XVI. XIAMEN, 2018
Dear TFI
members and Guests,
Thank you for joining us on this special occasion. It is with great pleasure that we welcome all of you to the TFI Reunion 2018.
We chose the Fujian province at the cities of Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Wuyishan for the sites of our gathering, not only because of the beautiful scenery, but also for the chance to learn about our ancestry and cultural heritage as you will discover in the city of Quanzhou.
This reunion is an opportunity to meet with old friends as well as having the pleasure of meeting new friends. It is during this experience, that we will celebrate friendship and create lasting memories.
We would like to express our appreciation to our committee members for their generous time, dedication, volunteer hours, and hard work to make this TFI Reunion 2018 smooth and successful.
With highest regards,
Kong Peng and Bie Sian Kho
Committee Chair,
XVI TFI Reunion 2018,
Xiamen, China.
THE XVI TFI REUNION XIAMEN 2018 COMMITTEE
XIAMEN
 Land Area: 1,565 square kilometers (about 604 square miles)
Sea Area: 300 square kilometers (about 116 square miles)
Population: 2,520,000
Area Code: 0592
Zip Code: 361000
Nickname: Egret Island
Xiamen is located at the Southeast coastal of China in Fujian Province, which is famous for her attractive seascape as well as being the port from where our forefathers left their ancestral villages for migrating to Southeast Asia, the so called Nan Yang, hence she is “The Gate of China” and be named “Xia/China and Men/Gate”.
She started out a tiny fishing village of Sha-po-wei next to the present Conrad Hotel, for being the hometown of most overseas Chinese, she was benefited from numerous contribution of Hokkianese Tanglang diaspora unselfishly undertaking the development to the present day of a major city, led by then the Indonesia richest sugar king Oei Ik Tjoe in the early years of last Century. He left his legacy in all over Xiamen, and his Huang’s Villa Garden on the beach of satellite Gulangyu Island has become Number One Garden of China.
The Subtropical weather that mimicking California and its deep sea harbor makes her a major port of call for cruise liners visiting China. The natural beauty of the city and the courteousness of Hokkianese Tanglang made Xiamen an excellent site for major international convention as well as a tourist destination. Xiamen was named one of the 10 best cities in the world for human habitat last year, and has been one of the 3 most beautiful cities in China for the past 20 years.
Do stroll along her well known Walking Street Zhongshan Lu next to the Lujiang Hotel to sample fresh seafood and the so called “Ko-ca-wei” which meant the typified local delicacies, you will be amazed to learn that so many tasty back home “jajan” we used to take it for granted in our younger years, indeed originated from here.
Do not miss out Xiamen Sate Mie.
QUANZHOU
Quanzhou, pronounced Cuan-ciu, historically known as Zaitun, she is the starting point of ancient Maritime Silk Route, from here the Zaitun Bay to the Gulf of Hormuz. The famous Ming Fleet of Sam Po Kong Cheng Ho recruited his sailors, marines and to purchase his supplies and merchandise of porcelain and tea from here before sailing to Nusantara in the 15th Century.
Quanzhou is overlooking Taiwan, thus Cuanciulang makes up the 45% of the present day Taiwanese, and Cuanciu is none other than the hometown of most Tan surname of all over the world.
Being a major international city since the 8th Century, Marco Polo once said Zaitun is the world’s largest trading port next to Alexandria in the 12th Century. She was the melting pot of all nationals with their cultures and religions.
Here is the cradle of Islamization of Southeast Asia which lies the Holy Tombs of Muhammed’s 2 Disciples and one of the oldest mosque in China, Masjid al-Ashab, and the ancestral village and family temple of Gus Dur.
Quanzhou is ancient, it is famous for her typical red brick wall and swallow tail roof traditional “Ko-ju” houses, which we often see the similar design of old homes in Jawa costal area, many were demolished for the new look of the city but this traditional design remains being preserved for the look of new Quanzhou.
Many museums that pertinent to the history of Hoakiao and Maritime Trading in Quanzhou are worthwhile to be visited.
Quanzhou is about 45 minutes away east of Xiamen. The omlette food culture as well as marionette sting puppet show ware originated in Quanzhou, China. Do not miss out sampling the oyster omlette “Oa-ci”.
MOUNT WUYI SHAN
A famous natural landscape garden and a summer resort in China, Mount Wuyi attracts worldwide travelers every year. It sits on the border of Wuyishan City in Fujian Province and Yanshan County in Shangrao City of Jiangxi Province. Easily reachable by air flights as well as bullet trains.
Twice it is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1999 and an additional in 2017.
There are many scenic spots and attraction throughout the mountain that normally requires 2 full days to explore. However, there are 2 attractions that are suitable for the aged to visit with less efforts, one is the bamboo rafting and the second is to visit the the historical Da-hong-pao tea grove.
Nine-bend River (Jiuqu Stream)
Nine-bend River originates in the western part of Wuyi Shan. Its water is shallow and pristine. The total length of the stream is around 62.8 km (40 mi), bending in several places around the mountains. We are going to take bamboo rafts through the 9 bends down the river to view the exquisite scenery and to breathe the crisp air, being one of the most popular activities in Wuyi Shan.
Da-hong-pao Tea Grove
In addition to sightseeing, having a taste of Dahongpao Tea is strongly suggested. Mount Wuyi is a base of tea production in China, it is from here that made Russians particularly fond of drinking tea for the last 2 Centuries. Its rock grown tea represented by Dahongpao is one of the best tea types, the color of the tea combines red, green and yellow. The flavor of this tea is strong and lingers however it is also mellow.
“Dahongpao” in Chinese means “big red robe”. Why such a tea was so named, it is because in the spring time, when the tea trees are budding, they are red covering all over the mountain as if a big red robe, but behind it all, there are legends being told from generation to generation for the past 350 years, as well as one in the recent history.
Chairman Mao presented half an ounce of Dahongpao for state gift to President Nixon during his historical visit to break the ice of cold war in 1972. During our Search of Ancestral Homeland tour and reunion this time around, we will take home a personalized TFI can of premium Dahongpao, but most of all, we will also take home a lasting memory of enjoying the epic musical production “Impression Da Hong Pao”, which takes place in the natural setting of Wuyi Shan, rain or shine.
