THE BEST IS YET AHEAD

When our family moved to Xiamen in the southeastern province of Fujian in 1988, it was hard to believe that only a century earlier many Westerners had claimed that Xiamen boasted the wealthiest square mile on earth.

For centuries, Xiamen had been famed for both its deep natural port and “a kindlier spirit, a more generous feeling, predominant at Amoy [Xiamen], toward foreigners, and traders, and visitors, than at other parts of China,” as authors Thomas Allom and George Wright wrote in their 1843 book China in a Series of Views, Displaying the Scenery, Architecture, and Social Habits of That Ancient Empire.

Xiamen was not only rich but also talented, producing pioneers such as Dr. Lin Qiaozhi, mother of modern obstetrics and gynecology in China,