Tong'an Intro (Xiamen Fujian)

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Welcome to Tong'an (同安)!
Tong'an Links Tong'an Main PageSu Song--Tong'an's Renaissance Man Tong'an Museum Matang Village--Xiamen's #1 Village Philosopher Zhuxi Fujian Firewalkers Confucius & Confusionism Parks & Attractions
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Tong'an is Xiamen's remotest area, about half an hour north of Jīměi, but it is well worth a tour because for most of the past 1000 years, Tóng’ān, not Xiamen, was the area’s economic, political and cultural center, as well as one of the most wildly beautiful scenic regions in Fújiàn. with delightful attractions like Butterfly Valley, and the new Best Western Trithorn Hotsprings Resort.

Tóng’ān was established in the Jin Dynasty in the 3rd year of Emperor Taikang’s reign (the barbarian-befuddling way of saying 282 A.D.). It started out as part of Nán’ān (南安,Koxinga’s home), became Datong Square in 809 AD, and was renamed Tóng’ān in 933. Tong’an was home to the amazing inventor Su Song (below), and also where the philosopher Zhuxi, whose neoConfucianism transformed Asia, held his first official post.

Tóng’ān eventually became part of Quánzhōu, and Xiamen Town was established as part of Tóng’ān in 1387 A.D.

In 1953, Tóng’ān’s Jīměi became part of Xiàmén, and the rest of Tóng’ān came under Xiàmén in August 1958. Tóng’ān was returned to Jinjiang's (晋江, part of Quanzhou) jurisdiction in Feb. 1970, and in June 1973 was put back under Xiàmén again, where it still remains—as of last week, anyway.

So why the tug of war between Jìnjiāng and Xiàmén? Tóng’ān’s 1,079km2 not only has a rich cultural and historic heritage but also 500,000 acres of farmland (rare in mountainous Fújiàn), 400,000 acres of mudflats (though our van has had too many flats in mud), 86km. of coastline, and 1.12 million acres of mountains. Fújiàn is almost all mountains anyway, but not like those of Tóng’ān, with countless waterfalls, ancient temples atop precipitous peaks, our unique “Valley of Butterflies,” etc.

Tóng’ān is beautiful above ground, and a treasure below ground, with ancient relics like the Tīngxī Kiln (Tīngxī Yáozhǐ汀溪窑址) that produced the prized pear-lescent porcelain prized all over ancient Asia, especially in Japan.

So where to start? We’ll begin with Tōng’ān’s favorite son, Sū Sòng (苏颂), and then visit the ancient Confucian Temple (Kǒngmiào孔庙), the Brahma Temple (Fàntiān Sì, 梵天寺), the “12 Dragon Waterfalls” (Shí èr Lóng Tánbàobù, 十二龙潭瀑布) of the North Mountain Scenic Region (Běichénshān Yóulǎn Qū, 北辰山游览区), and after marveling at the surre-alistic beauty of the “Valley of Butterflies,” (Húdiégǔ蝴蝶谷), we’ll feast on the inimitable native cuisine of the Tōng’ān Guesthouse (Tóng’ān Bīn-Guǎn, 同安宾馆). The homely décor is misleading, because they serve some of Mǐnnán’ finest dishes.

Tong'an Links Tong'an Main PageSu Song--Tong'an's Renaissance Man Tong'an Museum Matang Village--Xiamen's #1 Village Philosopher Zhuxi
Fujian Firewalkers Confucius & Confusionism Parks & Attractions

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