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<html> <head> <title>Longyan--Start of Long March</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=gb2312"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" background="a.jpg" text="#FFFF00" link="#00FFFF" vlink="#00CCCC" alink="#0099FF" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> <table width="96%" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" align="center"> <tr> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <td width="156" height="6838" valign="top"> <a href="http://www.amoymagic.com/main.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Amoy Magic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Main Page Menu" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.amoymagic.com/main.htm">Click</a> <a href="http://www.amoymagic.com/main.htm">to Access</a> OUTSIDE China <a href="http://www.xiamenguide.com/main.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Amoy Magic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Main Page Menu" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.amoymagic.mts.cn/main.htm">Click</a> <a href="http://www.amoymagic.mts.cn/main.htm">to Access</a> INSIDE China <a href="image003l.gif"><img src="image003l.gif" width="145" height="8" border="0"> </a> TRAVEL LINKS <a href="Amoymagic.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and Fujian" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="Amoymagic.htm">Xiamen</a> <a href="discovergulangyu1.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu Kulongsu" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="discovergulangyu1.htm">Gulangyu</a> <a href="jimei.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Jimei Tan Kah Kee Jimei University Turtle Garden " width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="jimei.htm">Jimei </a> <a href="tongan.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and Fujian" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="tongan.htm">Tong'an</a> <a href="jinmen.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Jinmen Quemoy Matsu Taiwan" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="jinmen.htm">Jinmen</a> <a href="zhangzhoupage.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Zhangzhou changchow " width="12" height="12" border="0">Z</a><a href="fujtrzhangzhou.htm">hangzhou</a> <a href="MysticQuanzhou.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Discover Quanzhou, ancient start of maritime silk route ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed, Sinbad the Arab visited. 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Join the Xiamen Guide forum" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="Orderbooks.htm">Order Books</a><o:p> </o:p><o:p><a href="http://amoymagic.mts.cn/forum/"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Common Talk Xiamen Dailys Weekly English Supplement" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.xiamenguide.com/forums/">Xiamenguide Forum</a><a href="email.htm"> </a></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p><a href="Amoymagic.htm"> <img src="magiciansm.jpg" alt="Guide to Xiamen hsiamen amoy fuhken fukien" width="84" height="81"></a></o:p><a href="Roundhouses.htm"><img src="FJAdv/rhouse_pansm.jpg" alt="Inside of a Hakka round earthen house" width="492" height="92" border="0"></a> <o:p><a href="Amoymagic.htm"> </a></o:p><o:p></o:p><a href="main.htm">Main Page</a>   <a href="#business">Business Links</a>     <a href="#recreation"> Recreation Links    </a><a href="#googlesearch"> </a><a href="email.htm">E-mail</a><o:p> <a href="bridges.htm"><img src="longyan/Changting/changbrid_th.jpg" alt="Beautiful wooden covered bridge in West Fujian's longyan changting" width="200" height="134" border="0" align="right"></a>  <a name="top"></a> </o:p> <o:p>Longyan, Fujian (Click Pics for larger photos) Longyan Links:  <a href="longyan.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Ancient Hakka earthen architecture" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="Roundhouses.htm">Hakka Roundhouses</a> <a href="longyan.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Longyan Yongding Hakka roundhouses" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a> <a href="longyanyongding.htm">Roundhouse Photo Album</a> <a href="longyan.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Longyan Yongding Hakka roundhouses" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="Amoytiger.htm">Amoy Tigers</a> <a href="longyan.htm"> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Longyan Changting Tingzhou Start of Long March" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="longyanchangting.htm">Changting</a> (5 Pages!) text and 100+ photos on "Little Red Shanghai", Long March, Hakka Homeland, etc.) <a href="longyan.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Longyan Liancheng Guanzai Mountain" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="longyanliancheng.htm">Guanzai Mountain</a> (Surrealistic scenery!) </o:p><o:p> Journey to the West! West Fujian is one roller coaster range of mountains after another, but it’s well worth the ride to the <a href="FJAdv/Roundhouses.htm">Hakka Earthen Houses</a> (about 20,000 of them, altogether!), and “<a href="longyanchangting.htm">Little Red Shanghai</a>—” the Hakka Homeland, Cradle of Chinese Communism, and start of the Long March (followed by the Short April ). <a href="longyan/gutlian/amtiger1.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/amtiger1_th.jpg" alt="photo of amoy tiger in meihua nature reserve fujian " width="200" height="150" border="0" align="right"></a> <a href="Amoytiger.htm">South China tigers</a> (a.k.a. Amoy tigers) roam Meihua Nature Preserve, and the subterranean beauty of Dragon Cave and the Immortal Lake Cave compete with the surrealistic scenery of <a href="longyanliancheng.htm">Guanzai Mountain</a> above. The six hour drive from <a href="Amoymagic.htm">Amoy</a> to <a href="longyanchangting.htm">Changting</a> winds past ancient villages and banyans (the ‘fengshui tree’ ) nestled deep within dark valleys shrouded by mists and time. Old stone bridges irrigate patches of sweet potatoes, tobacco, and taro, guarded by colorful scarecrows (with crows often perched right on their shoulders). <a href="longyan/road1.jpg"><img src="longyan/road1_th.jpg" alt="mountain road leading to Nanjing and Yongding round houses" width="200" height="128" border="0" align="left"></a>Mysterious temples cling precariously to cliffs, pagodas crown bald peaks, and solitary bamboos tower here and there like giant brushes painting the mist on mountains lifted straight from a Chinese watercolor. <a href="#top"><a href="longyan/Changting/changt74.jpg"><img src="longyan/Changting/changt74_th.jpg" alt="Before the highways, it is no wonder I averaged just 10 miles an hour!" width="200" height="147" border="0" align="right"></a>Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian </o:p> “Don’t view flowers on horseback!” Chinese warn. (走马观花, zouma guanhua). In other words, “Take time to smell the roses”(or the nightsoil, as the case may be). So I prefer to drive slowly (relatively) and savor the sites. I ignore the honks behind me because I know that <a href="Darwiniandriving.htm">Darwinian Driving</a> (Survival of the Fastest) and <a href="Darwiniandriving.htm">Sunzi’s Art of Auto Warfare</a> (<a href="Darwiniandriving.htm">孙子汽车兵法</a>) require they pass me anyway, whether I’m driving 50 kph or 150 kph. But at least such driving helps keep the <a href="longyan/Changting/changt85.jpg"><img src="longyan/Changting/changt85_th.jpg" alt="Car crashes are part of the population control program. See Darwinian Driving--survival of the fastest" width="200" height="150" border="0" align="right"></a>population down. <a href="longyan/bananas.jpg"><img src="longyan/bananas_th.jpg" alt="Zhangzhou Bananas are small, and not so pretty, but very tasty" width="150" height="200" border="0" align="left"></a>Endless seas of banana trees fill the valleys west of <a href="fujtrzhangzhou.htm">Zhangzhou</a>. <a href="fujtrzhangzhou.htm">Zhangzhou</a> bananas are no cheaper here than in Xiamen but they’re so fresh that one stalk included a pair of field mice, at no extra charge. Zhangli would have had kittens if he’d known that our cat Charlemagne got to them. Past the bright red and white cottages of “China Orchid Garden (中国兰花园)” begin the endless villages, temples, ancient banyan trees, and the endless billboards that help entertain bored Bills. <a href="longyan/road4.jpg"><img src="longyan/road4_th.jpg" alt="Reminds me of the See Rock City barn roofs all over the South East United States!" width="200" height="162" border="0" align="left"></a>Billboards and slogans painted on old walls, buildings, and farmhouses once proclaimed, “Long Live the Victorious Struggle of the People!” Nowadays they exhort citizens to “Have one child!” “Cherish the Roads,” “Help Fight Fires,” or “Drink HuiQuan Beer!” Bright red “Robust!” mineral water signs adorned buildings in even the remotest valleys. They reminded me of the “See Rock City! ” barn roofs once scattered all over the Southeastern U.S. <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Gold and Gall! Longyan is a geological gold mine, boasting South China’s largest deposit of iron, as well as gold, manganese, tungsten, and deng deng. In addition to mining and agriculture (tobacco is the biggest crop, fertilized by lots of dung dung ), West Fujian is into electronics, metallurgy, machinery, forestry, building materials, chemicals, textiles, food, and light industries. The area exports handmade paper, rabbit fur, pepper, dried mushrooms, smoked plums, and peanuts. But the big claim to fame is Wuping County’s dried pig gallbladder. The brochure claims, “Dried pig gallbladder contains various carbohydrates and vitamins, especially it is the best gift and delicious dish to be given or to entertain guests and friends with.” It would take a lot of gall to dish that out to friends, but if you’ve the guts , go for it. A Dog’s Life (A She Minority Legend) I swerved to avoid a hound in the highway and my friend said, “The She worship dogs as gods.” “I know,” I said. “And I almost sent that god back to heaven!” Legends claim that an ancient king offered his daughter in marriage to whomever could save the village from bandits—never dreaming a dog would win the pretty prize. He didn’t want a dog for a son-in-law, so he used a 7-day magic transformation to turn the mutt into a man. But on the last night the curious King took a peek. The magic stopped, leaving a man with a mutt’s head. Ever since, the She have worshipped dogs, and would no more eat a dog than other Chinese would chow down on boiled Buddha. Hakka also worship dogs, but preferably puppies, ten pounds or less, in a pot. During the 1930s, some soldiers sold their blankets (and probably pup tents as well) for a hot pot of potatoes ‘n puppy. A hot Hakka dish today is QiLing TouTai—“Unicorn pokes out his head” (puppy steamed in a pig’s stomach). Yum. <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian <a href="longyan/road3.jpg"><img src="longyan/road3_th.jpg" alt="Roads have improved greatly!" width="160" height="200" border="0" align="right"></a> Highway Heaven Fujian’s modern highways are shrinking our convoluted province faster than Chinese jeans washed in hot water. Highways bore through mountains and arch across deep valleys. And every meter is meticulously manicured with grass, shrubs, bougainvillea, azaleas, a kaleidoscope of potted plants, and “Cherish the Greenery!” signs. I love the new highways. They are a real contrast from the dirt roads common only a decade ago! But they fly right past delightful little towns like Shizhong (适中), about 170 km west of <a href="Amoymagic.htm">Xiamen</a>. Shizhong’s plain has some fascinating 4-story rammed-earth Hakka Castles. These aren’t tourist traps. Real people live and work here, and when you show up on their doorstep they’ll grin and say, “You’ve come! Have some tea!” You might as well sit down because they’re going to keep offering it until you do! <a href="longyan/gutlian/gutian5.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/gutian5_th.jpg" alt="Home of the 1929 Gutian Conference of the Chinese Communist Party" width="200" height="138" border="0" align="right"></a> 1929 Gutian Conference Center 古田会议旧址 Mao was in West Fujian (Minxi), the “Holy Land of Chinese Communism,” when he penned, “A single spark can start a prairie fire!” But it was one heck of a spark! Recently, the author of “Culture and Landscapes of West Fujian” wrote this pulse-pounding paragraph: <a href="longyan/gutlian/Billgutiansoldier1.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/Billgutiansoldier1_th.jpg" alt="Dr. Bill hamming it up as a PLA soldier" width="200" height="150" border="0" align="left"></a>“Nowadays, step into Minxi this<a href="longyan/gutlian/gutian8.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/gutian8_th.jpg" alt="Does it look like my pants are falling down? That's because they are!" width="150" height="200" border="0" align="right"></a> sacred land, tracing the footprint of revolution herald, and we still can feel the warm of kindling which set the prairie of ablaze and touch the pulse of revolution struggle which was blistering the heaven, boiling the mountains, and shaking heaven and earth and taste indeed that the revolution leader and the herald they rushed around, searched about and conquered numerous difficulties and endured all kinds of hardships and die for nations and natives with a generosity.” <a href="longyan/gutlian/gutian8.jpg"> </a><a href="longyan/gutlian/gutian7.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/gutian7_th.jpg" alt="In front of the school house where the Maoist "school" of thought helped get its start" width="200" height="150" border="0" align="left"></a> In Dec. 1929, the Fourth Red Army held its conference in an elementary school (which is why they call Maoism a ‘school’ of thought). This school was originally built in 1848 as the Liao family’s ancestral hall. The sign above the school reads, “The Eternal Radiance/Glory of the Gutian Conference" (古田会议永放光芒.). The nearby Gutian Congress Exhibition Hall, Fujian’s largest revolutionary museum, was built in 1974 and has over 7,303 historical relics—not including the relic selling entrance tickets. <a href="longyan/gutlian/gutian2.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/gutian2_th.jpg" alt="Historical plaque of Gutian Conference Center" width="200" height="150" border="0"></a> <a href="longyan/gutlian/gutian3.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/gutian3_th.jpg" alt="Inside the Gutian conference center" width="200" height="150" border="0"></a> <a href="longyan/gutlian/gutian4.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/gutian4_th.jpg" alt="Mao Zedong slept here; George Washington slept in the room next door" width="150" height="200" border="0"></a> <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian <a href="longyan/Changting/changt95.jpg"><img src="longyan/Changting/changt95_th.jpg" alt="Rattan and bamboo furniture sold beside the highway to Changting" width="200" height="135" border="0" align="left"></a>Bamboozled An elderly couple waved as I passed, and<a href="longyan/Changting/changt45.jpg"><img src="longyan/Changting/changt45_th.jpg" alt="Near Pengkou many people sell bamboo and wood products" width="200" height="136" border="0" align="right"></a> I wondered where they got their beautiful bamboo rocking chairs. I got my answer a few kilometers down the road. Between Longyan and Pengkou (about the 266 km. marker), roadside vendors display an astonishing variety of wood, bamboo and rattan products. They sell everything from 50-cent bamboo stools to bamboo mattresses, car seat covers, couches, chairs and tables, massive cutting boards, and artistic root sculptures (which are also found south of<a href="wuyi.htm"> Wuyi Mountain</a>). On sheets of black plastic beside the highway are strips of Longyan’s famous sweet potato, drying in the sun. Fortunately, the dried sweet potato sold in stores is usually <a href="Amoytiger.htm"><img src="longyan/gutlian/amtigber8_th.jpg" alt="majestic South China tiger ( Amoy Tiger) in Fujian Province's Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve" width="192" height="200" border="0" align="right"></a>packaged in hygienic factories. The Meihua Mountain (梅花山) Nature Reserve is a wonderland of waterfalls, rolling wooded hills, strange peaks, and breathtaking caverns, and is home to almost 1500 kinds of plants and hundreds of varieties of reptiles, birds, and animals, including 40 endangered species like leopards, black bears, and rare <a href="Amoytiger.htm">South China tigers</a>. (<a href="Amoytiger.htm">Click</a> for photos of these tigers!) <a href="Amoytiger.htm"><img src="longyan/gutlian/amtiger3_th.jpg" alt="South China Tiger ( Amoy Tiger) Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve Fujian China" width="200" height="110" border="0" align="left"></a>In August, 2000, Longyan launched a $17.6 million USD (donations appreciated!) tiger protection project because less than 30 remain in the wild, and only 59 in zoos. They hope that by 2010, the six protected tigers will have bred and raised the population to 100. I don’t see how six tigers can do that unless they spike their food with Viagra. But on July 20, 2001, Zhongzhong and Qiuqiu were born to Yuanyuan and Xiongxiong. Good good start start! <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Longkong Caverns (龙硿洞) When I visited Yanshi Town’s Long Kong Caverns 15 years ago, the only illumination was our guide’s flashlight, which died 2/3 of the way through the tour. As we held hands and slipped and slid through the caverns inky depths I vowed, “Never again!” But today the caverns are well developed, well lit, and well worth the 48 km drive from Longyan City. The caverns include 14 smaller caves. The largest cavern is 20 m high, 50 m wide, and can hold 1,000 people (provided they’ve had a light lunch). Three “Immortal Doors” are in the front cave. One door leads to certain death. Just kidding. The middle door leads to the Stone Elephant and the Stone Bed. They say the Stone Bed is restful, but I thought it was hard and damp, like a petrified waterbed. But it probably beats the ‘room and board’ I’ve gotten in some local hotels. Like everywhere else in China, locals have whiled away the past 5,018 years (<a href="#5018">Click Here</a> for explanation of 5018 years) by naming every rock, nook, and cranny, both above ground and below. LongKong Caverns has Stone Frog Leaping into Pond, Guanyin goddess, Most Exalted Lord Lao, and Running Horse, where dripping water supposedly sounds like hoof beats. The most striking formation is the Stone Bells, which ring if you strike them. Other favorites include Spring Plowing, River Snails, Wax Gourd, Bamboo Grove (in Jade Cave), Boa, Flying White Dragons, Cloth Curtains, and the Yellow Umbrella, which might provide shelter from the dripping horse. <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Subterranean Immortal Lake (仙湖) in Yongding’s Fushi Town is little known but nonetheless spectacular. The underground complex has dozens of halls, and the ten-meter-high hall, “Dragon’s Palace in the Western Sea” covers 10,000 square meters. Tourists are ferried to the subterranean sea’s center to see a 10 m high column that is strikingly similar to Long Kong’s Stone Bells because it rings when struck. Zhangping’s Yongfu Flower Town （永福）, originally a She stronghold, really blooms during the Flower Fair on the 6th day of the Chinese New Year. At 755 meters elevation, this ancient town enjoys the perfect climate for raising exotic fruit like tangerines and honey peaches, and the hundreds of varieties of flowers (like camellias, orchids and azaleas) sold throughout China and other Southeast Asian countries. Yongfu is also famous for its bamboo hats, beautifully wrought rattan furniture, and its own unique style of paper-cuts, a folk art found throughout China. Yongfu historical attractions include the Aotou Porcelain Site, Liuxiu Tower, Changqing Castle, Huigong Bridge, and Buyun Bridge. <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Friend’s Crossing (朋口, Pengkou), just south of Longyan, is a “T” intersection thronged with vendors and a few dozen men lazing on motorcycles—the rural version of taxis. A grandpa leading his water buffalo and calf up the middle of the highway ignores honking drivers. He knows that if you hit his animals, he’ll retire on the settlement. If you kill the farmer himself, his family will retire and worship his remains at the ancestral shelf. To Pengkou’s left lies <a href="longyanchangting.htm">Changting</a>, the “<a href="longyanchangting.htm">Little Red Shanghai</a>. To the right is lovely Liancheng’s <a href="longyanliancheng.htm">Guanzai Mountain</a>, one of China’s star scenic attractions. Liancheng was also home to one of ancient China’s four greatest printing centers.<a href="longyan/gutlian/sibaopting.jpg"><img src="longyan/gutlian/sibaopting_th.jpg" alt="Sibao Woodblock Printing" width="200" height="178" border="0" align="right"></a> Sibao Woodblock Printing West Fujian had forests of camphor for printing blocks, and endless bamboo reserves for the famous papers made in Ninghua,<a href="longyanchangting.htm"> Changting</a>, and Liancheng as early as the 11th century. Burned pines produced soot for ink. Date palm fibers and mountain animals’ fur provided brushes. The pieces to the printing industry puzzle were all there, but it still came together almost by accident. <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian Chinese invented ‘rag paper’ around 2,100 years ago, and the Arabs learned the process from their prisoners in the 8th century (Europeans learned these same secrets about the 12th century). Around 1045 A.D.,Bi Sheng invented movable type. Give that Chinese uses thousands of characters, the typesetting must have been a real chore. Personally, I’d not have the patience for it. I’m just not that type. In the 16th century, Zou Xuesheng (1523-1598) printed some texts to educate his sons, and they in turn produced and sold texts to various schools—creating the Sibao printing industry. By the late 1700s, over 100 families (60% of some villages’ populations) produced and sold books. The Zou and Ma families’ presses produced over 1,000 books, including Emperor Kangxi’s Dictionary, the Four Classics, the Children’s Treasury of Knowledge, as well as various encyclopedias, almanacs, and fengshui manuals. But the city was so remote that it remained relatively obscure. Some printing magnates’ mansions remain today, most printing stalls are now pigpens or storage bins. While Sibao’s books have vanished, the inspiration for many a poet remains—in nearby <a href="longyanliancheng.htm">Guanzai Mountain</a>. <a href="#top">Back to top</a> Amoymagic Guide to Xiamen and Fujian   The Chengang Wine (沉缸酒) Factory, established in 1957 in Longyan, just off the 319 Highway, is well worth a visit. I’ve toured the place thrice, and while the speeches can be murder by monologue, the factory tour is fascinating. The Apostle Paul may have meant Chengang Wine when he urged young Timothy to no longer drink water but take a little wine for his stomach’s sake. The 200-year-old recipe for Chengang Wine has 31 Chinese medicines that cure anything that ails you, and a few things that don’t. The 500 employees and 96 technicians put out 10,000 tons of the sweet yellow wine each year. Address: #78 Shuangquan Rd., Xinluo District, Longyan. Phone: (0597)221-1222. <a name="5018"></a>A Xiamen University professor told me China had 5000 years of history--but that was 18 years ago. <o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p><o:p><a name="travel"></a>TRAVEL LINKS <img src="image003.gif" alt="Hakka Earthen architecture " width="12" height="12" border="0"><a href="Fujiantravel.htm">Favorite Fujian Sites</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Photographs of Fuhken places like Zhangzhou, Longyan, Ningde, Sanming, Wuyi Mountain" width="12" height="12"><a href="photoalbum.htm">Fujian Foto Album </a><img src="image003.gif" alt="AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and Fujian" width="12" height="12"><a href="Amoymagic.htm">Xiamen </a><img src="image003.gif" alt="Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu Kulongsu" width="12" height="12"><a href="discovergulangyu1.htm">Gulangyu</a> </o:p><img src="image003.gif" alt="Guide to Fukien Fuhken " width="12" height="12"><a href="magicfujian.htm">Fujian Guides</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Mystic Quanzhou -- the fabled port of Zayton ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed, Sinbad the Arab visited. Chinchew" width="12" height="12"><a href="MysticQuanzhou.htm">Quanzhou</a> <a href="zhangzhoupage.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Zhangzhou changchow " width="12" height="12" border="0">Z</a><a href="fujtrzhangzhou.htm">hangzhou</a> <a href="longyan.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Longyan Yongding Liancheng Changting Amoy Tigers Liancheng" width="12" height="12" border="0">Longyan</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Wuyi Mountain Guide Zhuxi tea " width="12" height="12" border="0"><a href="wuyi.htm">Wuyi Mtn</a> <a href="Ningde1.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Ningde Taimu Mountain Zhouning" width="12" height="12" border="0">Ningde</a> <o:p><a href="putianhtm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Putian Fujian Xianyou Mazu Temple" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="putian.htm">Putian</a> </o:p><a href="wuyi.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Sanming Scenic Wonderland Mingxi Gem bed rubies " width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="sanming.htm">Sanming</a> <a href="zhouning.htm"> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Zhouning Carp Village" width="12" height="12" border="0">Zhouning</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Hakka Earthen architecture " width="12" height="12" border="0"><a href="taimu.mtn">Taimu Mtn.</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Hakka Earthen architecture " width="12" height="12" border="0"><a href="FJAdv/Roundhouses.htm">Roundhouses</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Fujian covered wooden bridges" width="12" height="12" border="0"><a href="Mysticquanzhou/bridges.htm">Bridges</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Hakka Earthen architecture " width="12" height="12" border="0"><a href="jiangxi.htm">Jiangxi</a> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Hakka Earthen architecture " width="12" height="12" border="0"><a href="guilin.htm">Guilin</a> <a name="books"></a> <a href="Orderbooks.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Help Build an online community for foreigners. Join the Xiamen Guide forum" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="Orderbooks.htm">Order Books</a><o:p></o:p> <a href="letters.htm"> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Letters from AmoyMagic Readers" width="12" height="12" border="0">Readers' Letters</a> <table width="97%" height="154" border="1"> <tr> <td width="13%" height="148" bordercolor="#003366"><a href="discovergulangyu1.htm"><img src="discovergulangyuxm.jpg" alt="Gulangyu Kulangyu Kolongsoo Kolongsu Kulongsu" width="86" height="123" border="0"></a> <a href="discovergulangyu1.htm">Gulangyu</a></td> <td width="14%" height="148" bordercolor="#003366"><a href="XMUmeili.htm"><img src="xmucoverxm.jpg" alt="Guide to Xiamen University Historic and modern, including departments -- Arts Science computers mathematics accounting management law department etc." width="88" height="125" border="0"></a><a href="XMUmeili.htm">Xiamen Univ</a><a href="XMUmeili.htm"> </a></td> <td width="14%" height="148" bordercolor="#003366"><a href="MysticQuanzhou.htm"><img src="MysticQuanzhouxm.jpg" alt="Mystic Quanzhou -- the fabled port of Zayton ( or Zaytun Zaitun Zaiton ) from which Marco Polo sailed, Sinbad the Arab visited. Chinchew" width="91" height="125" border="0"></a> <a href="MysticQuanzhou.htm">Quanzhou</a></td> <td width="15%" height="148" bordercolor="#003366"><a href="Amoymagic.htm"><img src="AmoyMagicCoverxm.jpg" alt="AmoyMagic-- Travel , Resident and Business Guide to Xiamen and Fujian" width="95" height="126" border="0"></a> <a href="Amoymagic.htm">XiamenGuide</a></td> <td width="15%" bordercolor="#003366"><a href="FjAdventure.htm"><img src="FADVCoverFrontxm.jpg" alt="" width="92" height="131" border="0"></a> <a href="FjAdventure.htm">Fujian Adv</a></td> <td width="29%" height="148" bordercolor="#003366"><a href="magicfujian.htm"><img src="magicfujianedxm.jpg" alt="Guide to Fukien Fuhken Bilingual Chinese English Parallel with MP3 CD" width="90" height="129" border="0"></a><a href="magicfujian.htm">FujianGuide</a></td> </tr> </table> <a href="letters.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Click to e-mail Dr. Bill Brown or Susan Brown" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a><a href="email.htm">Click to E-mail</a> <a href="email.htm"><img src="Icons/email1.gif" alt="Email address for Bill and Sue Brown" width="65" height="23" border="0"></a>     <a href="letters.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Letters from AmoyMagic Readers" width="12" height="12" border="0">Readers'Letters</a> Last Updated: May 2007<a href="letters.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Return to main page and main menu of Amoymagic" width="12" height="12" border="0"></a> <o:p><a href="main.htm">Return to Main Page</a></o:p>       <a href="#top"> <img src="image003.gif" alt="Return to top of page" width="12" height="12" border="0">Back to Top </a><o:p></o:p></td> <td width="168" valign="top"> <a href="image003l.gif"><img src="image003l.gif" width="135" height="8" border="0"></a><a href="faq.htm"> </a>DAILY LINKS <a href="faq.htm"><img src="image003.gif" alt="Frequently Asked Questions about Xiamen andFujian" width="12" height="12" border="0">FAQs</a> Questions? 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