Tong'an District () is a northern mainland district of

Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

which faces Quemoy County, Republic of China. To the north is Anxi and Nan'an, and to the south is Jimei. Tong'an is also east of Lianxiang and Changqin to the West. It covers Xiamen Municipal Government, P.R.China
Tong'an District has a population of 496,129 residents. (2010 Census) The District deserves a nickname of Silver City (銀城 POJ: Gûn-siâⁿ pinyin: Yínchéng) because the old city resembled a

sycee A sycee (;.. from Cantonese , , ). or yuanbao () was a type of gold and silver ingot currency used in imperial China from its founding under the Qin dynasty until the fall of the Qing in the 20th century. Sycee were not made by a central ...

in plan view.

Administration

Tong’an District administers two subdistricts: Datong and Xiang Ping. It has local authority over six towns. They are Hongtang, Wuxian, Dingxi, Xinming, Xike and Lianhua. Tong'an District is also attracting foreign investment because of its status as a designated special economic zone in Xiamen.http://www.chinavista.com/xiamen/invest/tongan.html

Geography

Bingzhou Peninsula area - land reclamation - DSCF9205

Tong'an District is almost coterminous with the basin of the Xixi River ("Western Stream"), the largest river of Xiamen City. The Xixi starts in the Zhaijianwei Mountains (寨尖尾山 Zhàijiānwěishān) in the northwestern part of Tong'an District, and flows in the general south-eastern direction. After receiving a number of tributaries - Lianhuaxi (莲花溪, Lotus Stream), Aoxi (), Dingxi (), it merges with the Dongxi (东溪, Eastern Stream) at the place called Suangxikou (双溪口, "The confluence of two streams).厦门市志: 一、地表水
(Xiamen Gazetteer: Chapter 1, Surface waters) The Xixi's estuary opens into the Dongzui Harbor (东咀港), which is a bay of

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a ...

mostly enclosed by Tong'an District and Xiang'an District on the mainland (on the northwest and east, respectively) and by the

Xiamen Island Xiamen Island, alternately known as Amoy Island from its Hokkien pronunciation, is an island in southeastern Fujian, China, on the Taiwan Strait. It is administered by the People's Republic of China as the Huli and Siming urban districts of ...

in the south. A number of large bridges have been constructed across the Xixi estuary, carrying roads and a railway between Tong'an and Xiang'an Districts (and, viewed on a larger scale, between Xiamen and

Quanzhou Quanzhou, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of and a popul ...

History

Tong'an was made a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in AD 282 during the Jin Dynasty, but its status was revoked not long after. It was again given "county" status in AD 933 under the

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

administration. Prior to 1914, its jurisdiction covered regions including present day

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

City,

Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separa ...

(ROC) and the north-eastern part of Longhai City. In May 1997, Tong'an lost its county status and became a district within Xiamen. In September 2003, 5 towns (namely Xindian, Xinxu, Maxiang, Neicuo, and Dadeng) in the eastern and south-eastern part of the then Tong'an District were split off, to form the new Xiang'an District.

Economy

Tong'an has a mild sub tropical climate. This is very suitable for growing crops and plants. It is covered in natural resources such as granite, kaolin earth, mineral water and hot springs. It is emerging as a growing commercial base. The main agricultural products from Tong'an District are prawns, peanuts, longan, and pigs, fruits, vegetables, tea and herbs.

Transport

Tong'an district is at the economic crossroad between Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou prefecture level cities. It is an important transport hub because the Fuzhou-Xiamen and Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Highways pass directly through Tong'an District providing direct access to all the counties and villages. The Xiamen International Airport is only 27 km away. It is 32 km from the North Xiamen Freight Transport Railway Station.

Climate

Tong'an climate is subtropical, rich rainfall in mild winters and hot summers. Winters are short, roughly 25 days and summer is hot with up to 152 days. The weather is changeable in spring, and autumn is very cool. Tong'an annual average temperature is 21.86 °C The coldest temperature is 13.9 °C in January and hottest is 28.9 °C in July. The annual average rainfall is 1543.5 mm and 2030.7 hours sunlight per year. The annual average evaporation is 1685.2mm, accumulated temperature is 57.67-77.17℃. This climate is suitable for agriculture, forestry industries, animal husbandry and fisheries.

Notable people

Koh Lay Huan Kapitan China Koh Lay Huan (; died 1826) was a wealthy and educated man, who had earlier rebelled against the Manchu-led Chinese Qing Dynasty and fled to Siam and the Malay States, to eventually settle in Penang as its first Kapitan China. He w ...

(辜禮歡甲, died 1826), Chinese-born businessman who became the first Kapitan Cina (Chinese Kapitan) of Penang

References

External links

Guide to Tongan
{{authority control Geography of Xiamen County-level divisions of Fujian