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AmoyMagic--Guide to Xiamen & Fujian
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Xiamen Botanical Garden

The 10,000 Rock Botanical Garden (Wànshí Zhìwùyuán 万石植物园), has more rocks than our university cafeteria rice, and beautifully landscaped trails winding amongst 20+ nurseries with over 5,300 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants, many found nowhere else on earth (or China either).

The first of its kind in China, and China’s 1st ISO-authenticated garden, this delightful botanical oasis was opened in 1960 right in downtown Xiàmén, and covers 2.27 square kilometers (none are actually square).

Koxinga stationed some of his troops in this area, and often came here to read, as did many other great men, evidently. The granite boulders throughout the garden are graced with ancient men of letters’ calligraphic inscriptions (ancient graffiti sanctified by age).

Giant boulders with names like “Laughing Rock” (Tàipíng Shíxiào太平石笑) are strewn across the picturesque hills. Below ground are dozens of “caves” (Chinese call any space between two rocks a cave).
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My favorite sites include:
Wànshí Lake (Wànshíhú 万石湖), a reservoir built in 1952.
Spring & Autumn Bridge (Chūnqiú Qiáo 春秋桥) connects the Bamboo Path and the Palm Garden.

Conifer Garden: over 80 species of pines, cypress and firs, including sequoia (found only in California and Central China) and gingko, which Chinese claim have been around 2 billion years. (They’d know, I guess).

The Bamboo Path is my personal favorite. Chinese have long said, “Better no meat than no bamboo,” because bamboo has well over 1,000 uses, and China has over 200 of the world’s 1000 species of bamboo. In North Fújiàn you can even find a rare square bamboo! (They should feed square bamboo to pandas; they’d be sure to get a square meal).

Also visit the Rose Garden, Palm Garden, the 1,000m2 Flower Exhibition Hall (over 1000 species of flowers), and the Araucaria Lawn, which has a camphor tree planted by Dèng Xiǎopíng. Turn to the Religion chapter for an introduction to the many temples, and the story behind the legend, “No wife and no monkey.”
The Botanical Garden is free before 7 AM, making it perfect for daily morning exercises.

Botanical Garden Temples

Tiger Stream Temple (Hǔxī Yán Sì 虎溪岩寺 is on the west side of Drunk Immortal Mtn. (Zuìxiān Mtn. (醉仙岩), near the Botanical Garden. It’s said a tiger lived in one of the caves, so the stone “Immortals’ Bridge” (仙人桥) is also called “Cross the Tiger Bridge” ("渡虎桥 ). The area’s known for its ancient calligraphic inscriptions on boulders (but what Chinese boulders don’t have calligraphy?).
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Tiger Stream Night Moon (Hǔxī Yèyuè 虎溪夜月) Locals say that on the 15th of the Lunar month, the moon shining upon the clay Buddhist figurines and the clay tiger makes them appear to come alive, and on the evening of Mid-autumn Festival, thousands of pilgrims vie to be the first to watch the moon work its magic.
Add: Húyuán Lù, near Botanical Garden. Tel: 2021732
Tiger Stream Vegetarian Restaurant 虎溪岩寺素餐馆 Tel: 2121799

Wàn Shílián Temple (Wàn Shílián Sì万石莲寺) in the Botanical Garden, was built in the late Ming Dynasty by General Shīlàng. The gate has a pair of antithetical couplets written by the famous Master Hóngyī (弘一法师).

Border of Heaven Temple (Tiānjiè Sì 天界寺), also in the Botanical Garden, is famous for its morning bell, (Tiānjiè Xiǎozhōng天界晓钟) which is poetically described as “Dawn Bell Ringing from Heaven’s Border.” Tiānjiè is also famous for the saying story of Tiānjié Learner and the common Xiàmén saying, “No wife, no monkey” (see “Xiàmén Legends chapter).

The botanical garden’s other temples include include Crag in the Clouds Temple (Yúnzhōngyán Sì云中岩寺), Pacific Crag Temple (Tàipíngyán Sì太平岩寺), White Deer Cave Temple (Bǎilùdòng Sì 白鹿洞寺), Purple Cloud Crag Temple (Zǐyúnyán Sì 紫云岩寺), Purple Bamboo Grove Temple (Zǐzhúlín 紫竹林寺), Immortal Crag Temple, 万寿岩寺) and Sweet Dew Temple (Gānlù Sì 甘露寺). The South Fújiàn Buddhist College’s nunnery is in the Purple Bamboo Grove Temple.
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Getting There: Take bus #17, or a taxi. The garden is opposite the Martyr’s Memorial (Xiàmén Lièshì Língyuán 厦门烈士陵园 and the Wan Peony Hotel, about 5 minutes from the Xiàmén City Hotel (just outside the tunnel from XMU). But more adventurous souls hike over the mountains above XMU’s Lover’s Lake...

Ascend the serpentine trail, a relic of Japanese occupation days, past “Heavenly Bestow Mineral Water Co. Cross the bridge and continue past the sign that says “No foreigners beyond this sign.” The trail eventually crosses the forested crest, where tigers roamed 60 years ago, and where not long ago they found a 30 foot reticulated python.

But fear not! Reticulated pythons are rarer than Monty Pythons, and fear us more than we fear them. Or so I’m told. But has anyone told them? Two hours north, in Koxinga’s hometown of Nan An, a python ate a farmer and two kids (in separate sittings). I suspect the locals now find the ‘snake fears man’ story a bit hard to swallow.