Located in Fujian province in the southeastern coast of China, the island of Xiamen (otherwise known by its Fujian name of Amoy) made it to Trip Advisor’s Traveller’s Choice Destination for 2012. In 1387, the Ming Dynasty built a fort in Xiamen to guard against pirates. In the 1540’s, European traders first visited Xiamen as it was China’s main port for exporting tea. Xiamen became a foreign concession in 1903 as part of the “Treaty of Nanking”. Much of the island has prospered together with the other major cities of China when it was designated a Special Economic Zone in 1980, finding its share of impressive infrastructure and extensive highway system and rampant high rise developments. It currently has a population of 3.6 million residents.