Local experience in Xiamen with Botanical Garden and Jimei School Village

Jimei is located in the north of Xiamen Special Economic Zone, 17 kilometers (about 11 miles) from the city center. It is opposite to Xiamen Island and is at the foot of Tianma Mountain facing the sea on three sides. Jimei is the hometown of Mr. Tan Kah Kee (Chen Jiageng) (1874-1961), a renowned educator and leader of overseas Chinese. Nowadays, Jimei is one of the four most popular tourist sites of Xiamen City, especially for its academic atmosphere as well as pretty natural and social sights. The most remarkable feature is without doubt the Jimei Study Village founded by Mr. Tan Kah Kee in 1913. It is the only one in China. It occupies an area of over 10 hectares (about 25 acres) on a variety of various levels and schools ranging from primary to higher education and from traditional to vocational schools. The magnificent scale of this project has no equal elsewhere in China.

Located at the southeast coast of China, Xiamen is a tourist city of Fujian Province famous for its attractive seascape. As one of the major seaports since ancient times, it boasts a wide gulf with deep water but without freezing and silting. The name was consequently given, which means 'the gate of China'. As one of the forerunners of the special economic zones of China, the city mainly consisting of Xiamen Island, Gulangyu Island, the north bank area of the Jiulong River and Tong'an County, is connected with the mainland by the Gaoji Seawall, Xiamen Bridge, etc. The city has been called the Egret Island because of the hundreds of thousands of egrets inhabiting there. This is due to the beautiful natural scenery, the fresh air and the clean environment of the city.

Xiamen Botanical Garden, also known as Wanshi Botanical Garden is one of China's most famous and beautiful botanical gardens. The gardenis designed around Wanshiyan Reservoir on the southern slopes of Yangtai Shan ('Balcony Mountain') in the southeast of Xiamen Island. Its Chinese ancient garden architecture boasts more than 1.8 million trees and over 4,000 types of flora.

The Turtle Garden is located on the southeastern tip of the town of Jimei and it includes a Tan Kah Kee mausoleum, a monument and a long corridor stretching for 50 meters. The Turtle Garden is spread over an area of 9000 square meters and had been built and designed under Mr. Tan Kah Kee’s supervision during the 50s and the 60s. The carvings and architecture in the Turtle Garden reflect the principles and teachings through amusement and travel. They depict modern and ancient times in the country. The garden is profound, broad and comprehensive and is considered to be a very grand sight in natural history.