potty ToiletDethroned!
Chinese bathrooms
Writings by Bill Brown about life in China,  Fukien Xiamen etc. Includes 80 Day Drive to Tibet  Darwinian Driving Misc.Writings
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OpiumWars short history and background of the Opium Wars between China Britain Europe missionaries battle against opium addiction etc.Lord of Opium
Kite Flying in Xiamen ChinaBack to Main Page

Chinese Kung Fu and Martial Arts Korean Tae Kwon Do  Japanese JujitsuMartial arts Chinese Kung FuKung Fu

AmoyMagic--Guide to Xiamen & Fujian
Copyright 2001-7 by Sue Brown & Dr. Bill Help Build an online  community for foreigners.  Join the Xiamen Guide forumOrder Books Common Talk Xiamen Dailys Weekly English SupplementXiamenguide Forum Guide to Xiamen and Fujian business tourism history culture cuisine entertainment investment Guide to Xiamen hsiamen amoy fuhken fukien
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"Mystic Quanzhou--City of Light"
(My 2nd Favorite Chinese City; Xiamen is 1st!).
Mystic Quanzhou City of Lights Guide to QuanzhouThe City of Springs Description of Quanzhou Chinchew 100 years ago by missionary named Duncan also see Amoy MissionClick Here for Info on Quanzhou

"Mystic Quanzhou", by Dr. Bill, has 266 pages, with B&W and color photos, many by famous Fujian photographers like award-winning Zhu Qingfu and historian
Hong Buren. Click Here to Order Online.
Scanned copy of rare book City of Springs by Annie Duncan 1902 Click Here to see Quanzhou 100 years ago! (Scanned copy, "City of Springs," by Annie Duncan, 1902.

Contents of "Mystic Quanzhou--City of Light"
(Click Links for info combined from various books; more to be added)
Xiamen won Livcom (former "Nations in Bloom") gold in Stuttgart in 2002, Quanzhou got gold in 2003, Shanghai Songjiang got gold in 2005Forward Quanzhou wins the 2003 Livcom Award in Holland! ÖÐÎÄ
Introduction and history of QuanzhouChapter 1---Introduction
China's finest maritime museum is in QuanzhouChapter 2---Maritime Museum
Downtown Zaytun--which in Sinbad the Sailor's day was the treasure center of the planetChapter 3---Downtown Zaytun Zayton is the home of Chinese puppets and marionettes Quanzhou Marionettes
Chapter 4---The Outskirts Quanzhou may be birthplace of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu martial arts S. Shaolin Kungfu
Zaitun parks and gardensChapter 5---Quanzhou Parks (China's largest Taoist statue)
Zaitun covered wooden bridges, stone bridges,Chapter 6---Quanzhou Bridges (ancient biological engineering!)
Hui'an famous for stone masons Hui'an maids stone carvingChapter 7---Hui’an (walled city, Hui'an maidens)
Nan'an Start of Silk Road of the SeaChapter 8---Nan’an (Koxinga's home; start of Maritime Silk Route)
Jinjiang Shishi Home of Overseas Chinese and last Manichean temple on earthChapter 9---Jinjiang & Shishi (home of Overseas Chinese like Jose Rizal)
Anxi great center for oolong tea, temples Chapter 10--Anxi (Famous center for Oolong tea, Fujian's Potala Palaced, etc.)
Dehua -- One of China's two ancient porcelain centers (other was Jingdezhen in Jiangxi ) Chapter 12--Dehua (One of China's two great ancient porcelain centers)
South Fujian foodsChapter 13--Quanzhou Cuisine (famous Minnan - South Fujian Cuisine)
Zaitun Handicrafts Bamboo Tea Silk PorcelainChapter 14--Quanzhou Specialties (what to buy in Quanzhou)
Hotels Hostels Travel Agencies Tour Guides Tickets for Train Plane and BusChapter 15--Hotels & Travel Agencies
Emergency Phone NumbersChapter 16--Emergency Phone Numbers
Supplement by Scott Ballantyne, formerly of ABB Xiamen and BBC
Supplement--Scott Ballantyne's Quanzhou Adventure

BibliographyBibliography
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Brief Intro to Marco Polo's Mythical Zayton (reputed to have been visited even by the Arab's Sinbad the Sailor!)

Quanzhou ¨C Melting Pot of Asia! Quanzhou, not New York City, was our planet¡¯s first great melting pot¡ªand probably stirred by Tong ¡¯An firewalkers. Quanzhou was open to foreigners as never before or since. Laowai became Chinese citizens, intermarried, and held leadership positions even at the provincial level. It was good for both Laowai and Laonei. The Arab with Chinese citizenship who managed China¡¯s trade had such good guanxi (relationships) back in camel country that at one point his operation accounted for ? of China¡¯s entire revenue!
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Not surprisingly, the government appreciated its foreign experts, and conferred honors on them similar to those doled out today. Laowai and Laonei mixed freely, trading commodities, culture--even religions!

The Emperor actually financed foreign missionaries, helping them to build Muslim mosques and Franciscan Catholic cathedrals. Andrew of Perugia, the Franciscan Bishop of Quanzhou, wrote that the Emperor¡¯s budget for these ¡®cultural activities¡¯ exceeded the entire annual budget of some European countries.

Quanzhou ȪÖÝ China¡¯s first major international port was Guangzhou, to the south of Amoy, but merchants soon had enough of the corruption and wars, and moved to the more stable Quanzhou (which Marco Polo called Zaitan, and from which we get our word ¡°satin¡±). Zaitan boasted one of the world¡¯s best natural harbors. Better yet, it was closer to Hangzhou, the silk capital of China (though as you¡¯ll see in the supplement at the end of this chapter, Fujian¡¯s silk was as good or better!).
Over 1,000 years before Christ, the West valued Chinese silk more highly than gold. The poet Horace wrote of the silks from the legendary land of Seres (the Roman name for China), and the poet Lucan wrote of Cleopatra¡¯s ¡°white breasts¡­ revealed by the fabric ¡­ close-woven by the shuttle of the Seres.¡±
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Once Romans and Greeks got a glimpse of Cleopatra¡¯s undies , the demand for silk mushroomed. So did the silk supply, thanks to mythical Quanzhou, the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, since one ship could carry as much silk as 700 cantankerous camels on the not-so-silky Silk Road of the Desert. (Fujian also produced excellent silk! See supplement at the end of this chapter).

By the mid 1300s, Quanzhou had 500,000 people of every race, creed and color imaginable. Historians wrote that ¡°100 large ships and numerous small ones¡± anchored in the harbour. Marco Polo, who sailed for home from Quanzhou, claimed it rivalled Alexandria Egypt as the planet¡¯s largest and busiest port.

TRAVEL LINKS Hakka Earthen architecture Favorite Fujian Sites Photographs of Fuhken places like Zhangzhou, Longyan, Ningde, Sanming, Wuyi MountainFujian Foto Album AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and FujianXiamen Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu KulongsuGulangyu Guide to Fukien Fuhken Fujian Guides Mystic Quanzhou -- the fabled port of Zayton ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed,  Sinbad the Arab visited.  ChinchewQuanzhou Zhangzhou  changchow Zhangzhou Longyan Yongding Liancheng Changting Amoy Tigers LianchengLongyan Wuyi Mountain Guide Zhuxi  tea Wuyi Mtn Ningde Taimu Mountain ZhouningNingde Putian Fujian Xianyou Mazu TemplePutian Sanming Scenic Wonderland Mingxi Gem bed rubies Sanming
Zhouning Carp VillageZhouning
Hakka Earthen architecture Taimu Mtn. Hakka Earthen architecture Roundhouses Fujian covered wooden bridgesBridges Hakka Earthen architecture Jiangxi Hakka Earthen architecture Guilin Help Build an online  community for foreigners.  Join the Xiamen Guide forumOrder Books
Letters from AmoyMagic ReadersReaders' Letters

Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu Kulongsu
Gulangyu

Guide to Xiamen University Historic and modern, including departments -- Arts Science computers mathematics accounting management law department etc.Xiamen Univ

Mystic Quanzhou -- the fabled port of Zayton ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed,  Sinbad the Arab visited.  Chinchew
Quanzhou

AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and Fujian
XiamenGuide


Fujian Adv

Guide to Fukien Fuhken  Bilingual Chinese English Parallel with MP3 CDFujianGuide

Click to e-mail Dr. Bill Brown or Susan BrownClick to E-mail Email address for Bill and Sue Brown     Letters from AmoyMagic ReadersReaders'Letters

Last Updated: May 2007Return to main page and main menu of Amoymagic Return to Main Page       Return to top of pageBack to Top


DAILY LINKS
Frequently Asked Questions about Xiamen andFujianFAQs Questions?
Info on apartments or houses in Xiamen, real estate agentsReal Estate
Xiamen Shopping guide malls supermarketsShopping Download  Xiamen MapsMaps
Xiamen BookstoresBookstores
Train rail schedule for Xiamen, fukien Trains Amoy Bus ScheduleBusses
Car rental rent a car or van with driver in xiamen and fujianCar Rental

Xiamen hotels guesthouses hostels Hotels English News Services sources in Xiamen Fujian ChinaNews (CT)
Doctors Dentists Hospitals Clinics in Xiamen Jimei and Tong'an Medical & Dental
Xiamen YMCA and YWCAYMCA Volunteer! Xiamen International Christian Fellowship Expat Nondenominational interdenominational
Xiamen International Christian FellowshipXICF Fellowship 
Xiamen Churches Protestant Catholic Seventh Day Adventist Amoy Mission Missionaries AbeelChurches Islamic Muslim Mosques Ashab Quanzhou Damascus Fuzhou Xiamen
Xiamen and Fujian Buddhist Taoist Confucian Temples Mazu Manichean Hindu IslamicTemplesXiamen and Fujian Temples and Mosques  Buddhism Confucian Taoism Taoist Buddhism Mazu Matsu Meizhou IslandXiamen and Fujian  Mosques Islamic Muslim Ashab Mosque Quanzhou Fuzhou  Mohammed Disciples DamascusMosque

Xiamen Expat Association Welcome SupportExpat Groups
Hire a Maid Household help servant baomu amah etc.Maids Xiamen Emergency and Frequently used telephone numbersPhone #s

EDUCATION
Xiamen University GuideXiamen University
Xiamen International School  International Baccalaureate ProgramXIS(Int'l School)
Study Mandarin Chinese or Minnan Dialect at Xiamen University  or with private tutorStudy Mandarin
 
China Studies Program Xiamen University  Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Washington D.C. Jay LundeliusCSP(China Studies)
Piano Island Music Events Xiamen Philharmonic OrchestraLibrary Xiamen Museum Library Science Center  World's largest organ museum Asia's largest piano museum China's first anthropology museum Sino Eurolpean art museum etc.Museums
History of Amoy Changchow Chinchew Zaiton Fukien etc.History
DINING
Xiamen restaurants dining western and Chinese cuisineRestaurants Xiamen Asian restaurants -- Singapore Thailand Thai Malaysian  Japanese Korean PhilippineAsian
Xiamen Vegetarian cuisine Nanputuo Temple Seventh Day Adventist Health foodVeggie Xiamen Restaurants Fast Food McDonalds KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken Pizza Hut Burger King (just kidding!) Cafes Coffee shopsJunk Food
Xiamen restaurants dining western and Chinese cuisineChinese Xiamen Italian Restaurants -- over 40!  Pizza pasta cheeseItalian
Western (Internationall) Cuisine in XiamenInternationalAlien visa info -- Americans, Europeans E.T. Outer space visitors
Chinese visa and passport informationVisas 4 aliens
RECREATION
Hakka Earthen architecture Massage!
Hakka Earthen architecture Beaches Kite Flying in Xiamen ChinaFly Kites
Sports -- Golf, Badminton Tennis Bowling Paint BallSports Xiamen Boardwalk One of the most beautiful boardwalks in China or anywhere else.  Along the Island Ring road over 6km long so far.Boardwalk
Xiamen Parks, recreation, hiking boardwalk etcParks Xiamen Museum Library Science Center etcPets
Bird watching in Xiamen Amoy  SwinhoeBirdwatching
Martial arts Chinese Kung FuKung Fu Hiking around Xiamen BushwalksHiking
Piano Island Music Events Xiamen Philharmonic OrchestraMusic Events
Chinese festivals and culture minnanFestival&Culture
Chinese Jokes Humor Funny China photosHumor&Chinese Jokes Humor Funny China photosFun Fotosfunny photos of China
BUSINESS
Doing Business Invest in Xiamen Fujian ChinaDoing Business
Work or teach in Xiamen, Quanzhou or other Fujian schools and universities  English French RussianJobs!(teach/work)
Hire permanent or temporary workers labor craftsmen maids tutorsHire Workers
Foreign Companies in Xiamen Joint Ventures Foreign Companies
China International Fair for Investment and Trade and Cross Straits Exchanges
CIFIT (Trade Fair)
Common Talk Xiamen Dailys Weekly English SupplementMTS(Translation)

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