Xiamen << shee ah muhn >> (pop. 3,680,000) is a seaport on the coast of Fujian Province in southeast China. Xiamen is also known as Amoy << uh moy >>. The name Amoy is based on the pronunciation of the city’s name in the South Fujian dialect. Xiamen has a fine harbor and was once the center of China’s tea trade.
During the 1600’s, traders from Portugal traded with Xiamen, but the Chinese drove them out because they mistreated the local people. In 1842, a treaty with the United Kingdom opened Xiamen and four other ports to British trade (see Treaty port). British citizens and other foreigners living in Xiamen gained special rights. In 1943, the United Kingdom and the United States gave up these special privileges, and other countries followed their example. Before World War II (1939-1945), Xiamen was a flourishing center of trade. In the early 1980’s, the Chinese government set up the Xiamen Special Economic Zone to attract foreign investment. Trade began to flourish once again.
Opposite Xiamen is Gulangyu, an island where many wealthy Chinese people have their homes. From the port of Xiamen, many Chinese people from Fujian have gone to various countries in Southeast Asia. Most of the “overseas Chinese” in Southeast Asia speak the South Fujian dialect.
