I know a thing or two about Zheng Cheng Gong (鄭成功 o Koxinga) and it mainly has to do with the time I spent in Tainan-Taiwan where Cheng Gong is considered somewhat of a local hero for driving away the Dutch colonists. Since Xiamen is probably as close as you can get in mainland to Taiwan, with Jinmen islands just an hour ferry ride away, I should have maybe guessed that the Fujian people also see Cheng Gong in a similar way, but it took me by surprise just how much.
It turns out the half Japanese half Chinese Manchu pirate rebel is very prominent in the small island of Gulang in Xiamen. He fought against the Qings and perhaps was among the very few who managed to somehow establish some sort of rule in the Taiwanese island (NOT, some would emphasize, as part of the Chinese empire, just like Chiang Kai Shek who ran away from the mainland ruling communists). Today, he’s worshiped in some temples as a God.
Anyhow, if you make your way to Haoyue Park at the north-western tip of Gulang island, you’ll see a gigantic statue of Koxinga and a small museum explaining his various conquests.
Koxinga, it seems, has quite a nice view of Xiamen…
Nothing like a massive statue to get your day going in the lovely Gulangyu.
Love the pics. I hop to make it some day.