Weather gets exciting
By Bill Brown
Photo by Bill Brown & Yao Fan

厦门大学潘威廉教授儿时的梦想是穿上宇航服去探索太空. 而就在厦门, 狐尾山气象台帮助他实现了梦寐以求的愿望. 扩建后的狐尾山气象台已成为厦门人休闲的新去处. 该台不仅为市民提供了探知天文学的平台, 而且在狐尾山鸟瞰厦门岛也是一大乐事. 您下次不妨试试.

Ever since I was a child I've wanted to don a spacesuit and explore the heavens, and a few days ago I did that-without even leaving Xiamen Island! Though I didn't actually make it to space, I did view the stars and planets, thanks to the fascinating education center in the newly expanded meteorological station on Foxtail Mountain, right behind the Xiamen Municipal Government.


The education center in the station has a wide range of exhibitions

Though I've climbed Foxtail Mountain several times, and even introduced it in my book "Amoy Magic-Guide to Xiamen," until a few days ago I had no idea that the towering glass-encased structure on the mountaintop was not a water tower but part of the new 770 million yuan fully-automated weather facility.

The sprawling complex also has a beautifully laid-out education center, with displays ranging from exhibitions about the four seasons to paintings and models of the planets and solar system. When it is completed, the center will offer visitors hands-on activities to study not only our planet's weather but also our relationship to the rest of our solar system.


The view of the meteorological station at night is really wonderful

The exhibits also shed light on the debt that modern astronomers and scientists in related fields owe to ancient Chinese astronomers. For example, Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), the "Father of Astronomy," adopted his ideas from the more convenient and accurate Chinese equatorial astronomy, which was invented in 2400 B.C.! The ancient Chinese plotted the course of planets and comets for thousands of years, and postulated the "solar wind" by observing comet tails. In 135 B.C. Chinese were already studying the snowflake's structure-over 1,700 years before the Europeans. And almost 1, 000 years ago, right here in Xiamen (Tong'an), Su Song invented the first astronomical clock.



Given their history of innovation, it's no wonder that Chinese, and particularly Xiamenese, are pioneering modern weather forecasting and education. A few years back Xiamen was the first Chinese city to begin making daily air quality forecasts, and with the new facilities, the sky's the limit (quite literally!). I just hope we can put the new center to full use. Its relatively remote location may discourage casual tourists, but this state-of-the-art facility should be extremely popular with schools and universities, and allow them to give students first-hand experience in the latest ideas on weather prediction and, perhaps, even weather control.



As an added bonus, the new tower offers a breathtaking view of our beautiful garden island. From the glass-encased observation tower, which is almost 200 meters above sea level, one can view the beautiful Haicang Suspension Bridge, the neighboring islets and mainland, and the mushrooming skyline of downtown Xiamen, which rivals anything you'll find in Shanghai-except that our skyline is complemented by green hills and parks, our beautiful bay, and the Island Ring Road. (Shanghai, eat your heart out!)



Of course, this new facility came with a hefty price tag, and the government has not finished working out just how the operating and maintenance expenses will be maintained. Entrance tickets might help, but I hope that ticket costs are kept minimal and that expenses are met in other ways-corporate sponsorship, for example-so that the center can be used as widely as possible by students and learners of all ages.

So next time you're on Foxtail Mountain, don a spacesuit and explore the heavens and the earth in our new meteorological center!

Vocabulary
meteorological station气象台
Foxtail Mountain狐尾山
Amoy Magic-Guide to Xiamen 《魅力厦门-厦门指南》
Astronomy天文学
equatorial赤道的
postulate假定
snowflake雪花
hefty沉重的

本栏目特约协办
厦门市旅游局 Xiamen Tourism Bureau
Tel:0592-5310570
http://www.xmtravel.com.cn
地址:厦门市湖滨北路78号兴业大厦六楼

My Xiamen
Article and photo by Yongwei



I am Martin, from Holland. I am working at a hotel in Xiamen.

1.How long have you been in Xiamen?
I have been here for one and a half years.

2. What do you like best about life here?
I like the scenery, the warm people, and the clean environment here.

3. What's your job here? How do you like it?
My work here is fantastic and wonderful! I feel great to be part of a Chinese economy.

4. How do you spend your spare time in Xiamen?
I go out for some entertainment. Sometimes I enjoy the Filipino band on Binglang Lu, and meet my foreign and Chinese friends there.

5. If there was one thing that you could change about Xiamen, what would that be?
My favorite sport is swimming in the sea. The beach in Xiamen is really clear and beautiful, but if the water quality could be clearer, that would be great. What's more, I hope there will be more entertainment areas like bars in the future.

6. What is your favorite dish?
Potato stewed beef from the Dongbei restaurants.

7. Compared with your hometown, what do you think are the differences between Xiamen and that?
Here is much cleaner, the climate is nicer and especially Xiamen people are friendlier.

8. What's the last great book you read?
Barbarian in China by Adriaan Can Dis (a Holland writer).

9. What is your favorite quotation or piece of advice?
Show respect to each other.