Haimen Island is located at the mouth of Jiulong River, bordering Xiamen Haicang in the north and Zhangzhou Longhai in the west. The Xiamen-Zhangzhou Cross-sea Bridge spans Haimen Island, and the whole island is spindle-shaped, with an area about twice that of Gulangyu Island. Historically, Haimen, Xiamen and Jinmen were known as the "three gates" along the coast of southern Fujian. They face each other from a distance, forming a unique triangular geographical position, supporting each other and being impregnable.
Haimen Island has two villages, Haishan Village in mangrove forest and Pinghai Village in Little Beach. Before the opening of the Xiamen-Zhangzhou Cross-sea Bridge, people entered Haimen Island by boat, so the villagers living on the island mainly fished, supplemented by farming and planting. Haimen Island was originally three adjacent islands. In 1970s, during the agricultural Dazhai period, hills and marine plains were formed by artificial reclamation.
The popularity of seafood in Haimen Island is much greater than that in Haimen Island itself. When I first met Haimen Island, I thought most of them came for seafood. I don't know that there are not only affordable seafood here, but also the other side you don't know. Haimen Island is also a paradise for all kinds of birds. There are more than 40 species of birds on the island, including heron, myna, heron, brown-backed shrike and kingfisher.
When you come to the seaside, you will find endless mangroves growing on the beaches and shallows of Haimen Island. This mangrove forest is a provincial nature reserve, with a wide variety, such as Kandelia candel, Tung oil tree, white bone soil, rat music, Xiamen rat music and so on. Mangrove is a shrub-like jungle that grows on the beach. It is green all the year round, and has extremely high requirements for water quality and surrounding environment, so it can only survive in beaches. )
Besides seafood, bird watching and mangroves, the ancient houses on the island are also worth tasting and appreciating. Most of the ancient houses here were built in the Qing Dynasty, which is the traditional architectural style of southern Fujian with red brick dovetail saddle ridge. After vicissitudes of life, they give people a simple aesthetic feeling.
Waves, beaches, ancient buildings, docks and fishing boats constitute the unique fishing village style of Haimen Island. Strolling among them, I don't think it's to find beautiful scenery and food, but more to find long-lost peace and nature.