At the northern end of the Gaoqi-Jimei Sea Dyke lies the town of Jimei. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, the town is known for its magnificent buildings and postcard-like sites, which include Aoyuan Garden, Yangping Fortress, and Xiamen Sea Dykes.
Aoyuan Garden is where the local celebrity Tan Kah Kee was buried. Tan Kah-kee, who is originally from Jimei, founded Xiamen University in 1913. He then went on to build a kindergarten, a science centre, a library and several other schools teaching various subjects, turning Jimei from a rural village into a sizeable town. Aoyuan Garden includes a 50 meter long corridor, a monument, and the Mausoleum of Tan Kah Kee. On the stone railings are relief sculptures depicting the life of this great patriot. The walls on both sides of the corridor have carvings of more than 40 pictures relating to the lives of other Chinese historical figures. A pagoda shaped stone monument is erected in the center of the garden.
Yanping Fortress was built by General Zheng Chenggong to stand atop a cliff overlooking the sea on the southern side of Jimei. The site now lies in ruins except for one solitary door and rusty cannon.
The Xiamen Sea Dykes are linked to the mainland by the Gaoqi-Jimei and Jimei-Xinglin Sea Dykes. Both dykes are open to traffic and are used by trains, automobiles and pedestrians alike. In 1991 a new highway bridge was built to the northeast of the Gaoqi-Jimei Dyke, which is the first land-sea bridge in China
Admission Fee: CNY 10
Opening Hours: 08:30 to 16:50
