Amoinese

Xianglu GRAND Hotel is a five-star hotel, invested by Xianglu Group, which primarily deals with production of petrochemical, chemical fibers and real estate.

Just a brief 8-minute drive from the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, and very close to the Torch Hi-Tech Park and Pioneering Park. The hotel is easily accessible to any of the city’s business, shopping districts and tourism attractions. But the most interesting thing is, the hotel itself will be a great shopping and food attraction.

The Xianglu GRAND Hotel places itself as one of the newest community landmarks of Xiamen. Its imposing structure and well mannered staff introduce a new level of service excellence, a diverse selection of some of the most exciting food & beverage; and the widest choice of luxurious accommodation that will truly impart distinction in the social and cultural scene of this forever progressive city.

I have been waiting this hotel for almost one year. This is one of the reasons that make Search Event Going Home.

The Atrium Garden as exhibition area, the grand ballroom as conference room, together with other around 20 meeting rooms, Xianglu Grand Hotel is really a perfect place for Event with 1000-2000 delegates.

And, for sure, we can have some fun at those bars in the Hotel. Especially the Veranda Bar, my first visit, they served me a Mojito.

God, I was dissapointed with most of the hotels and bars here. This must be the only place I can find it. The Veranda, you cant miss it.

Pictures and some description were provided by Xianglu Grand Hotel

Professor Yi Zhongtian has a very vivid description of xiamen:

China is a big family, all the cities are kids of this big family. Beijing is the oldest son, who always represents the family at all the big events. Shanghai is the second older son, who works very hard in making money for this big family. Guangzhou is the third older son, who is always naughty but with all the energe of venturing.

These are all reflect the real charaters for the above three cities. And always the same situation at a real chinese family. But how about xiamen?

Xiamen is the youngest daughter, everyone in the family loves her and take good care of her. She seldom suffers for any family burdens, she enjoyed all the good things during the past years.  She was always well-dressed-up, bueatiful and lovely.

Yes, that’s right. Xiamen met with all the good things in the history. Xiamen is one of the first five special economic zones (SEZ) in China. Which means Xiamen was among those cities that benefited from open policy.

Here are some facts about all the historical evolutions:

     Xiamen is one of the first five special economic zones (SEZ) in China administrating 6 districts: Siming, Huli, Jimei, Haicang, Tong’an and Xiang’an. South Fujian Dialect is the language which is predominantly spoken in Xiamen. It is said it was once egret inhabited place, so it is also called “Egret Island”.

　　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.Till then, Under the jurisdiction of the municipality are seven districts Gulangyu Island, Siming, Kaiyuan, Xinglin, Huli, Jimei and Tong’an .

Today is July 31th, 2006, but according to our luner callender, today is also July, 7th. This is the chinese ” Saint Valentine’s Day”.

Every July 7th at luner year, a cowboy will be allowed to cross the galaxy river to meet his lover, a fairy weaver lady. Yes only once in a year can they meet each other.

That was a very famous fairy tale of ancient china. For hundreds of years, when there was a clear night sky, parents will tell fairy tales for kids. One of those was Cowboy and fairy weaver lady, in chinese ” Niu Lang” and “Zhi Ni”.

Fairy weaver lady was granddaughtor of God, she in charge of weaving rainbows and clouds for the sky. She once falled in love with a normal person and married him secretly. But the love fair or marriage between fairy and normal person was forbidden by the God.

When the God notice their family, the fairy lady was arrested by God and took away, the cowboy ran after her with their kids. But the Godness used her magic power cut the sky and make a galaxy between them. They never have a chance to cross the galaxy river.

Later, the God took back a little bit of his decision and allowed them to meet each other once every year.

The tale also give us a hint how galaxy appeared.

Since then, chinese regarded July 7th at luner callendar as lover’s day. This is our chinese “Saint Valentine’s Day”. And the story happened at God’s period of ancient china, that was more than 5,000 years ago, much earlier than Priest Valentine.

Now, lovers are going to celebrate their love today or to show their love today.

Still, people in china create more and more Day for love. For example, May 20th, the pronounciation of “520″ in chinese is the same as “wo ai ni” (I  love you), so May 20th is another day to say love.

Yes, Xiamen is ready for the World Choir Games 2006.

From the Xiamen Daily and local television stations, from outdoor ADs to airplane magazines. The logo and informations about World Choir Games are everywhere.

Even at the words and mouth of local people, we can smell the atmosphere of  World Choir Games 2006.

I was in Dinner with friends tonight. I was told that one of them had been practising at a choir for nearly one month. They just  want to be part of the  World Choir Games.  They are just normal  amoinese,  singing for a choir really entertain them. They are all feel comfortable to be part of the Games.

I know the music hall is ready, the volunteers are ready, the transportation vehicles are ready.

Sure, the people, amoinese is ready.

Counting down notices said that the World Choir Games was just 25 days away.

Koxinga
Chinese: 国姓爷; Traditional Chinese: 國姓爺; Pinyin: Gúoxìngyé; Minnan Dialect: Go Seng Ya.

Koxinga is Zheng Chenggong, but most of the people worship him as koxinga.
“Ko” means country or kingdom, “xing” means one’s surname of family name, “a” at the end just like the “sir” before a knight’s name at western culture.

Zheng Chenggong was given the emperor’s surname “Zhu” by the emperor of Ming Dynasty. The emperor relied on him for the renaissance of Ming Dynasty, and sure wanted him to fight Manchu Army.

Yes, here we are, Koxinga means the knight who was given a emperor’s family name. And Zheng Chenggong is the only Koxinga in the history. So Koxinga is Zheng Chenggong.

Zheng Chenggong  (1624 - 1662)
Chinese: 郑成功; Traditional Chinese: 鄭成功; Pinyin: Zhèng Chénggōng; Minnan Dialect: Din Seng Gong.

He was born at Aug. 28, 1624, Hirado, Japan, died June 23, 1662, Taiwan, China.
He was the “Chinese military leader of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. After the Ming dynasty fell to the Manchu, Zheng refused Manchu offers of rank and power and launched a military campaign against the new dynasty in 1659, taking a large force from his base in Fujian province up the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Initial success turned into failure, but, undaunted, Zheng took Taiwan from the Dutch in 1662 to use as a secure rear base area. Further glory was cut short by his death later that year. He became a popular deity and cultural hero to the Chinese on Taiwan, and even the Qing court honoured him as a paragon of loyalty. In Japan the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon celebrated him on the stage (Zheng had a Japanese mother)”. In the 20th century all the Chinese embraced him as a national hero.

When you arrive at xiamen by ship, the first one and city symbol to welcome you is the hugh stone statuary of Koxinga. Xiamen was once his base, when fighting with Manchu Army. Gulangyu was the place he trained his army and took off to Taiwan.

His stay at xiamen really brought lots of diversity culture to this town. From food to technical.

I will blog more about his influence to xiamen later.

PS: I source and quote some words from Wikipedia and Britannica Concise. But the Wikipedia source misslist the Minnan Dialect as Taiwanese. I dont like it. They should repect the truth and history.

I met Miss Lim Chern Chern at Hong Kong. Stephen Noton, my friend, introduced three of his Global Sources colleagues to me. Chern Chern was one of them, a pretty chinese looking lady. Yes, she is chinese, and also amoinese.

Her monther’s family immigrated from xiamen to Singapore. Chern can still speak Minnan dialect ( xiamen local language ). Her name, like most of my acquaintances in Singapore of Philipines, was named be the pronounciation of Minnan dialect.

If not, her name should look and sound like Lin Zhen Zhen in Mandarin.

Chern Chern asked me a very challenging question. Why they called the language Hokkien.

Hokkien, according to the pronounciation, means Fujian. Fujian stands for the whole province. Fujian’s dialects diverse from city to city, even town to town.

Yes, I would like to regard naming the Minnan Dialect as Hokkien as sort of bueatiful mistake. Just like the English name for Xiamen, Amoy.

From north to south, dialects of Fujian can be divided into 3 different main group. Fuzhou dialect, Putian (Puxian) dialect and Minnan Dialect. And the west part of Fujian, Hakka dialect. So there are four main dialect groups in Fujian province, they differ from each other, and sure they cant understand each other.

Minnan, “Min” is the shortened form for Fujian, “nan” means south. Minnan dialect is the dominant dialect in the south of Fujian province, groups by three cities and their near-by territories. There are Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and Xiamen. Minnan dialect is also the dominant dialect in Taiwan island. But they decided to replace the name Minnan Dialect with Taiwan Dialect after KMT lost their power.

Yes, once again, Hokkien is the dominant dialect only in south of Fujian province, not for all. Hokkien language’s root is Minnan Dialect.

Sure, the most and earliest immigrants from Fujian province to southeast of Asia came from south of Fujian.

Amoinese is how I call and name those resident in Xiamen. Xiamen is also called Amoy in the past.

Amoy or Xiamen
“Xiamen” is the manderin pinyin for the name of this city. Amoy should be the first English name for Xiamen, a saying tell us that it came from Fuzhou dialect. Fuzhou is about 600 miles away from Xiamen. Residents there speak a total different dialect from xiamen. The first English speaking foreign asked a Fuzhou resident about the name of xiamen city. Sure the guy answered with his local dialect and accent, that was Amoy. Here comes the first English name for xiamen, and it did last for a very long history, and became the real English name for xiamen.
If the foreign asked a xiamen resident first, I believed xiamen’s English name now should be Emeng, nearly the same as an Ariabian country. Emeng is the Minnan ( Hokkien ) dialect pronounciation for the xiamen.

Amoinese
I like the pronounciation of Amoinese, it can be stands for both an noun or an adj. Amoinese is the thing of xiamen and resident of xiamen. According to the manderine pronounciation, that can be “Xiamen Ren”, to Minnan ( Hokkien ) dialect will be “e meng lang”.

Who are Amoinese
Amoinese is quite unique residents in China. Xiamen has migration history for hundreds of years. Most of the residents here came from Minnan district (Minnan means South of Fujian), they shares the same unique local language, Minnan dialect ( also called Hokkien in Southeast of Asia ). There are Quanzhou city and Zhangzhou city, both have a longer city history than xiamen. More than 70% of the xiamen residents are the offsprings of immigrants from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Xiamen are connected by their border lines, together they were the famous Minnan Golden Triangle Districe. Which stands for their fast developing economy and industrial union relationship. The rest 30% are Aboriginal, and resident from all over china.
Here we are, we know who is amoinese. Due to the immigration history, Xiamen became a city with open mind. So Amoinese is very open-minded and friendly.

This blog will note all the morden life of Amoinese and their city, sure part of the related history will be reminded time to time.