Strolling through Jimei: Four century-old buildings embody Tan Kah Kee's craftsmanship, with a patriotic spirit carried by the sea breeze

When the 20th-century Minnan sea breeze swept across the Jimei coast, Mr. Tan Kah Kee laid out a blueprint for education with a sincere heart, and over a hundred school buildings blending Chinese and Western styles rose up. Today, walking through Jimei Academic Village, a five-kilometer heritage route connects twelve classic buildings. Among them, the "Nanxun Building Group," composed of Nanxun Building, Daonan Building, Yanping Building, and Liming Building, shines with both architectural beauty and patriotic sentiment. In the autumn of 1985, when Nixon visited Xiamen, his first stop was by the Jimei Dragon Boat Pond. Looking at the staggered buildings, he marveled, "I have been to many places around the world, but I have never seen such a beautiful school." What amazed him was precisely the "Nanxun Building Group"—four buildings elegantly arranged like piano keys, reflecting the blue waves and framed by the blue sky, forming the most captivating "background" of Jimei Academic Village. Nanxun Building was Tan Kah Kee’s personally designed "final masterpiece." From the 1921 vision of building a hundred-foot clock tower to its completion in 1959, it spanned nearly forty years. In 1958, despite losing sight in his right eye and with wounds unhealed, Tan Kah Kee insisted on returning from a Beijing hospital to supervise construction in Jimei. Leaning on a cane, he moved through the site, enduring pain to finalize details. This Western Baroque-style tower features granite load-bearing walls inlaid with red exposed bricks. Above the sixth floor, each level recedes to form terraces. The top floor’s four corner pavilions and two octagonal pavilions on the wings form a "mountain" shape, resembling a bird spreading its wings when viewed from above. The painted gray plaster on the column capitals is vivid and exquisite. Although the originally planned clock face and beacon light were never realized, they embody Tan Kah Kee’s earnest hopes for his students. Upon completion, it became the tallest building in Fujian and was featured as a symbol of peace in the 1961 film "Heroic Little Eighth Route Army." If Nanxun Building is a "towering giant," Daonan Building is a "unfolding scroll." Its name comes from the phrase "My way goes south," symbolizing the transmission of Chinese culture to the south. Completed in 1964, it marked the perfect conclusion to Tan Kah Kee’s architectural works and was praised as "the pinnacle of Tan Kah Kee’s architectural thought." Facing the sea, it spans 176 meters in width, with a symmetrical nine-section layout that is elegant. Red bricks form delicate patterns, the entrance hall is richly painted, and the corridor walls feature the Minnan specialty of "brick out, stone in." The Chinese-style large roof is covered with "Kah Kee tiles," and the eaves and brackets resemble a magnificent "ceremonial hat," with every detail reflecting craftsmanship. Yanping Building and Liming Building are the "warm companions" in the group. Yanping Building, built in 1922, is located beside the "Guoxing Fort," where Zheng Chenggong’s generals trained naval soldiers. After the January 28 Incident in 1932, a large stone in front of the building was inscribed with "Yanping Old Fort," each character expressing a sense of patriotism. When rebuilt in 1952, Tan Kah Kee personally wrote "Preserve the old foundation, rebuild the school," recording the passage of time. Liming Building, completed in 1958, is a standard example of the "Kah Kee style": double-corner towers, red brick columns, granite walls, and green glazed railings. On the six-story terrace, a vividly lifelike clay sculpture of a rooster heralding dawn stands, while the copper bell on the gable seems to remind students to "rise at the crow of the rooster." Today, the "Nanxun Building Group" still serves as teaching buildings for Jimei Middle School and was designated a "National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit" in 2006. Sunlight shines on the red bricks and tiles, and the sea breeze brushes past the painted gray plaster, telling the story of Tan Kah Kee’s craftsmanship and witnessing the growth of students. For those wishing to deeply explore this heritage, staying at Jinjiang Inn Plus Xiamen Airport Jimei Academic Village Hotel is ideal—the hotel is adjacent to the core area of the academic village, within walking or short travel distance to the building group, allowing you to understand Jimei’s century-old story amid sea breeze and scholarly atmosphere.