Tongan and Kinmen in xiamen

Tong’an is Xiamen’s remotest area-1/2 hour north of Jimei-but well worth a tour.

For most of the past 1000 years，Tong’an，not Xidmen，was the area’s economic，political and cultural center，as well as a wildly beautiful scenic region.

Tong’an was established in the Jin Dynasty，3rd year of Emperor Taikang’s reign（a barbarian-befuddling way of saying 282 A.D.）It started out as part of Nan’an ，Koxinga’s home），became Datong Square in 809 AD，and was renamed Tong’an in 933.Tong’an eventually became part of Quanzhou，and Xiamen Town was established as part of Tong’an in 1387A.D.

In 1953，Tong’an’s Jimei became part of Xiamen，and the rest of Tong’an came under Xidmen in August 1958.Tong’an was returned to Jinjiang’s jurisdiction in Feb.1970，and in June 1973 was put back under Xiamen again，where it still remains-as of last week，anyway.

So why the tug of war between Jinjiang and Xidmen？Tong’an’s 1，079 km2 not only has a rich cultural and historic heritage but also 500，000 acres of farmland（rarein mountainous Fujidn），400，000 acres of mudflats（though our van has had too many flats in mud），86 km.of coastline，and 1.12 million acres of mountains.Fujidn is almost all mountains anyway，but not like Tong’an’s，with countless waterfalls，ancient temples atop precipitous peaks，the“Valley of Butterflies，”etc.Tong’an is beautiful above ground and a treasure below，with ancient relics like the Tingxi Kiln（Tingxi Yaozhi，汀溪窑址）that produced the pearlescent porcelain prized all over ancient Asia，especially in Japan

Where to start？We’1l begin with Tong’an’s favorite son，Su Song，and then visit the ancient Confucian Temple（Kongmido），Brahma Temple（Fantian Si），the“12Dragon Waterfalls”（Shi ir Long Tanbdobu，）of the North Mountain Scenic Region（Beichenshan Youlan Qa），and the scenic “Valley of Butterflies，”（Hudiegi）.Then we’11 feast on the inimitable Minnan cuisine of the Tong’an Guesthouse（Tong’an Binguin）.

Tong’an’s Renaissance Man，Su Song（1020-1101），finished the world’s first astronomical clock on Jan.16，1089，600 years before Europeans.

Experts claim his book on the clock was the world’s first mechanical design manual.

With 60 illustrations and diagrams of the 150 separate parts.The water-powered wooden tower was a bit large for the average apartment-about 10 to 12 meters high and 7 meters wide.But I suspect my Chinese grad students use Su Song’s astronomical clock because they are often astronomically late to class.

The tower’s upper layer was for astronomical observations，the central section demonstrated celestial phenomena，and the lower area was a chronograph with moving puppets to show time.

Su Song was also an adept herbalist.In 1061 he compiled the Illustrated Canon of Materia Medica（Bencao Tujing）一the definitive guide for those who think the grass is always greener on the other side.He explained，for example，when and where to find‘dragon’s blood’（dracaena family），which modern Chinese claim lives for 8，000 years.

“Dragon’s blood is from plants.The fine looking trees are dozens of feet tall.

The red resin（from which it derives the name‘Dragon’s Blood’）oozes from the trees like glue and congeals.Harvest time varies.”

So Song’s Home（Lishan Tang Jingqu，Susong Guju）.The Su clan ancestral hall，and Susong’s birthplace，was built in 994 A.D.in N.W.Tong an by So Guanghai.

Matang Village-Xiamen’s#1 Village .About 7km east of Tong’an，in a remote and formerly inaccessible valley，lies the 1.8km2 village ofMatang，with 64 families and a population of about 275 people.In 1980，Matang had little arable land，bare mountains，and few resources.It was backwards and dilapidated，and had only 435 acres of cultivated land because of the lack of water.

The average resident made less than 170 Yuan a month，and people in neighboringvillages had a saying，“If you have money，don’t loan to anyone in Matang；if you have a daughter，don’t marry her into Matang”.

In 1985 Matang started their break from poverty with the labor-intensive Xinghud canning factory.In 1990 they undertook a Sino-foreign joint venture with Xiamen Tongmao Foodstuffs Canning Company，Ltd.，and over the years invested 80 million Yuan improving the technology 3 times.By 1996，the village’s production had reached 122.5 million Yuan，per capita income had reached 5250 Yuan（from 170 Yuan-an increase of 1071%）.Workers now live in modern apartments and villas with beautiful gardens and lawns.

Visit Matang.Maybe they’11 hire you！

T6ng’an Film Studio（Xiamen Tong’an Yingshi Cheng）0ver 1，600 acres；includes miniature Tian’anmen，replica ancient town and temples，a Dinosaur World，children’s park，Hall of Mental Cultivation，Hall of Supreme Harmony（for choirs？），Long Corridor of the Summer Palace，etc.

By Trish Boman（Xiamen International School）

II visited Film City on a Friday morning，along with about 3，000 primary school children and their teachers.This meant that along with the Forbidden City，Summer Palace，Nine Dragon Wal1，Qing-Ming Street，and other old Beijing attractions，I became an extra object of fascination，with children rushing up to surround me and shout，“Hello，how are YO0UUU！”

Unwanted celebrity status aside，it was a pleasant outing.The recreation of the Forbidden City is quite spacious and impressive，giving plenty of room to roam around and take photos in famous settings.Many buildings seem to be almost full-size-at least I couldn’t tell the difference，and it’s a little far to run and check.The different Halls recreated there are now inhabited by photographers with their costumes and photos-for-a-fee stalls，including sedan chairs，and for an extra payment you can even sit on the Emperor’s throne.

Qing-Ming Street is complete，right down to the advertisements on the walls forinsect powders and beauty products，and there are a few amusements and souvenir stalls.Behind the street，if you can find the stairs at either end，is a mini Great Wall from which to view the entire scene.I could just imagine myself as a movie director calling the shots for the street scene of a kung-fu film，with lexotic beauties flirting with the local heroes in the bustling marketplace，while in the palace forecourt，mandarins bow and scrape before Dowager-Empress Cixi.

The extensive park is big enough for hours of leisurely strolls，but there is little else to do，and refreshments are minimal.Perhaps if a film was actually being shot，it could be really exciting.But otherwise it’s still a fairly peaceful interlude that lets the mind wander back to the old days of Beijing.

TOng’an Lotus Flower Mountain Scenic Area（Lianhua Zhen Houpi Con About 10 km from Tong’an.

hancheng

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