Overview
Xiamen, China's cleanest, most beautiful, seaport city, is located on
the southeastern
coast of Fujian Province. Xiamen City, as an administrative unit, can be
dated back as far as the Song Dynasty. It has always been an important
trading port , but since its establishment as one of China's first four
Special Economic Zones in 1981, Xiamen has become a "window city" for
China's opening to the outside world. It's one of the municipalities
approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, being
specially designated under separate state plan and enjoying provincial
level of power in economic management. Today, Xiamen is a rapidly
growing city, with a vigourous economy and a fully-modern
infrastructure. Over the past 10 years, Xiamen has increasingly focused
on the cultivation of international trade, education, and tourism.
Natural Geography
Xiamen is situated on the southeast coast of Fujian Province, at the
estuary of Jiulong River. It lies at 118degr ee
04' 04'' east longitude and 24degree 26' 46'' north latitude.
At the back of Xiamen lies the Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Plain, and facing
Xiamen across the Taiwan Strait are Taiwan Island and the Penghu
Islands.
Xiamen City comprises Xiamen Island proper, Gulangyu (Gulang Islet) and
the coastal part of north Jiulong River. It has a land area of more than
1565.09 square kilometers and a sea area of 300 square kilometers. The
island proper covers an area of 133 square kilometers, with a length of
13.7 kilometers from south to north and a width of 12.5 kilometers from
east to west. The topography of Xiamen is characterized by a gradual
descent from the south to the north, with the northwestern part being
relatively flat and the southern part mountainous and hilly. The Yunding
Rock, which stands 339.6 meters above sea level, is the highest peak in
the south. The Xiamen Habour, which is a harbour of the strait type, has
a coastal line that zigzags to 234 kilometers. It is a natural haven
with deep water that is ice-free all the year round. In most parts of
the harbour, the water is above 12 meters deep. The islands scattered
all along the waters beyond the harbour form a natural barrier to
protect the harbour from turbulent waves, whereas the mountains
surrounding the harbour provide excellent windbreak. Because of such
favourable conditions, Xiamen has always been an important seaport of
foreign trade on the southeast coast of China ever since the ancient
times.
 Xiamen
has a subtropical climate. It is generally mild and temperate, with
abundant rainwater. It has an average annual temperature of
approximately 21C. Winter in Xiamen is not harsh while summer is free
from extreme heat.The city has an average annual rainfall of about
1200mm, mainly concentrated on the months from May to August. Wind power
measures between Grade 3 to 4 in general, with northeast wind
representing the dominant wind direction. Because of the air currents
resulting from the difference in temperature in the Pacific, Xiamen is
affected by typhoon three to four times annually on average, which
mainly comes during the months from July to September.
At the end of 2004, the population of the whole city was 1,467,731, with
62% urban residents, 99.3% of which are the Han, and the rest is made up
of more than 20 ethnic groups, including the Hui, Manchu, Zhuang, She,
Miao, and the Gaoshan. South Fujian Dialect is the language which is
predominantly spoken in Xiamen. Currently there are six districts under
the administration of Xiamen: Siming, Huli, Haicang, Jimei, Tong'an and
Xiang'an.
 History & Development
The history of Xiamen dates back to the ancient times. It was part of
Tong'an County, which was established in the 3rd year of Emperor
Taikang's reign in the Jin Dynasty (282 A.D.). The County was first
under Jin'an Prefecture but was later merged into Nan'an County. In the
19th year of Emperor Zhengyuan's reign in the Tang Dynasty (803 A.D),
Datong Square was set up in Southwest Nan'an County and later became
Tong'an County under Quanzhou in the 4th year of Emperor Changxing's
reign in the Late Tang Dynasty (933 A.D). During the Song Dynasty, the
place was under the rule of Qingyuan Army and Pinghai Army of Quanzhou.
Then it was under the government of Quanzhou Province in the Yuan
Dynasty and later Quanzhou Borough in the Ming Dynasty. It was not until
the 20th year of Emperor Hongwu's reign in the Ming Dynasty (1387) that
Xiamen Town was built. Later in the Qing Dynasty in the 7th year of
Emperor Sunzhi's reign (1650), Xiamen was the place where Zheng
Chenggong, the national hero, stationed his troops. In the 12th year
(1655) the Siming Prefecture was established but was abolished in the
19th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1680). In the 23rd year (1684) the
Tai-Xia Dao (Taiwan-Xiamen Defense Region) was established, with the
Chief Magistrate ruling from Taiwan. (In the 6th year of Emperor
 Yongzheng's
reign, namely 1728, Taiwan Borough was changed into Taiwan Region.) In
the 25th year (1686) departments were set up in Quanzhou Prefecture to
rule over the area. In the 5th year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign (1727)
the Xingquan Region, (which was changed into Xingquanyong Region) was
established in Xiamen to instead of in Quanzhou, its original
settlement. In the 29th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing
Dynasty (1903), Gulangyu Islet fell into the hands of foreign invaders
and became an International Settlement. In the first year of the
Republic of China (1912), Siming County was established in April,
encompassing Jiahe Neighbourhood of Tong'an County (namely Xiamen),
Jinmen Islet and the Dadeng/Xiaodeng Islets. The same year in September
saw the establishment of Siming Borough. Later in 1915, Jinmen Islet and
the Dadeng/Xiaodeng Islets were separated from the Siming County to form
Jinmen County themselves. In the same year Nanlu Region, (which was
changed to the name of Xiamen Region in 1914 but was abolished in 1925)
was set up.
In 1933 Xiamen was established as a special municipality by the
"People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China" (namely
"Fujian People's Government"). In 1934, both Tong'an County and Siming
County belonged to the Fifth Administrative Region (with Tong'an as the
capital). In April 1935 the Xiamen Municipality was set up, encompassing
seven islets including Xiamen and Gulangyu. The original Siming County
was abolished and the Heshan Special Zone was set up instead. The Xiamen
Municipality and the Heshan Special Zone together with Tong'an County
were subject to the government of the Fourth Administrative Region (with
Tong'an as the capital). During the period from May 1938 to September
1945, Xiamen was in the hands of Japanese invaders. In October 1945
Xiamen was re-established as a city, which comprised four districts:
Zhongxin (later renamed as Siming), Kaiyuan, Gulangyu and Heshan.
September and October of 1949 witnessed the liberation of Tong'an County
and Xiamen City in succession. Tong'an became part of the Fifth
Prefecture (later changed to the name of the Prefecture of Quanzhou and
the Prefecture of Jinjiang) while Xiamen became a municipality under the
government of the province. In October 1950 five districts were set up
in Xiamen: Kaiyuan, Siming, Gulangyu, Xiagang (abolished later) and
Heshan. In 1953, Jimei Town of
 Tong'an
County came to be under the administration of Xiamen. In January 1958
Heshan District was changed into suburbs. In August of the same year
Tong'an County was separated from the Jinjiang Prefecture to become an
administrative district under Xiamen. In August 1966, Kaiyuan District
and Siming District were renamed Dongfeng and Xiangyang respectively
(but the original names were restored in October 1979). In February
1970, Tong'an County was again divided from Xiamen to be under the
administration of Jinjiang Prefecture but was later returned back to
Xiamen in June 1973. In September 1978 Xinglin District was established,
and a new district, the Huli District, was further set up in 1987. In
the same year, the suburbs of Xiamen became Jimei District. In 1997,
Tong'an became a district attached to Xiamen instead of a county.
National Economy and Social Undertakings in Xiamen
2000 is the last year in "Ninth-Five-Year Plan" program. Under the
leadership of Xiamen Commission of CPC and city government, Xiamen
people implemented in real earnest the spirit of the 15th National
Congress Meeting and the Fifth Session of the 15th National Committee of
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Catching
hold of the favorable opportunities brought about by national positive
financial policies and a series of economic micro-control policies and
the improvement of world economic situation, Xiamen made great efforts
to conquer the negative effects on economic development by Xiamen
smuggle case and natural disasters like frost at the begining of the
year. Reforming was deepened, economic environment improved and economic
tasks in all round were advanced. As a result, national economy of the
city kept its growing pace, new achivements were made in all social
undertakings, many econmic targets were fulfilled ahead of plan, four
breakthroughs were made-- a breakthrough on 50 billion yuan limit of
GDP, a breakthrough on 10 billion US dollars limit of foreign trade
value, a breakthrough on one million TEU limit of handling volume as a
container port, and a breakthrough on ten thousand yuan limit of
disposable income of urban residents per capita.
 Foreign
invested enterprises has become an important stream in the development
of Xiamen export-oriented economy. To the end of 2000, Xiamen had
approved 4991 contracts with foreign investment. Contractual foreign
investment amount added up to 17.526 billion US dollars and 11.452
billion US dollars were put into actual operation. Industrial
enterprises with foreign, Hongkong, Taiwan and Macao investment
generated an output value of 59.355 billion yuan in 2000, accounting for
84.83% of the total industrial output value by industrial enterprises
above designated size. Foreign investment covered the fields of
electronics, chemical industry, textile, foodstuff, electric power, real
estate, finance, and etc. Among them, 65 were in the primary industry,
2396 in the secondary industry and 3261 in the tertiary industry.
Social secuity system has experienced sound progress and residents lead
a comparatively well-off life. Statistics show that throughout the whole
year laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises were provided with
basic living expenses of 14.3461 million yuan, while
endowment insurance, unemployment insurance and medical insurance
amounting to 2,426,400 yuan, 328,700 yuan and 1,097,600 yuan
respectively had been drawn. To the end of 2000, 8,769 units had
registered for endowment insurance, covering 407,400 employees, while
10,629 units had registered for unemployment insurance, covering 357,600
employees. Payment drawn by the social secuity fund reached 95%,
basically having achieved the goal of full covering of social secuity
system. Income of both urban and rural residents were largely increased.
Compared to 1980, disposable income of urban residents per capita had
gone up 25.65 times to 10,813 yuan, while net income of rural residents
per capita had gone up 18.2 times to 4,030 yuan. Living environment and
consumption capability were also greatly improved. In 2000, a total
residential area of 2,323,400 sq. metres were completed, retail sales of
social consumer goods totaled 16.964 billion yuan which was 56.11 times
that of 1980, while the average expenditure on consumption per person
reached 9,047 yuan. The long-cherished well-off life has been realized
ahead of schedule.
(Some documents and pictures are digested from Website of
ChinaVista
and Xiamen
Municipal Government. )
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