Amoy Magic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Main Page MenuClick to Access
OUTSIDE
China
Amoy Magic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Main Page MenuClick to Access
INSIDE
China

TRAVEL LINKS

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
Latest news tips ideas updatesLatest News
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
Main Page   Business Links     Recreation Links     Google Search      E-mail
Scenic Sanming!
Lansing, Michigan (U.S.A.) knew what it was doing when choosing Sanming as a sister city. For sheer scenic beauty, Sanming is unsurpassed in Fujian. And fortunately, new roads are making it more accessible.

Sanming, in the very west of Fujian, bordering Jiangxi Province, was so remote that even the Japanese could not reach it. Mountain passes were too narrow to fly through safely (locals should shoot planes out of the sky from the comfort of their front porch rocking chairs!), and it took days to lug a boat up the river, using ropes pulled from the shore. But thanks to new highways, it is only a five hour drive from Xiamen to Sanming¡ªand another half hour to that culinary oasis of Shaxian, and ¡°Shaxian Snack Street (ɳÏØС³Ô½Ö, Shaxian Xiaochi Jie),¡±


Shaxian Snacks ɳÏØС³Ô are famous throughout China, but the so-called Shaxian cuisine sold anywhere else is a poor substitute for the 100+ dishes offered in this unique melting pot of menus!

About 1,000 years ago, people began flocking to Shaxian from all over China, and they brought with them their unique foods and cooking methods. Over the centuries, the styles have mellowed and blended to create the over 100 ¡°Shaxian snacks.¡± Who needs an entr¨¦e when you can enjoy a meal of one hors d¡¯oeuvre after another? And ordering is no problem even for illiterate Laowai. Many ¡°Snack Street¡± shops have menus with photos. Just point, eat, and hand over your wallet. (Actually, the dishes are very reasonable).

By the way, our favourite dish, by far, is Xiao Mai Wan (СÂóÍè)!

Goddess of Siestas? China¡¯s largest reclining Buddha lies on a hillside West of Shaxian. We got there late, but the gatekeeper wanted ten Yuan apiece anyway¡ªwhich I thought was a bit steep, given that the display room was closed, and the giant idol was asleep anyway.

Malinqiao Zoology Fairyland, between Sanming City and Shaxian, has a kayaker on the sign¡ªbut this zoology fairyland has no kayaks, no zoos, and no fairies (that I could see, anyway).
But they do have nice rubber rafting though¡ªprovided they first turn on the river. No joke! We had to wait for them to turn the river on, and flush it clean, before we could go river rafting. Only in China!
But it was fun, and lifeguards posted along the river keep it safe¡ªand probably turn the river down or off if it gets out of hand. The owner has invested 100,000 USD in the little resort, and plans on adding go-karts on the mountainside. If he gets that going, he¡¯ll really be on a roll.

Mingxi Town, Fujian¡¯s gem capital, has 20 kinds of gemstones, including rubies, and is China¡¯s fourth largest producer of sapphires. In addition to jewelry, some local firms are on the cutting edge with their elegant gem-studded knives and swords. I bought one that looked for the world like something elves would have used in ¡°Lord of the Rings. ¡±

Taining¡ªCity of Gold! During the Song Dynasty, about 820,000 folks flocked to Taining¡ªin part to mine for gold. The gold is pretty much gone now (though I found a pretty nice chunk of gold ore!), but Taining has struck gold again with tourism!

Gold Lake,
created when the Gold River was dammed, attracted over 50,000 tourists in 2002. Every weekend, thousands fish along the lake¡¯s shores, or take the half-day boat cruises through the winding valleys¡ªor go parasailing. Prices are strictly regulated to avoid rip-offs of tourists, be they Laowai, Laonei, or folks like me who no longer know just what kind of Lao they are.

Taining shares the same mountain range as Wuyi, and so has the same biological diversity¡ªmeaning, plenty of wild critters and snakes! Wuyi¡¯s main advantage has been that it was better promoted, and more accessible. But when the Fuzhou¡ªBeijing highway is completed in 2007, Gold Lake will really shine. They are also working on a ¡°Fuzhou¡ªShaowu Gold Lake Tourist Train.¡± (I had something to write about that, but lost my train of thought ).

The Ming Dynasty Village in Taining has been meticulously reconstructed, thanks to a 600,000 Yuan investment by Mr. Huang Shuang An, an Overseas Chinese. Over 6,000 square meters has been completed, and another 4,000 square meters is on the way.

One very unique attraction is the dozens of animated wax figures going about life as it must have been a few centuries ago (and as it is today, in some places). Drop a coin in the wooden box and they will sing, perform the dragon dance, grind wheat, or pour tea to dignified Chinese gentlemen.

Yuhua Cave (Óñ»¨¶´, Jade Flower)
, just East of Taining in Jiangle, is Fujian¡¯s largest limestone cave, and one of the top four karst caves in China. Over 200,000 visitors annually explore Jade Flower Cave¡¯s three subterranean rivers, two passageways, and six halls, and marvel over the 100 stalagmites and the 2,000-year-old stone carvings. The caves extend over five kilometers, and the main cave is 2.5 kilometers long. Carlsbad Caverns ¡®Big Room,¡¯ by comparison, is but 610 meters long.
Yuhua Cave needs investors for expansion! For info, phone Liao Yuhui, at (0598) 232-3977.

Shibi Village (ʯ±Ú, Stone Wall),
some 25 km from Ninghua County seat, was home to Li Shimin (Emperor Tai Zong of the Tang Dynasty), Jiang Ziya (Prime Minister during the Zhou Dynasty), deng deng. Their ancestors still live in Shibi, and carefully tend the family trees and family temples. The area is so remote that no war has hit Hakka territory since the Tang Dynasty. Even the Japanese missed it!
Shibi once boasted 200 villages, but because of the exodus of its youth, only 2,000 people, sharing 6 surnames, remain in 20 villages. But every year, Hakka from all over the world return to worship their ancestors and trace their lineage in the Hakka Temple.
Visit nearby Ninghua¡¯s Hakka Folk Custom Museum, and while you¡¯re in Hakka heaven, snap some shots of the picturesque covered wooden bridges. You¡¯d think you were in Vermont, were it not for the distinctly Chinese upturned wooden eaves.

Anzhen Fortress is off the beaten path but well worth a visit. Built just over a century ago, the walls around the 10,000 sq. meter compound are 9 meters high and 4 meters thick. The walls and towers complement each other in such a way that those within could safely shoot the enemy (barbarians, warlords, insurance salesmen), no matter what direction they attacked from.

The fortress had 12 kitchens, six on each side, with ¡®alligator¡¯ vents above,. Second floor granaries had trap doors leading directly to the kitchens below.

The fortress is in excellent shape, but much of the fine wooden and stone ornamentation was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and the furniture hauled off. The caretakers of Anzhen Fortress are now seeking funds to repair the site, and buy back the stolen furniture and art work.

Sanming sites are far too numerous to cover in ¡°Amoy Magic,¡± or even in ¡°The Fujian Adventure.¡± Your best bet is to explore Sanming yourself¡ªplaces like the delightful 1.21 sq. km. Linying Stone Forest¡ªand then share your discoveries with me and other Laowai by dropping me an e-mail at bbrown@public.xm.fj.cn

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 Adventure Guide to Fujian  full color photos (over 900)
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)

Back to Top

Google
 
 
©