英语作文厦门
LocatedatthesoutheastcoastofChina,XiamenisatouristcityofFujianProvincefamousforitsattractiveseascape.Asoneofthemajorseaportssinceancienttimes,Xiamenboastsawidegulfwithdeepwaterbutwithoutfreezingandsilting.Thenameof'Xiamen'wasconsequentlygiven,whichmeans'agateofChina'.AsoneoftheforerunnersofthespecialeconomiczonesofChina,XiamenmainlyconsistingofXiamenIsland,GulangyuIsland,thenorthbankareaoftheJiulongRiverandTong'anCounty,isconnectedwiththemainlandbytheGaojiSeawall,XiamenBridge,etc.XiamenhasbeencalledtheEgretIslandbecauseofthehundredsofthousandsofegretsinhabitingthere.Thisisduetothebeautifulnaturalscenery,thefreshairandthecleanenvironmentofthecity.
DearTom,ihavebeenhereXiamenforafewyearsbuticouldn'texplainhowienjoyit.Xiamenisanislandcitywitharichanddramatichistory,repletewithpirates,rebelleaders,andEuropeanmerchants.NowlinkedtomainlandFujianbyacauseway,Xiamenretainsastronginternationalflavor.KnownintheWestasAmoy,Xiamenhasalonghistoryasaportcity,andlaterbecameacenterofBritishtradeinthe19thcentury.Theirforeignsettlements,latertakenoverbyJapaneseinvadersatthestartofWorldWarII,wereestablishedonthenearbysmallGulangyuIsland.Manyoftheoldtreaty-portandcolonialbuildingsinWesternstylessurvive.XiamenwasdeclaredoneofChina’sfirstSpecialEconomicZonesintheearly1980’s,takingadvantageofthecity’sheritageasatradingcenterandtheproximitytoTaiwan.TodayXiamenisoneofChina’smostattractiveandbest-maintainedresortcities.
Xiamenwasfoundedin1394atthebeginningoftheMingdynastyasacenterofdefenseagainstcoastalpirates.Itsprosperitywasduetoitsdeepwatershelteredharbor,thatsupplantednearbyQuanzhou,theportthathadbeenthecenterofthemaritimetradewiththeIndies.