The city of Xiamen has a long history, with human activity recorded as early as 3,000 years ago. During the early Jin Dynasty, the place was made Tong'an County in 282 AD. During the Song Dynasty (960 AD–1279 AD), the city was a seaport open to foreign trade.
In 1387, the Ming Dynasty built a fort in Xiamen, then part of Quanzhou, to guard against pirates. After the Qing Dynasty overthrew the Ming in 1644, Ming loyalist Koxinga, used Xiamen as a base to launch counterattacks against the invading Manchus from 1650 to 1660.
In 1680 AD, Siming State was abolished and renamed to Xiamen Subprefecture by the Emperor of Kangxi. The name "Siming" was changed back after the 1912 Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing Dynasty and the settlement was made a county. Later it reverted to the name Xiamen City. In 1949, Xiamen became a provincially administered city, then was upgraded to a vice-province-class city, or a municipality. Today, Siming is the name of main city district of downtown Xiamen.
When China began to reform its economy, Xiamen was made one of the original Special Economic Zones in 1980, to attract foreign investment, particularly from overseas Chinese.
Today Xiamen is seen by Chinese as one of the most livable cities. The air is clean and people there enjoy a relatively high standard of living. It has large swathes of green space and the coastline has been developed for recreation – not only beach play but also long stretches of jogging paths, all of which are rare in Chinese cities.
Xiamen has been a trading port since ancient times as well as a gateway of China's opening up and external cooperation. Embracing the vast ocean, the city has hosted visitors from around the world.
Xiamen is one of China's five major special economic zones, a window for opening up to the outside world and a hot spot for innovation and development. Xiamen is also a famous hometown of overseas Chinese and the cradle of Minnan culture, where Chinese and foreign cultures blend with and embrace each other, contributing to its open character and tolerance to diversity.
There is a popular saying here in southern Fujian, "Dedicate yourself and you will win," which embodies an enterprising spirit.
