Xiamen, China - another maiden call

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26^thMarch Xiamen, China



Better known to Westerners as Amoy, Xiamen is located in the Chinese province of Fujian and was once dubbed as the Oriental Hawaii (by Tricky Dicky Nixon)



This was another maiden call for the Queen Elizabeth and the cruise terminal is situated on the Western side of Xiamen Island.



For centuries Xiamen has been the gateway into China situated in an inlet of the South China Seas Taiwan Strait. It is a very clean city and has a modern centre radiating from the natural harbour.



Not many more temples and shrines to go!!



The trip today was to see the traditions of Xiamen, a brief glimpse into what their cultures were like some years ago and how they try to cling onto some of their cultured past.



Our guide was a young student who spoke little English. The tourist industry for Westerners is quite new so little has been converted into other languages.



The first of two stops was the Ciji Palace out by the Dongming mountain range in the village of Qingjiao not far from Xiamen Island. The palace built in 1151 during the Song Dynasty is now a Cultural Heritage site under state protection. There was a lot of restoration work being carried out.



By the way, we did climb to the top statue (thank god for zoom lenses!!).



Back to Xiamen to a very active temple close to the University campus of our student guide.



The South Putuo Temple has over 200 monks and was first built over 1000 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. A very busy temple with lots of visitors. Again a lot of renovation work going on.



The Heavenly King Hall is the home to a huge laughing Buddha representing the Buddha of the future and is flanked by fierce statues of four heavenly kings. The temple has been a training centre for men & women seeking the enlightened path since 1924.



Back to the ship via Zhongshan Road, the main shopping street in Xiamen with the bay on one side.



Next stop Hong Kong

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