Dragon Symposium

Xiamen Kick Off Symposium

Dates: Tuesday 27 April to Midday Friday 30 April 2004 , with optional one day visit to the Fujian Province test site on Monday 26 April 2004

Venue: Marine Garden Hotel , Gu Lang Yu Island, Xiamen, Fujian Province, Peoples' Republic of China.

Dragon Symposium - Xiamen

Hotel and Local Transport in Xiamen and Gulangyu Island

Transport from the Xiamen airport to the Hotel on Gulangyu Island is organised locally. At the airport, there will be someone waiting for you with a notice "Xiamen / Dragon Symposium"

Dear participants,

Welcome to the beautiful coastal city of Xiamen. We are pleased to have you with us for the "Dragon Programme Xiamen Symposium" and would like to inform you of the followings:

1. The venue of the symposium will be at Marine Garden Hotel on Gulangyu Island. Accommodations will be at:

MARINE GARDEN HOTEL

No.27 Tianwei Road, Gulangyu Island, Xiamen

Tel: 2062688; Fax: 2066315

Symposium secretariat room: 1102, staff room 1102

XIAMEN CADRE'S SANATORIUM

No. 18 Tianwei Road, Gulangyu Island, Xiamen

Tel: 2063480    Fax: 2066291

Symposium staff room: 8106

Please see attached map for access to the hotels and go-around information.

2. The organizer will be responsible for your meals during the symposium from Apr. 25 to Apr. 30.

Breakfast :   6:30-8:30      Western Cafeteria, Marine Garden Hotel

Cadre's Sanatorium

    Lunch:      12:30-14:00   Western Cafeteria, Marine Garden Hotel

    Dinner :     18:00- 19:00   Western Cafeteria, Marine Garden Hotel

    Time and places for receptions and other arrangements will be announced in advance.

3. You are welcomed to use swimming pool and fitness center at Marine Garden Hotel for free. Other entertainment and services will be charged to you along with your room charge (please note that during May 1 ^st - 7 ^th , room price will be adjusted to 80% of the rated price because of the Golden Week Holiday in China).

4. Please wear your name badge (will be given to you at registration with other materials) during the symposium. Our staff will be wearing Yellow name badge, different from participant's BLUE one. Try to contact them if you need any help. For more information, please contact:

Prof. Lan Zhangren M.Phone 13328658995

Ms. Zhuang Ruzhen M.Phone13003977217 (local information and arrangement)

5. For safety's sake, please don't go out swimming alone or swim at low tide.

We wish you a very pleasant stay in Xiamen.

Map of Gulangyu Island

It takes about 15 minutes by walk from Gulangyu Ferry Dock to the Hotel. Marine Garden Hotel has an electric cart (10 seats) for arrival and departure transfer between Ferry Dock and the hotel only, discount price for a single trip is 10 yuan/person. Advance reservation is needed.

Yongshun Electric Cart Company stations near Gulangyu Ferry dock and outside Shuzhuang garden. The company runs round the island cart trip. You can also take a cart by the route if one passes by. Price ranges from 20 to 50 yuan.

Transportation in Xiamen

Time Table of Ferries between Xiamen and Gulangyu

Xiamen Ferry Dock       Gulangyu Ferry Dock

(first liner 05:45)            (first liner 05:30)

Day Boats

rush hours:         07:00-08:30 (every 10 minutes)

11:00-12:30

13:30-14:30

17:00-18:30

other time          every 15 minutes

Night Boats

From Xiamen    21:10   21:20   21:40   22:00   22:20   22:40 23:00   23:20   23:50   00:30

From Gulangyu   21:10   21:30   21:50   22:10   22:30   22:50 23:10   23:40   00:20

Night Ferry from Xiamen Dock to Sanqiutian Dock

From Xiamen:   22:10   22:45   23:10   00:00   01:00 02:00   03:00   04:00   05:00   05:10

From Sanqiutian Dock, Gulangyu: 21:35   22:00   22:40   23:00   23:30 00:40   01:30   02:05   03:05   04:05   05:15

Note: Sanqiutian Dock is 300 meters to the west of Gulangyu Ferry Dock

You don't need to buy ticket for ferry ride from Xiamen to Gulangyu. Return ticket is 3 yuan (ticket booth is just outside the Gulangyu Ferry Dock). For going upstairs on any ferry trip, buy   1-yuan extra ticket upstair. Taxi in Xiamen price 8 yuan for the first 3km, then 2 yuan/km. Ticket for bus is 1 yuan. It takes about 40 minutes from Xiamen Ferry Dock to the Airport.

Guide to Xiamen

Xiamen enjoys the reputation of both a "Garden on the Sea" and a "Glittering Pearl on the Sea". It has won a number of honorary titles, including   "National Sanitary City," "National Garden City," " a Model City for Environmental Protection," "Outstanding National Tourist City," "Nations in Bloom," "Outstanding City in National Science & Technology Assessment," and "China's Top Human Habitat." Besides these, Xiamen is also:

l One of the five special economic zones in China. In 2003, Xiamen's GDP reached RMB 76 billion (increasing by 17.29% year-on-year), per capita GDP was RMB 53621 (about 6500USD), the total industrial output amounted to RMB 1394 billion.

l An aviation hub in southeast China, 76 routes have been opened to major cities in China and   cities like Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta, Osaka, Nagoya and Bangkok.

l A major sea port in China. The container handling capacity of Xiamen Port ranks No.6 in China.

l A hot place for foreign investment. Foreign founded enterprises has contributed to over 84% of the city's total industrial output. Among the Fortune 500 companies, 31 have set up operations in Xiamen.

l One of the most comfortable city to live in China, and an attractive tourist city is many scenic spots and places of historical interest:

Gulang Island

Gulang Island is the most engrossing attraction in Xiamen. It enjoys laudatory titles as "Garden on the Sea", "an Island of Music" and " Piano Island ".

The small island covers an area of 1.78 square kilometres. It is separated form the downtown by a 500-m-wide strait. The island is a paradise for walkers. Cars and even bicycles are banned. Only a few electric carts are permitted.   Western traders moved onto Gulangyu in 1842. The foreigners built the villas, sanitation system, consulates, schools, churches and hospitals that remain today. The island seems to be blanketed in hundreds, even thousands, of old villas, recalling many foreign architectural styles.Gulangyu has the highest pianos per capita rate in China. When walking along the twisting lanes in the evening, one can easily hear soothing sounds emitting from garden villas,of a pianist in rehearsal or a private concert.

Placed on the southeast cusp of Gulangyu like a beacon is the statue of the robed warrior Koxinga (Zhen Ghenggong), who, regarded as a national hero,   expelled the Dutch from Taiwan in 1661.

Overlooking the beach is one of the island's best-known gardens, Shuzhuang Garden. Is is a small seaside garden with a zigzag bridge, a large goldfish pond, and a massive honeycombed wall of lake rock. The Piano Measum, with a collection of over 40 ancient and precious pianos donated by Mr. Hu Youyi, an Austrian Chinese born in the Gulangyu Island, stands on the green slope embraced by the sea.

Gulangyu's finest overlook is Sunlight Rock , the highest of the island's peaks.The summit of Sunlight Rock is a short, steep climb along rock paths dotted with flower gardens, old cannon, small cafes, and a number of amusement arcades, yurts, and contemporary metal sculptures. From the top the outlines of Gulangyu, the harbor, and downtown Xiamen to the east are in full view.

Xiamen

Nan Putuo Temple is Xiamen's greatest place of worship. It is an active Buddhist complex of grand halls, bell towers, inscribed rocks and pavilions built into a rocky hillside. The temple dates from the Tang Dynasty, but it has been extensively rebuilt in the thousand years since. This is a fine place to watch locals pray for riches and burn incense.

Hulishan Connon Fort ,   The remnants of German artillery placed here in 1891. Looking across the Taiwain Strait, it's just a few miles to Jinmen and two other smaller Islands that is still controlled by Taiwan.  

Xiamen University , founded by the famous overseas Chinese leader, Mr. Tan Kak Kee, it is now one of the prestigious universities in China. It enjoys its great reputation in fields such as chemical, life science, economic, finance and accounting, marine science, humanities and social science etc.. The university has one of the most beautiful campuses in China.

Botanical Garden , also named by the local as the 10,000 Rock Garden, is home to over 4,000 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants. The landscape is a mere combination of rocked hill, lake and greenness.

Ring Road Xiamen runs along Xiamen's beautiful shoreline. There lawns and gardens, and paths for hikers, bicyclists and roller bladders along miles of beaches. It has become one of the most beautiful Marathon route for international competitions.

JImei

Jimei , the birth place of Mr. Tan Kak Kee, founder of Xiamen University, is a college town. Mr. Tan Kak Kee's mausoleum is on the island of Turtle Park . The Turtle Park has a marvelous display of Hui'an style stone carvings lining both sides of the entrance hall. The friezes depict in stunning detail various historical scenes and personages from ancient and modern China.