Only 1 km south of Xiamen University stands the imposing Huli Mountain Canon Platform (Huli Shan pao Tai). Originally built in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) to fend off foreign imperialists, the platform boasts a huge nineteenth century heavy artillery piece produced by the German conglomerate Krüpp, with a maximum range of 10,000 meters. The canon, placed here in 1891, cost a massive 50,000 silver taels and with a weight of 60 tons and a length of around 45 feet was the biggest coastal gun in China. Considered a serious threat then, the canon still dominated the defenses half a century later when a Japanese warship was gunned down during the anti-Japanese War (1937-1945). Behind the platform are the barracks and the arsenal.
In 1997, the Rongguang Museum (Rongguang bowuguan) was established on the platform, most of whose exhibits were donated by a Singapore collector. Currently the museum houses over 4,000 exhibits, including intriguing rocks with natural paintings on them, ancient swords and guns. Most interesting of all, there is a mini-canon here made by the Portuguese which is only about 11 cm long.
Address: Just off Daxue Rd.
How to get there: The platform and museum are a pleasant kilometer or so walk southwest from Xiamen University (Xiamen daxue) along Daxue Rd.
Opening hours: Daily.
Cost: RMB 25.
