Anhai

Anhai
安海镇
Town

Surviving White Pagoda (center) of Shuixin Chan Temple (right), with the adjacent old residential neighborhood (left) demolished, to make way for new development (such as seen in the background)
Anhai

Location in Fujian

Coordinates: 24°42′44″N 118°27′38″E / 24.71222°N 118.46056°E / 24.71222; 118.46056Coordinates: 24°42′44″N 118°27′38″E / 24.71222°N 118.46056°E / 24.71222; 118.46056
Country China
Province Fujian
Prefecture-level city Quanzhou
County-level city Jinjiang
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Anhai
Chinese 安海

Anhai[lower-alpha 1] is a town in southern Fujian, China. It is located in the far southern suburbs of the Quanzhou metropolitan area. and is separated by Weitou Bay (Chinese: 围头湾) from Kinmen, which is controlled by Taiwan. Administratively, Anhai is part of Jinjiang County-level City, which in its turn is subordinated to Quanzhou.

The highest point in the town's administrative area is Mount Língyuán (Chinese: 灵源山) at 305 metres (1,001 ft).

History

The White Pagoda

Anhai was known as Anping (traditional Chinese: 安平) during the Song dynasty. The famous Song-era Anping Bridge crosses a tidal estuary to the west of town, connecting Anhai with its western neighbor, the town of Shuitou, which administratively belongs in Nan'an. Shuixin Chan Temple is located by the eastern end of the bridge.

Anhai was an important port during the Ming and early Qing periods. The 19th-century researchers writing for the Hakluyt Society thought Anhai was the port of "Tansuso" visited by Martín de Rada, but later research identified Tansuso as Zhongzuosuo (Chinese: 中左所), which is in modern Xiamen, some 40 km (25 mi) to the west.[2] Anhai regained importance in the later 19th century when sand bars created by the Jin and Luo rivers blocked the principal harbor for Quanzhou; the city retained its size and importance to local trade but maritime commerce was redirected to Anhai.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Formerly romanized as Ganhai, Gan-hai, Nganhai.[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anhai.
  1. 1 2 "Chinchew", Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VI, New York: Enc. Britannica Co., 1911, p. 231.
  2. ↑ Chen, Boyi (陳博翼) (December 2009), "「Aytiur」(Aytim)地名釋證：附論早期海澄的對菲貿易 (Identifying the place named "Aytiur" (Aytim), with a note on the early trade between Haicheng and Philippines)" (PDF), 明代研究 (Ming Studies) (13): 81–108


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