Here We Come - Xiamen, Fujian Province - China!

We were originally scheduled for Manila but God sees fit that we spend this summer in Xiamen. Through a series of events - recommendation of Dr. Su Guaning, President of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, generosity of Dr. Zhu Chongshi of Xiamen University, and sponsorship and approval of Rotary International and others, doors were opened expediently to allow us this wonderful opportunity.

Map of China - Fujian Province shown here in red

While I will be teaching in English in the School of Information Science and Technology at Xiamen Univeristy, my proficiencies in Mandarin (I need to brush that up a bit), Hokkien, and Teochew will serve me well as I perform local service community projects in Xiamen. Xiamen is location in Fujian Province. As you can see from the map, Taiwan is located east of Xiamen.

Historically, Xiamen is consider the Birthplace of Chinese Protestanism where Taiwanese missionaries began their work from 1626-1662. Now Xiamen is a modern coastal city, where during its recent modernization, was designated a Special Economic Zone. Xiamen, with its five million plus inhabitants, is considered to be the second most livable city in China.


My mom grew up in the neighboring province of Guangdong in the city of Shantou 汕头, or Swatow in Min Chinese, a city of 784,000 in coastal eastern, China. As such, we look forward to the opportunity to meet up with ancestral relatives - how cool is that!