Xiamen History
Xiamen in Ancient Time
The first settlement of people on Xiamen Island dates back to the latter part of the New Stone Age. That was three to four thousand years ago. Amoy was the original name of Xiamen due to the language spoken there.
During the period of the Tang Dynasty, about 1200 years ago, there are ethnic Chinese surnamed Xue and Chen migrated to Xiamen Island from Fu'an in the east of Fujian Province and Zhangzhou in the south of Fujian Province and settled at the southern and northern foot of the Hongjishan Mountain respectively.
During the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties, Xiamen was known as Jiahe Island (Island of Rich Crops) and formed a part of Tong’an county. It was notable chiefly as a lair of pirates and a centre of contraband trade. The name Xiamen first appeared when the island was fortified as one of a series of measures taken against piracy in 1387. Xiamen was a busy seaport starting in the Song Dynasty era.
Later, It became an outpost and refuge for Ming loyalists fighting the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Koxinga, son of a merchant pirate set up his anti-Qing base in the area and today a large statue in his honor looks out over the harbor from Gulang Yu island.
Arrival of Europeans:
Foreign trade in Xiamen had begun with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1544, but they were repelled shortly thereafter. British traders continued occasionally to visit Xiamen until 1757, when trade was restricted to Guangzhou (Canton). After the first Opium War (1839–42) between Britain and China, Xiamen was one of the first five ports to be opened to foreign trade and to residence by foreigners. A foreign settlement grew up on Gulangyu Island, in the harbour. Xiamen in the 19th century was preeminently a tea port, exporting teas from southeastern Fujian. The peak of this trade was reached in the 1870s but then declined, after which Xiamen became the chief market and shipping port for Taiwanese tea produced by local growers who had emigrated to that island.
During the World War, The Japanese occupied the area from 1938 to 1945. After the Japanese were defeated by the Allies, and China came under Communist control, Xiamen became a backwater. Chiang Kai-Shek took the Kuomintang and most of China’s national treasures across the Strait to Taiwan and so Xiamen became the frontline against an attack from the KMT. The PRC didn’t develop the area for fear of any development or industry being attacked. Taiwan’s Jinmen Island, just a few kilometers off the coast of Xiamen, became one of the most heavily armed islands in the world as Taiwanese feared attack from the mainland.
Xiamen in Modern Era
The opening of Xiamen to foreign investment has transformed both the city and the surrounding area. Xiamen, the “Gateway to China”, has become a modern city excelling in pharmaceutical, electronic, textile and tourist industries. Xiamen was one of the first Special Economic Zones in China and received heavy investment not only from the mainland but also from businesses from Taiwan and Hong Kong. It also strives, under leaders with foresight, to be the cleanest city in China.