Scorching Fujian and Cantonese flowers·Xiamen trip·Gulangyu Island·Sea Garden Music Island

Gulangyu Island is a small island in Xiamen City, covering an area of ??only 1.71 square kilometers. The island is surrounded by blue water. The bay is winding, and the golden sandy beach always greets the waves of snowflakes that come and go. The island has strange rocks, secluded valleys, green trees, and blooming flowers. Although it is a small place, , and it is so magnificent and shining like a pearl on the sea that it is called the "Garden on the Sea". The houses on the island are all built against the mountains. They are cleverly designed. Asphalt paths wind through the mountains. There are no cars and horses. The sound of pianos is melodious in the alleys. It is quiet and poetic, so it is also known as the "Island of Music".

Scenic spots on the island include Sunlight Rock, Shuzhuang Garden, etc.

Sunlight Rock

On the top of Longtou Mountain on Gulangyu Island, there is a huge rock with different peaks protruding from the top of the mountain. It is surrounded by strange rocks and deep caves. This is the highest point of Gulangyu Island - Sunlight Rock, more than 90 meters above sea level. There is a section of the climbing path that is extremely rugged and steep, with huge rocks sometimes standing on both sides, sometimes soaring over the top, which is frightening. There is a huge rock wall on the top of the mountain, with four characters "Tianfeng Haitao" engraved horizontally on it, and two characters "Lujiang No. 1" and "Gulangdongtian" vertically engraved slightly below. The writing is powerful and the momentum is extraordinary.

There is "Longtou Mountain Village" on Sunlight Rock, which was Zheng Chenggong's earliest military camp. On the right side of the village gate is "Wanzai Pavilion". The one under the pavilion is 15 meters high and 6 meters wide. The huge stone is the site of Zheng Chenggong's Shuicaotai, with the words "former site of Zheng Yanping's Shuicaotai" engraved on it. Among the stone carvings on the cliff, there is Zheng Chenggong's handwritten poem "Rites, Music, Clothes, and Crown": "Rites, Music, Clothes, Crown, and Articles Confucius and Mencius, Nanshan Jingshou Domain, and East China Sea Brewed with Flowing Clouds." Zheng Chenggong rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, restored the Ming Dynasty, regained Taiwan, and stationed troops in Xiamen. When Gulangyu was training naval forces, he stood on the water platform and commanded the warships at sea. His fleet commanded the Min Sea with great authority. Today, there is a stone carving of "The Mighty Wind of the Min Sea" on the island. There are also many inscriptions describing Zheng Chenggong's majesty. For example, on the gate stone of Longtou Mountain, there is a poem by the late educator Cai Yuanpei: "The mighty sky wind calms the sea waves. If the conductor directs the formation, the clouds are high. Sometimes the insects, sand, monkeys and cranes are gone. The righteousness cannot be drank." "Tao." Opposite the village gate, there is a poem written by the famous anti-Japanese general Cai Tingkai in 1933: "The soldiers of the Eighth Fujian Army are still there today and remember the heroes under the Sunlight Rock."

Statue of Zheng Chenggong in Gulangyu Island, Fujian

There is a high platform on Sunlight Rock. From the platform, you can have a panoramic view of Xiagu scenery. It is said that on a cloudless day, pedestrians on Kinmen Island can be seen from Sunlight Rock, and occasionally the crow of Kinmen roosters can be heard.

Shuzhuang Garden

When visiting Xiamen, you cannot miss Gulangyu Island; when visiting Gulangyu Island, you cannot miss Shuzhuang Garden. Shuzhuang Garden is exquisite, but many visitors may not know that it was originally Lin Shuzang's private garden. The word "Shuzhuang" is also derived from the homophonic pronunciation of Shuzang.

Lin Shuzang, also known as Erjia, was originally from Longxi, Fujian. His ancestors moved to Tamsui, Taiwan. After the Sino-Japanese War, his father moved back to Gulangyu Island to live. Shuzhuang Garden was built in the autumn of 1913. In terms of layout design, its owner intentionally imitated the architecture of Yihongyuan, the residence of Jia Baoyu in "A Dream of Red Mansions". The whole garden is divided into two parts: Zanghai Garden and Bushan Garden, each with five sceneries, and later several pavilions were added. On a land with a radius of less than 10 acres, the cleverly conceived and carefully designed scenery includes ingenious pavilions and towers, strange mountains and rocks, and the ingenious twelve caves in the sky and the forty-four bridges that are like a rainbow drinking into the sea. .

Shuzhuang Garden is backed by Sunlight Rock and faces the sea in front. The architectural design also highlights the beauty of hiding the sea and supplementing the mountains. It combines the mountain and sea views in one garden, making people walk in the garden and feel happy. There is also the joy of unexpected discovery, and it is known as "Xiamen's No. 1 Garden".

Zheng Chenggong Memorial Hall

Gulangyu Island was where Zheng Chenggong stationed and trained his troops. To commemorate this national hero, in 1962, when commemorating the 300th anniversary of Zheng Chenggong's recovery of Taiwan, it was built under Sunlight Rock. Zheng Chenggong Memorial Hall. There are seven exhibition rooms in the memorial hall, with statues of Zheng Chenggong, which introduce Zheng Chenggong's life and historical achievements through various texts, charts, photos and physical objects. Exhibits include bronze cannons, iron cannons, battleship models used in those years, and silver coins engraved with "Zhangzhou Military Pay".

In 1661, Zheng Chenggong led 25,000 soldiers and hundreds of warships from Kinmen to advance to Taiwan. Zheng's army first besieged Chican City (today's Tainan) and forced the Dutch defender Xian Cheng to surrender. Then they unexpectedly surrounded the city of Taiwan (today's Taipei), leaving the recalcitrant Dutch Governor Kuiyi stunned with fear. Kui Yi tried to use money as a tactic to delay the attack and wait for reinforcements to arrive. He sent someone to see Zheng Chenggong, saying that he was willing to "pay tribute as usual every year", and also presented Lao Shi with more than 100,000 taels of silver to persuade Zheng to retreat. Zheng Chenggong was unmoved. While continuing to besiege Taiwan City, he wrote a letter to Kui Yi, solemnly stating: "However, Taiwan has long been operated by the Chinese, and the Chinese land has been occupied by your country for a long time. Now that I have come to claim it, Then the land will belong to me. If the deacon refuses to listen, he can raise the red flag and ask for a fight. I should immediately watch and don't hesitate!"

Kui Yiyi still. Don't surrender. The Zheng army persisted in the siege. After a few days, they defeated the Dutch reinforcements sent from Batavia. After running out of ammunition and food, they announced their surrender on January 27, 1662. On February 1, Kui Yi signed the surrender document. Taiwan, which had been occupied by the Netherlands for thirty-eight years, finally returned to the motherland.

After Taiwan was recovered, he worked with the Gaoshan people to build Taiwan. As an outstanding military strategist, politician and national hero, Zheng Chenggong is famous in history.