Last week, I finally arrived at Xiamen, the island I had looked forward to visiting over a half century ago when I was taking military service on the island opposite it, Kinmen.

Xiamen is a modern, clean, green, and well-designed city, like a huge garden with trees and flowers everywhere. It is also a human-friendly city, and pedestrians can enjoy using any sidewalk without any hindrance. FYI, my apartment is located in a relatively wide two-way lane in Taipei, but there is no sidewalk for me. Anyway, two cities, Xiamen and Taipei, are beyond comparable in any aspect, especially their appearances. 

However, the local tour guide told me that before the Reform and Open in the late 1970s and the cease of the artillery battle with Kinmen, basically Xiamen was just a "huge" fishing village, far lagging behind Taipei. I figure that because all lands are nation-owned and efficient city planning means no sprawl could be allowed, Xiamen has gained the splendid success it has in thirty years as it is now.

There is a big signboard "一國兩制統一中國", an attraction not far away from the beautiful University of Xiamen that is facing Kinmen.