Xiamen

Xiamen (厦门; Ē-mn̂g in Minnan, Xiàmén in Mandarin, former English name: Amoy) is a coastal city in Fujian Province in China. It has been an important port for centuries and became one of China's earliest Special Economic Zones in 1980. The name Xiamen means "door to the house", referring to the city's centuries-old role as a gateway to China.

Xiamen is a very vibrant, affluent and modern place, though by Chinese standards it is a small city — only 5.1 million counting suburbs (2020). It has many non-Chinese residents and a range of restaurants, bars and stores that cater to them. It also has several universities and some areas popular for tourism.

The most important tourist area is Gulangyu, a small island close to downtown which contains some beautiful colonial buildings and is car free. It is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Understand

Like many other Asian cities, Xiamen is a fascinating mixture of old and new. Buildings range from ancient temples to modern skyscrapers, roads from narrow alleys to multi-lane boulevards and highways, and industries from handicrafts to hi-tech.

Orientation

The core of the city is on Xiamen island. The term "Xiamen" is somewhat ambiguous since it can refer to the island, to the city on it, or to the whole urban area (a "prefecture-level city" in the Chinese administrative system) including suburbs not on the island. This article covers Xiamen Island; the others areas have their own articles, linked below.

On the map, Xiamen Island is the pink (Huli District) and green (Siming District) approximately circular area near the bottom. It is about 13 km (8 miles) in diameter. Gulangyu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is important for tourism and has its own article, is the green dot next to the larger island. Much of both islands is heavily built up, but both also have quite a lot of parkland and plenty of trees and flowers; this is a bustling modern city with distinct overtones of tropical paradise. Also, the terrain is hilly and quite a few hills are still covered with forest.

The areas on the mainland that are administratively part of Xiamen are Haicang in yellow, Jimei in blue, Tong'an in dark green and Xiang'an in orange. A few decades back these were largely rural areas, but all now have populations of several hundred thousand and are growing quickly; the city is expanding beyond the island. Xiamen Island is connected to Jimei by several bridges (road, rail and rapid transit), to Haicang by one bridge, and to Xiang'an by a tunnel.

The main train station, long-distance bus stations, and ferry terminals are all on Xiamen Island, though there are less important stations in other areas. The airport is also on the island, up on the north side, but it is due to be replaced by a new airport in Xiang'an in 2025. The bus rapid transit system (BRT) has one line running east-west across the island and another that runs north, crosses a bridge and then forks to run through parts of Jimei and Tong'an. Other districts do not yet have BRT service. See Get around below for more on BRT.

Most of the historic buildings and much of the new commercial and business core of town are in the area of Xiamen Island opposite Gulangyu, though newer development has spread out a long way east and north from there. Major streets in the old central area include Lujiang Road along the coast, Siming Road parallel to it and a bit inland, and Zhongshan Road which is a pedestrians-only shopping street perpendicular to the other two. Xiamen University is on the coast at the southern end of that downtown area.

A long and rather pretty ring road, Huándǎo Lù (X401 on the map), runs from the university along the east coast all the way to the airport on the north edge of the island; there are popular beaches along it. A large new International Conference Center with its own hotel is just off this road, about halfway up the coast.

Somewhat north of downtown on the west side of the island, there is a long, narrow lake running east-west near the map's pink-green border. Its name can be romanised as either Yundang Lake or Yuandang Lake; we use Yundang here because it is closer to the sound in Chinese, but both forms are in widespread use.

Major roads run parallel to the lake shore and a bit inland on all four sides, all with names that say which side of the lake they are on. The area around Hubin Beilu (Lakeside North Street) has several high-end hotels (the Marco Polo is a landmark), quite a few expat residents, and many restaurants and bars. Along the lake are mainly upmarket places, while the back streets have more modest establishments. Around Hubin Nanlu (Lakeside South Street) are shops and offices.

Xiahe Lu, south of Hubin Nanlu and roughly parallel to it, is one of the main streets of the newer part of the city; it has many banks, hotels and offices, several of the larger shopping centers, and the train station. The east-west BRT line runs along it.

West of the lake, between it and the seashore, is Haiwan Park which has a half-dozen bars/restaurants right on the seashore, all with large patios overlooking the water. Like the ones on the lake, these mostly offer Western food and are popular with Xiamen's large expatriate community.

Xiamen's container port, on the west side of town north of the lake, is among the 20 busiest on Earth. From the main road up the west side of the island, you can look out over hundreds of stacked containers and some enormous cranes for moving them. In the photo of Haicang Bridge on the right, some red cranes are visible beyond the bridge.

Information sources

The tourist bureau has several information offices around town:

at the airport, in the domestic arrivals area (phone +86 592 570 8273)
at the side of the railway station, near the car booking area (+86 592 393 0058)
on Gulangyu, on the left side of the road that runs uphill from the ferry dock
1st floor of the Hall of the People, 76 Hubin North Road (+86 592 512 3128)
opposite the Brahma Temple in Tong'an (+86 592 736 8357)

They also have an administrative office for each district, but few visitors will need to interact with them. If you think you need to — for example to file an official complaint about a scamming business — ask for directions at one of the information offices.

The municipal government site^{[dead link]} has mainly information for foreign companies or for international students coming to Xiamen university, but there is some information for tourists.

Climate

Xiamen is just one degree north of the Tropic of Cancer. The climate is subtropical, warm year round; even in the coldest winter months (January and February), the average nightly low is 10 °C (50 °F). Frost is extremely rare and the last time it snowed was a freak storm in 1893.

It does get hot in summer; in July and August, average daily high and low are 32 and 25 °C (~ 90 and 77 °F), and it is often humid as well. There is a fair bit of rain; average is 1350 mm (~ 53 inches) a year. October to January are the driest months.

Xiamen has cleaner air than many Chinese cities; it is right on the sea, there is not much heavy industry and almost no domestic heating with coal, and the city government is generally strict about pollution since it might drive away investment. Xiamen got an international award in a contest for most livable and environmentally aware cities in 2002; neighboring Quanzhou won the following year.

There is a risk of typhoons, mainly July to September, but Xiamen is partly sheltered from them. Typhoons come in off the Pacific; most of them cross Taiwan before reaching Xiamen, use up much of their power smashing up Taiwan, and are significantly less nasty by the time they hit Xiamen.

Overall, the climate is usually very pleasant year round.

History

The region has been inhabited since prehistoric times and Xiamen Island is mentioned in Han Dynasty records around the time of Christ. There has been a town in the area at least since the Song Dynasty, a thousand years ago. For most of that time, it was administratively a district of Quanzhou, which was historically the richest and most important city in Fujian. In the past couple of centuries, however, Xiamen has grown a great deal; now it is administered separately and is much more than just an appendage of Quanzhou.

Until 1842, the Chinese Empire allowed Western "barbarians" to trade only in Guangzhou (then known as Canton), and only under strict controls. After China lost the First Opium War, Britain took Hong Kong and China was forced to open five Treaty Ports — Canton, Xiamen (then known as Amoy), Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai — to foreign trade, and to eliminate some of their restrictions. Trade boomed and these port cities developed very quickly.

In Xiamen, the island Gulangyu became a foreign enclave with consulates and luxurious homes. Today it is a quiet area (no cars or motorcycles), five minutes by ferry from downtown, and remarkably scenic.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fujian was a focus of missionary activity and there are many historic churches in the region. China's oldest Protestant church, the Xinjie Church, is in downtown Xiamen near the Ximing Road & Zhongshan Road intersection.

Some of the history of the China trade is darker; key commodities were tea, silk and ceramics plus "pigs and poison" — indentured labourers and opium. Some labourers were very badly treated, almost slaves, and opium caused major problems in China. Xiamen had its share of the dark side as well as the more positive side; one company there was prosecuted by the British for kidnapping potential workers.

Many overseas Chinese around the world can trace their ancestry to Fujian, often to the Minnan-speaking region around Xiamen. In particular, much of the Chinese immigration to Southeast Asia has been from Fujian, as was nearly all immigration to Taiwan before 1949. Examples of Southeast Asian cities with Minnan-speaking majorities among the Chinese community include Penang, Medan, Klang, Kuching and Manila. Some overseas Chinese maintain connections to the "old country", especially Xiamen. Tan Kah Kee, after making his fortune in Malayan rubber, started Xiamen University, an Overseas Chinese Museum nearby, and a technical college in neighboring Jimei. The Filipino chain store SM first entered the Chinese market with a store in Xiamen, the company founder's birthplace. Overseas Chinese often visit the region, some donate to various good causes in the area, and Xiamen University has many overseas Chinese students, including a large contingent from Indonesia.

In the 1980s, Xiamen was one of the first cities to become a Special Economic Zone to encourage development and open mainland China to the outside world; like other SEZs it has been booming ever since. While only Xiamen Island and Gulyangyu are in the SEZ, the whole region is flourishing. Xiamen has more Taiwanese investment than any other mainland city, partly because Taiwanese is a dialect of Minnan (Southern Min), the local language of southern Fujian. There is also a major influx of other foreign investment; among the foreign companies with large factories in Xiamen are Lifetime Products, Dell and Kodak.

Xiamen also has five large industrial development zones set up for various types of development, two in Haicang and one each in Jimei, Xiang'an and on Xiamen Island. Details on Wikipedia.

Talk

The main local language is called Minnan Hua (Southern Min speech) in Chinese, and in China usually just Minnan in English. It is also widespread in Southeast Asia, where it is known as Hokkien, and in Taiwan where it is called Taiwanese. All these variants are mutually intelligible and the Xiamen version is the standard, so Xiamen is an excellent place to learn Minnan. Minnan is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin, Cantonese or even with other Min (Fujian) dialects, though it is partially mutually intelligible with Teochew, which is spoken across the border in the Chaoshan region of Guangdong province.

As with anywhere else in China, Mandarin is almost universally spoken, at least by educated people, since it has been the main language used in education, government and most media since the 1950s. However, locals often have a strong accent when speaking Mandarin, which is very similar to a Taiwanese accent. Like other prosperous coastal cities, Xiamen has many migrants from other parts of China, most of whom speak Mandarin but not Minnan.

Foreigners staying in Xiamen long term generally choose to learn Mandarin instead of (occasionally, as well as) Minnan because Mandarin is so much more broadly useful. Go a hundred miles from Xiamen in any direction, except across the Taiwan Strait, and no-one will speak Minnan; the local language will be something completely different. Go anywhere in China, though, and most people you meet will speak Mandarin. That being said, attempts to speak Minnan are most certainly appreciated by locals, and might even be essential for breaking into local social circles.

English is not widely spoken. You can expect reasonable-to-excellent English from staff in higher end hotels, tourist shops, and the many restaurants and bars that cater to expatriates. Elsewhere the range is likely to be none-to-limited, with the occasional exception. This is a Chinese-speaking city with some English facilities, not somewhere like Amsterdam or even Hong Kong where an English-only traveller can expect to cope quite easily.

You can survive and have a good time in Xiamen speaking only English more easily than in most Chinese cities, but there will be difficulties. You will need some help from Chinese friends or hotel staff — things like writing down a destination in Chinese or giving directions by cell phone — because the cab drivers generally speak no English. English is OK for high-end restaurants, but if you want to eat more cheaply or more adventurously then you need to learn some Chinese or bring along a translator.

Learning some Mandarin opens up most of the city to you. The only areas where knowing some Minnan, or bringing along a local guide, are likely to be essential is if you want to get out into the countryside, shop in a farmers' market, or buy from fishermen at the docks.

Get in

Xiamen has a major airport and good road and rail connections; it is easily reached from anywhere in China and many places beyond.

Visas

See the China article for more general visa information for mainland China.

If you are a citizen of Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, Russia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, or the United States, you may be eligible to obtain a visa exemption to visit Xiamen only for up to 144 hours (6 days) if you are in transit to a third country (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan count as separate countries with regard to this scheme). You must enter and exit mainland China through Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport or the Xiamen Port, and must present an onward ticket to a country other than the one you arrived from to immigration on arrival. You are also not permitted to travel beyond Xiamen city boundaries for the duration of your stay.

By plane

0°0′0″N 0°0′0″E

Xiamen (including metro line extensions that have not yet opened)

24.535118.1281 Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (厦门高崎国际机场 XMN ^IATA). The airport is on Xiamen island and close to downtown, ¥30-40 and 20 minutes by taxi. It is among the dozen busiest airports in China by several different measures — passengers, freight volume or number of flights — though its exact position on the list is different for each measure and may change from year to year.

Xiamen Airlines use XMN as their main hub. They have connections all over China, international flights to many Asian destinations, and a few beyond Asia such as Amsterdam and Sydney. Most other Chinese airlines also fly to Xiamen and there are connections to almost any major Chinese city.

Probably the most common way to fly into Xiamen from overseas is to connect through Hong Kong. Flying via Guangzhou or Shanghai is also common; both are major international hubs, have good connections to Xiamen, and are reasonably nearby. Shanghai, however, generally requires a somewhat inconvenient change of airports; most international flights come in to Pudong Airport but domestic routes use Hongqiao Airport, on the other side of the city. Connecting via Beijing is also possible, but Beijing is a long way from Xiamen.

Direct international flights to Xiamen are becoming more common, and may offer better options for many fliers. Xiamen also became a popular transfer airports for flights to/from Asia.

From Taiwan, there are numerous flights on multiple airlines from both Songshan and Taoyuan airports in Taipei to Xiamen, as well as several flights form Kaohsiung. However, these take a circuitous routing and can be rather expensive; consider flying into Kinmen and taking a ferry to Xiamen instead.

From Southeast Asia, there are flights direct to Xiamen from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur. Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila and Cebu. See Discount airlines in Asia.

From North America, there are direct flights on Xiamen Airlines from Los Angeles and New York but several two-hop possibilities are available from the US, Canada or Mexico. Korean Air have direct flights to Xiamen from Seoul. They sometimes offer good discounts and Incheon International Airport is very user-friendly with free Internet and nice free lounges with couches to stretch out on. Also, unlike many other countries, Korea allows sterile transit; if you are just changing planes, then you do not have to go through Customs or Immigration and do not need a Korean visa. Japan Airlines have direct flights to Xiamen from Tokyo and Osaka, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have direct flights from Manila and Cebu Pacific also have flights from Cebu.

Xiamen Airlines offers direct flights between Amsterdam and Xiamen, creating the first direct link to Europe for Xiamen. Flights are scheduled three times per week: Amsterdam-Xiamen on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Xiamen-Amsterdam on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Buses from the airport include #18 to Xiamen University and #27 to the harbour, both with stops at the train station. #37 just goes to the train station, #41 to the SM Mall area, 91 to the Exhibition Center. #105 goes north into the suburbs, to Tong'an via Jimei.

By train

Xiamen is well connected to China's high-speed rail network; it is on a major line that runs along the South China coast from just across the border from Hong Kong all the way to Shanghai.

There are two high speed railway stations:

24.4705118.1112 Xiamen Station (厦门站 Xiamen zhan). Xiamen Railway Station is located downtown, in Siming District. It is the terminal of the Yingxia Railway which runs inland to Jiangxi province. After an expansion project, the South Station House and South Square were put into operation in 2015. The station is not only an important transportation hub in Fujian Province, but also one of the hubs connecting the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta Express Railroad. (updated Sep 2024)
24.6388118.0693 Xiamen North railway station (厦门北站 Xiamen beizhan).

More high speed trains run from the latter which can be reached by metro from downtown.

From Xiamen, the routes are:

Northeast to Fuzhou (¥85, 100 minutes), Wenzhou, Ningbo, Hangzhou and Shanghai (around ¥400 and eight hours).
Southwest, to Zhangzhou and Longyan in southwestern Fujian, and on to places in the next province, Guangdong like Chaoshan for Chaozhou and Shantou. The line runs via Shanwei and Huizhou all the way to Shenzhen (¥150, 3½ hours). From Shenzhen, one can cross to Hong Kong, change trains for Guangzhou, or take a ferry to Zhuhai. There also direct trains from Xiamen to Hong Kong, taking a bit more than 4 hours.

Another high-speed line goes inland from Putian (north of Xiamen on the Fujian coast) to Nanchang in Jiangxi (an inland province West of Fujian). Xiamen-Nanchang time is about five hours.

There is also service on regular trains from Xiamen to various destinations in Fujian and to major cities throughout China's interior. It is inexpensive, but slow (e.g., about 20 hours to Wuhan) since the railroads travel a circuitous route through mountains.

By bus

Quanzhou, ¥35, 1½ hours.
Fuzhou, ¥70-90, 4 hours.
Hong Kong, Guangzhou, or Zhuhai, around ¥200-300, overnight sleeper bus. There is a bus direct to Xiamen from Hong Kong airport. From Hong Kong, there are some buses that go all the way and some where you have to change buses at the Hong Kong-China border.
From Hong Kong via Shenzhen: take the metro to Lo Wu border station, cross the border on foot (usually fast and easy if your visa is in order). There are small shops selling bus tickets within the border complex, with pickup nearby, or you can walk a block to the main bus station. A number of bus operators are available and bus service is frequent. A trip from Lo Wu (China side) to Xiamen will take 9 hours and cost ¥250-300. Night sleeping coaches are also available.
Shenzhen, ¥200-300, 8 hours. Buses leave for Xiamen from the Qiaoshe long-distance bus station (侨社客运站) daily at 09:10, 09:40, 11:00, 11:40, 12:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00, 21:30, 22:00 and 22:20. Tickets can be purchased at the Shenzhen Tourism Group (深圳市旅游股份有限公司) counter at Qiaoshe bus station. They take credit card or cash.

By ferry

A boat service operates from Xiamen's Wutong ferry terminal (五通客运码头) to and from Kinmen's Shuitou port, which is under Taiwanese control, hourly 08:30-19:00 every day. Tickets cost NT$750 from Kinmen and ¥160 from Xiamen. The boat ride takes about 30 minutes. No visa-on-arrival is available, so make sure your Chinese visa is in order. Travelling from Xiamen to Kinmen is considered to be departing China, so make sure you have a multiple entry visa if you want to return to Xiamen after visiting Kinmen.

MV COSCO Star, ☏ +86-592-6011758, +86-592-2616735, tuteng@coscostar.cn. Provides ferry service from Taiwanese ports Taichung and Keelung to Chinese ports Xiamen, and Damaiyu, Taizhou. (updated Feb 2020)

Get around

Local public transit is easiest to pay for with the Xiamen public transit mini-app on Alipay or WeChat.

If you are planning on staying in Xiamen for a significant amount of time, you can also get an eKatong (e卡通) stored value card. It can be used in different forms of public transport not only in Xiamen, but also in the neighbouring cities of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.

The local bus system is very good, but the normal bus routes are listed in Chinese and do not have English on the signs. Signs in the BRT and Metro are bilingual in Chinese and English, while announcements are trilingual in Mandarin, Minnan and English.

Xiamen BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). This uses buses on elevated bus-only roads with 4 lines operating. The BRT is very fast and comfortable and does have signs in English. Fare depends on distance, usually ¥1–4 per person. Line 1 connects the northern high speed railway station, Terminal 4 of the airport and downtown/Siming.

Xiamen Metro. As of March 2024, the Metro network consists of three lines. Line 1 runs north to south mostly connecting the Xiamen North railway station with downtown, while Line 2 mostly runs east to west, connecting the northeast of the island through downtown, and ending in Haicang on the mainland. Line 3 connects Xiamen railway station with points north and east including Xiang'an. Existing lines are being extended and more lines are under construction. Eventually there may be 11 lines. You can pay for the metro with an eKatong card, with the public transit mini-app on Alipay or WeChat, or with tokens sold by machines at the stations.

Taxis are cheap, starting at ¥8 (plus ¥3 fuel tax – so ¥11) for the first 3 km. After the first 3 km, the meter charge will go up based on distance. Although the meter may read with a decimal, most taxi drivers will round up. On the other hand, as anywhere in China, tipping is not expected.

During the day time, you should be able to get anywhere on Xiamen island, including the airport, for under ¥40. But be wary that some taxi drivers might take advantage of you if they know that you are not a local and might take the longer route to your destination. For example, if the driver says "Huándǎo Lù" after you tell him where you want to go, say bù (no), because that is the ring road that circles the entire island and although it is scenic, it is likely the most expensive way to go.

There is a frequent ferry service to/from Gulangyu. Non-Xiamen residents have to take the ferry from Dongdu Wharf, accessible via taxi or bus #51. Tickets are ¥35 for the trip to Gulangyu, and ¥18 for the trip back to Xiamen; the ferry ride takes about 20 minutes.

To go around by bicycle is a great way to explore Xiamen, except Gulangyu where bikes are forbidden. Try the Island Ring Road (Huándǎo Lù) which has an extra path for bicycles along much of its length. Start at Xiamen University Beach and go up until the International Exhibition Center. There are various rental stations on the Huándǎo Road, starting at ¥30 per day. Enjoy the sunshine while cruising next to the sea. If you leave the bicycle path, be cautious about the traffic.

Motorcycles are forbidden everywhere on Xiamen Island and enforcement is quite strict in the central areas (e.g. Yundang Lake, Zhongshan Road, etc.). In other areas, enforcement is more relaxed and some people do ride, but this risks a fine or even police seizure of the bike. Motorcycles are allowed in the mainland suburbs (Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang or Xiang'an), but see Driving in China for some cautions.

See

Xiamen has a few large clumps of interesting stuff to see. Gulangyu may be the main tourist area, but there is quite a lot on Xiamen Island as well, and some out in the suburbs.

North of the lake

One is the area around Yundang Lake. The north side has a large group of restaurants and bars (see below) plus a rather pretty lakeside park area with a walkway right down by the water. Around dawn and dusk, you can watch the egrets (symbol of Xiamen, used as the logo for Xiamen Airlines) flying to and from the lake.

At night, there is a bit of a light show; many buildings (especially around the south side of the lake) have laser or LED displays that attract attention, sort of an advertisement by commercial buildings and some residential complexes to draw attention to their business. This sort of thing is fairly common in Chinese cities, but Xiamen has more of it than most others. It is best seen from the north side, augmented by reflections in the lake. This is not really an attraction in itself, just a nice extra for anyone imbibing in a lakeside bar.

24.477118.0891 Bailuzhou Park (白鹭洲公园), 565 Bailuzhou Street, Siming District (思明区白鹭洲路565号) (On an island in the lake, crossed by a bridge, east of the Marco Polo on the north side and of the bus station on the south. Bus routes 8, 26, 97 and 758), ☏ +86 592 5082380. Open all day. A large park that includes hotels, bars, restaurants and shopping. Go around 8:30PM and enjoy the vendors, music, and dancing. Free.

Around the university

Another is the area around Xiamen University. In Chinese, it is 厦门大学 (Ē-mn̂g tōa-o̍h in Minnan, Xiàmén dàxué in Mandarin), usually abbreviated to 厦大 (Hā-tāi in Minnan, Xiàdà in Mandarin). This is Fujian's most prestigious university, the province's only "national key university" controlled by the central government in Beijing rather than by the provincial education department.

To get there, take a 20-minute walk south from the Zhongshan Road and Gulangyu ferry area, along either Lujiang Road or Siming Road, jump in a taxi or take a bus. Buses that go to the main gate include #1, 15, 18, 21, 29, 71 and 82. #2 or 22 go to other parts of the university.

The university has a beautiful campus with old traditional buildings, extensive gardens and a small lake. Among the attractions are a small but interesting Anthropological Museum (straight ahead and a bit to the right from the main gate) and a large bookstore with quite a few high-grade Chinese art books and (by Chinese standards) a fine selection of English books. Entrance via the main gate may be restricted on busy holidays; use one of the three smaller gates which are across from Baicheng beach.

Just outside the main university gate is the south end of Siming Road, generally referred to as Xiada Street. This is a lively area of shops, street stalls and restaurants; it is only perhaps 150 m long, but packs a lot into that space, plus a few smaller streets running off it. There is also a large bookstore here, not quite as good as the university store for art books, but better for CDs and DVDs. Because this area caters to the student market, it tends to have a lot of fairly cheap stuff. You need to bargain to get good prices. Few of the vendors speak English, but there are sometimes helpful English-speaking students about.

24.4431118.091612 Nanputuo Temple (南普陀寺), 515 Siming South Rd, Siming District (思明区思明南路515号) (a bit north of the main university gate; Bus routes 1, 21, 45, 309, 751, 841 and b1), ☏ +86 592 2087282. 04:00-18:00. This is a large Buddhist temple parts of which are over a thousand years old, mainly dedicated to the bodhisatva Guan Yin who is sometimes described as the Goddess of Mercy. Mount Putuo in Zhejiang is one of China's "Four Great Mountains of Buddhism"; "Nanputuo" means "south Putuo". Visitors can climb the mountain behind the temple for beautiful views of Xiamen and surrounding nature. The mountain is also littered with small enclaves with hundreds of Buddhist statuettes. The temple contains multiple vegetarian restaurants. Free. (updated Feb 2017)
24.438333118.0836113 Xiamen Shimao Strait Tower, No. 180-188 Yanwu West Road, Siming District (To the west of Xiamen University Hospital. The Airport-Xiamen University Express Bus stops here. You can also take bus no. 71 or 86). Xiamen Shimao Strait Tower is an urban complex integrating hotels, office buildings, SOHO offices, sightseeing, shopping, leisure, entertainment and catering. Xiamen Shimao Strait Tower covers an area of about 30,000 square meters, the above-ground construction area of 270,000 square meters, the total construction area of about 330,000 square meters; Among them, Tower A has 64 floors on the ground and Tower B has 55 floors on the ground, with a height of 300 meters. Podium 6 floors, 3 floors underground.Xiamen Shimao Strait Tower is a "twin towers", when the top was the tallest building in Xiamen City; In 2017, Xiamen Shimao Strait Building won the first prize of "2017 National Excellent Engineering Survey and Design Industry Award". Tourists usually take photos with the "Twin Towers" as a time-stamped photo to arrive in Xiamen. (updated Sep 2023)
- 24.43797118.0843164 Xiamen-Above-the-Clouds Observation Deck (云上厦门观光厅), Tower B, Shimao Cross-Strait Plaza, ☏ +86 592 2563326, toll-free: +86 400 0028288. 09:00-21:00 (main observation deck on 55th floor), 09:00-20:30 (Love Balcony and Sea & Sky Walk on 58th floor). Probably the best place to see Xiamen's skyline. The observation deck sits atop Building B of the 300-metre high Shimao Cross-Strait Plaza twin-tower complex. ¥160 (adults aged under 60), ¥80 (persons over 60), ¥80 (children between 1.1 and 1.49 metres in height). Free admission is granted to children under 1.1 metres in height who are accompanied by an adult. (updated Feb 2019)

Beach and boardwalk

From Shoushan Road to Baishi Fortress is about ten km (six miles) of boardwalk along the beach; it runs parallel to the Huandao Lu ring road. Plans call for it to eventually extend all the way to the Conference Center, roughly doubling its current length. Along it are bicycle rental places, many food stalls and restaurants, and various other attractions:

24.432147118.1011685 Hulishan Fortress (胡里山炮台), 2 Zengcuo'an Road, Siming District (思明区曾厝埯路2号) (On the Southeastern headland of Xiamen Island. Bus routes 2, 20, 22, 29, 47, 48, 86, 87, 92, 96, 122, 135, 310, 659, 751 and 857. You can also get there on the sightseeing bus), ☏ +86 592 2099603. 08:00-18:00 (summer), 08:00-17:30 (winter). Xiamen has always been vulnerable to attack from the sea and various fortifications have been built over the centuries. The Ming built a fort to defend against Japanese pirates in 1387. The remains of Koxinga's fortifications from the late 1600s are now a tourist attraction on Gulangyu. Cold War era tourist attractions on Taiwan-controlled Kinmen off the coast include guns built for shelling Xiamen and bunkers built to protect against shells from Xiamen.
The Hulishan Fortress was built in 1894 as part of China's Westernization Movement. The architecture is in a Qing Dynasty style. On the front of the platform there are “Wanggui platform” and “Pangui platform”, from which you can see the Dadan and Xiaodan islands through binoculars (¥4). You can even make out the sign promoting Chinese unification, installed on Dadan island by a Taiwanese general in the '80s. In the yard of the cannon platform there is a gorgeous wall sculpture named “the Soul of the Nation” and a water fountain. ¥25.
24.426458118.1246036 Music Square (音乐广场), 318 Huandao Road South, Siming District (思明区环岛南路318号) (Bus routes 29, 47, 122, 751 and 857). A park-like area along the boardwalk with sculptures of/about many famous composers and musicians, both Western and Chinese. Look for the public toilets with the musical notes on the wall, or a large red sculpture that looks somewhat like an open fan. Free.

Other sights

There are a number of other sights outside these main areas:

24.450759118.1049457 10,000-Rock Botanical Garden (Wànshí Zhìwùyuán 万石植物园), Siming District (思明区) (The easy way to get there is by taxi. You can also walk there from Zhongshan Park metro station or take bus nos. 87, 309 or b3. Alternately, from either the university or the temple, climb the hill on the inland side (easier using the path behind the temple) and descend to the garden.), ☏ +86 592 2024785. 06:30-18:00. Over 2 km² (500 acres) of gardens, some dedicated to particular plants such as bamboo, palms or coniferous trees, with a lake, bridges, several temples, a network of footpaths, a bonsai exhibit, and an exhibit hall with over a thousand types of flowers. ¥30.
24.492776118.1040388 Xiamen Culture and Art Centre (厦门文化艺术中心, Xiamen Wenhua Yishu Zhongxin), 95 Tiyu Road, Siming District (思明区体育路95号) (Bus nos. 24, 25, 101, 116, 126, 780, 845, 846, 859 and 954 go to the north side of the Centre. Bus nos. 8, 9, 86, 88 and 941 go to the south side). Both a museum and a performance venue. The Xiamen Library is here too.
- Xiamen Museum (厦门市博物馆), Xiamen Culture and Art Centre, ☏ +86 592 5371607. 09:00-17:00, no entry after 16:30, closed on Mondays and on the eve of Chinese New Year. The city's main museum. Free. (updated Feb 2019)
- Xiamen Science and Technology Museum (厦门科技馆), Xiamen Culture and Art Centre, ☏ +86 592 5148555. 09:00-17:00, closed on Mondays. ¥40 (main exhibition halls), ¥40 (children's amusement park), ¥30 (film tickets). (updated Feb 2019)
- Xiamen Culture House (厦门市文化馆), Xiamen Culture and Art Centre, ☏ +86 592 5371757, +86 592 2112751, +86 592 5371717. 09:00-17:00, closed on Mondays (art museum opening hours only). Incorporates the Xiamen Art Museum (美术馆). Cultural performances, including music, dance and drama shows are also held in this building. Admission to the art museum is free. Ticket prices for the performances may vary. (updated Feb 2019)
- Xiamen Municipal Library (厦门市图书馆), Xiamen Culture and Art Centre, ☏ +86 592 5371809, tsg@xmlib.net. Main reading area: 08:00-21:00 (Monday to Thursday), 08:00-12:00 (Friday), 08:00-21:00 (weekends and public holidays. Children's reading area: 12:00-18:30 (Monday to Thursday), 08:00-21:00 (weekends and public holidays during the period from May to November), 08:00-18:30 (weekends and public holidays during the period from December to April). The library sometimes hosts special events and exhibitions. Free. (updated Feb 2019)
24.444781118.0850489 Overseas Chinese Museum (华侨博物院), No.493 Siming Nan Lu (Siming South Road), Siming District (思明区思明南路493号) (About halfway from Zhongshan Road to the university. Bus routes 1, 2, 20, 21, 22, 29, 45, 48, 71, 86, 96, 122, 135, 324, 659, 841, and 857), ☏ +86 592 2085345, fax: +86 592 2093032. 09:30-18:00, no entry after 15:30, closed on Mondays. A museum of Overseas Chinese culture and history, started by Tan Kah Kee who also founded Xiamen University. The #21 bus, from the train station to the university with a Zhongshan Road stop, has a stop at the museum. Special attention is given to overseas Chinese who returned to, invested in, or aided the homeland in some way, including activists and military volunteers. Labels are mostly in Chinese. The third floor has an extensive collection of ancient Chinese bronzeware, pottery, and other art, which is interesting even if you can't read the labels. Free.
24.480562118.18878510 Xiamen Olympic Museum (厦门奥林匹克博物馆), 2017 Lüling Road, Siming District (思明区吕岭路2017号) (On the east side of the island. Bus routes 58, 68 and 98), ☏ +86 592 2956065, +86 592 2956066, 211@vip.163.com. 09:00-17:00, closed on Mondays. A museum about the Olympic Games. Established with the approval of the International Olympic Committee and the China Olympic Committee. ¥50. (updated Feb 2019)
24.514189118.16964711 Wuyuan Bay Wetland Park (五缘湾湿地公园), Huli District (湖里区) (Bus routes 18, 435, 439a, 439b, and 641), ☏ +86 592 5220888. Open all day. Xiamen's largest wetland park, covering an area of about 85 hectares or about half the size of Gulangyu Island. Free. (updated Feb 2019)

Do

24.461872118.0849871 Zhongshan Park (中山公园), Siming District (思明区) (On Zhongshan Road, toward the inland end beyond Siming Road. Near Zhongshan Park Station on Metro Line 1), ☏ +86 592 2910888. Open all day. A large park named for Dr. Sun Yat Sen (Sun Zhong Shan in Mandarin), leader of the 1911 revolution that overthrew the Qing and established the Republic of China. It has a statue of him, several gardens, a small zoo, a flower exhibit hall, a lake with rental paddle boats, dance shows, and bumper cars. Free.
Kite surfing, Huandau Road, near Asia Golden Bay Hotel (at Rasa Sayang restaurant, Haiyuntai). Training with English speaking IKO-certified instructors, equipment for sale and storage, compressor and shower facilities.
24.482229118.0788882 Xiamen Mandarin Fun School (厦门汉风堂汉语学校), Room 2304, Wei Ye Na Building, Century Bay, North Hubin Road, Siming District (思明区湖滨北路世纪海湾维也纳楼2304室) (The nearest bus stop is the Bank of China North Hubin Road Branch (滨北中行). Take bus no. 26, 31, 58, 85, 87, 88, 115, 309, 842, 849, 881 or 958), ☏ +86 592 5118287, mandarinfun@163.com. A registered private school specializing in teaching Chinese to foreigners, with lessons for students at different levels.
Xiamen Marathon. An international marathon race run every year in Xiamen on the first Saturday in January. This is a large event; it had over 50,000 runners in 2013. Some of the world's top long distance runners compete and their times are impressive; in 2014 the men's winner was Mariko Kiplagat at 2:08:06 and women's Mare Dibaba 2:21:36. The course is mostly along the Huándǎo Lù ring road with the finish line right downtown near the Gulangyu ferry dock. If you book well ahead you might get a room at the Lujiang Harbourview Hotel with a balcony overlooking the finish line. (updated Jan 2017)
24.500476118.1936583 Guanyinshan Fantasy Beach Holiday Resort (观音山梦幻海岸度假区), 17 Guanyinshan Commercial Street, Siming District (思明区观音山商业街17号) (Bus no. 58), toll-free: +86 4008807677. 10:00-18:00 (general operating hours), 14:00 (start time of motor vehicle acrobatics show). A major amusement park on Xiamen Island's east coast. ¥130 (general admission), ¥338 (motor vehicle acrobatics show). (updated Feb 2019)

Trade fairs

Xiamen is host to many influential trade shows. A majority of the Xiamen exhibitions are located at the Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center (XICEC), listed as one of the world's top exhibition centers by Trade Show Executive ^{[dead link]}.

The China Xiamen Machinery and Electronics Exhibition^{[dead link]} (CXMEE), also called the Straits Fair since it is run as a joint venture with a Taiwan organisation, is downtown (on Hubin Bei Lu) in the Spring.
The China International Fair for Investment and Trade ^{[formerly dead link]} (CIFIT) is held at XICEC.
The annual China International Garden and Flower Exposition ^{[dead link]} takes place in a different city each year. It was in Xiamen in 2007, and a large Water Garden Expo Park was built to host it (details at Jimei#See); presumably it will return there sometime.
There is an annual Xiamen International Stone Fair at the XICEC from March 6–9 and reserved for industry professionals.
The biannual Xiamen Buddhist Fair is held in the Spring and Autumn. Is generally open to the public, but is oriented towards industry professionals.
An annual Xiamen Tea Fair takes place in October and is open to the public for retail purchases of tea products. It is the world's largest of its kind. See Chinese cuisine#Tea for background.

Learn

Xiamen is home to Xiamen University (厦门大学 Ē-mn̂g Toā-o̍h in Minnan, Xiàmén Dàxué in Mandarin), one of China's premier universities and the most prestigious one in Fujian. There are opportunities for international students to enroll at the university, as well as for students at foreign universities to study here on exchange programs. Xiamen University is one of the Double First-Class University in China.

Buy

Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street (中山路步行街) runs inland off Lujiang Road (which runs along the coast) near the Gulangyu ferry terminal, through a historical part of the city. This is major shopping area with interesting smaller streets off it. The opening time is generally from 09:00-22:00. The buildings along Zhongshan Road combine a European architecture style with Chinese.

Other major shopping streets in the area are Siming Road and Jukou Street. The area also has many smaller streets with shopping; most are off to the left as you come up Zhongshan Road from the sea.

As you come along Zhongshan from the sea, you can look for a set of stairs going off to your right a short way along; these lead to a smaller parallel street with many little shops and street vendors. From the inland end of that (Siming Road), turn left to get back to Zhongshan Road at the inland end of the pedestrian area.

Xiamen University Street is actually half a street because the other side is part of Nanputuo Temple. Hundreds of shops line the street which is only a few hundred meters. Most of these shops sell garments and cultural things, and the book stores are also worth a look. Since they cater to students, these stores are often more reasonably priced than other areas, but some haggling may be needed to get the best prices.

There is also much tourist-oriented shopping on Gulangyu.

Xiamen has a number of modern enclosed shopping malls or large standalone chain stores. Here are some of the main ones:

World Trade Mall, 878-888 Xiahe Rd (near the train station in the city center).
Robinson Plaza, Xiahe Road and Hubin Dong Rd (across the street from Walmart). Has a Tesco, Britain's largest chain.
SM Laiya (SM City Plaza or SM Lifestyle Center) (intersection of Xiānyuè Lu and Jiāhé Lu (仙岳路/嘉禾路)). Two large shopping malls that are part of the Filipino SM chain; the company founder was born in Xiamen.
Wanda Plaza (Wanda Guangchang) (Xiānyuè Lu and Jīnshān Lu (仙岳路/金山路)). Newer (2011) mall with Uniqlo, a large Japanese clothing chain.
Metro (near SM). A German chain well established in China, catering mainly to restaurants and hotels. For Western groceries it is often better than Walmart or Tesco, but some items are sold only in bulk quantities.
Shimao E-MALL (in the twin towers, near Xiamen University). A seven-storey mall with many restaurants and shops.

Most of these sell everything from fresh vegetables to clothing and LCD TV's.

Eat

Xiamen local foods:

Xiamen Glass Noodles 面线糊 miànxiàn hú
Oyster Omelet 海蛎煎 hǎilì jiān (蚵仔煎 ô-á-chian in Minnan) - Differs significantly from the Taiwanese version.
Xiamen Fish Balls 厦门鱼丸 xiàmén yúwán
Sea Worm Jelly 土笋冻 tǔsǔndòng
Shacha Noodles 沙茶面 shāchá miàn
Shrimp Noodle Soup 虾面 xiāmiàn
Xiamen Spring Roll 春卷 chūnjuǎn
Xiamen Glutinous Rice Wrap 厦门烧肉粽 xiàmén shāoròu zòng
Peanut Soup 花生汤 huāshēng tāng
Xiamen Pot Stickers 韭菜盒 jiǔcài hé
Crab Porridge 蟹米粥 xièmǐ zhōu
Braised Duck with Ginger 姜母鸭 jiāngmǔyā
Xiamen Wonton Soup 扁食汤 biǎnshítāng
Xiamen jelly grass 烧仙草 shāo xiān cǎo
Xiamen Four Fruit soup 四果汤 sì guǒ tāng

Budget food areas

Two areas with many cheap local restaurants are around the university and the many smaller streets near Zhongshan Rd, inland from the ferry terminus.

There is an old restaurant on the east end of Zhongshan Rd (intersection of Xinhua Rd) which serves the local dish Shachamian, noodles with peanut soup.

Gulangyu also has much cheap food, though prices there are higher than Xiamen.

Around the lake

The area from the north side of Yundang Lake over to Haiwan Park has a large number of bars, cafes and restaurants. Most are mid-to-high priced, though there are exceptions. Many are popular with Xiamen's large community of expatriates.

There is a whole strip of about twenty cafes and bars along the lake on Xidi Coffee Street (西堤咖啡一条街) running West from the Marco Polo Hotel. Most of them are in villa-style homes converted to cafes with patios or balconies with a view of the lake; these are upmarket establishments whose clients include tourists and expats, but are mainly well-off locals. The parking area along the lake always has many BMWs, Audis and SUVs, and often a Ferrari or two.

Most of these serve Western food, but many have Chinese dishes as well and there are some with other specialties. The area also has some stores, also mostly upmarket, selling things like ceramics and lacquerwork.

24.4773118.08471 Coyote Cafe & Cantina, 58-2 Ganglong Huayuan (Off the main road east of Marco Polo, right down on the lake shore), ☏ +86 592 5046623. Lunch and dinner. Tex-Mex food made with fresh ingredients. Excellent cheesecake.
24.477118.07962 Geo Geo Cafe, No. 3, Yundang Road (Xidi Coffee Street) (on the corner a block west of Marco Polo), ☏ +86 592-533-0111. Serves good Italian and American food and coffee.
Marco Polo Hotel. Does a good Sunday international buffet for ¥120 plus service.
Old Villa Western Food Restaurant, No. 3-9 Yuandang Rd, ☏ +86 5033377.
Samadhi, A-115, Xidi Villa, Yundang Rd (2nd block from Marco Polo, beyond Geo Geo). Vegetarian
Shogun (on the 3rd floor of the Marco Polo). Japanese food

On the side streets off the lake are more places, some of them more modest in decor and pricing.

Tutto Bene, Jien Ye Road 1-16 (across the street from Marco Polo), ☏ +86 592-504-6026. A very good Italian place.
Mama Mia (next door to Tutto Bene). Another Italian place, which for some reason chose a location right next door to an existing one
Burger Bar, Guanren Lu (one road north of The Londoner). Good quality burgers made with Australian Wagyu beef. A build your own menu with different size patties, including a cheese stuffed option. Not many seats inside but service is quick.
24.4791118.07883 Chongching (down the side street next to Geo Geo). Excellent Sichuan food, moderate prices, plain decor. Staff do not speak English, but there is English on the menu.
The Londoner, 5-8 Guanren Lu (on a street of bars behind Marco Polo), ☏ +86 592-5089783. noon to late, every day. British-themed pub with a range of draft beers, home of the Xiamen Typhoons Rugby Union Football Club.

Inland of the lake, behind a KFC, at 27 Hubin Bei Lu (Lakeside North Street) is a cluster of shops called Haiwan Xincheng. It has several other places:

Tuscany Cafe (厦门市湖滨北路27号海湾新城102之二), Shop 102-2. Mainly European dishes with a few Mexican dishes. The owner/chef is a former chef of the Four Seaons Hotel, Hong Kong. The prices are reasonable, with most items under ¥50 with free bruschetta. They also have a special lunch menu which is quite cheap. The staff are able to speak English.
Xiamen Sports Cafe, Shop 103 (in the back left corner of the group of shops). Nice sports bar popular with some locals but mainly expats. The bar has a reasonably priced food menu, with the pizza being of high quality. Daily happy hour with cheap pints of Tiger. Especially good if it is your first time to Xiamen and you are looking for some advice on things to do
Tastes of South-East Asia (厦门滨北中行肯德基后面), Shop 106, ☏ +86 592-514 3227. 11:00-21:00. Bright, clean and colourful, TOSEA serves a selection of fresh homemade food from Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia. All at very reasonable prices. English/Chinese menus. ¥15-35.
Greg's Restaurant, 1C N 10 Hubin Bei Road, ☏ +86 13950107808, greg@gregs.com.cn. 10:00-22:00. Greg's is a little piece of France in China. They serve traditional French dishes, from bouillabaisse to the lamb shank, including Gillardeau oysters from Arcachon. The chef adapts his recipes for each customer, personalising the sauce and way of cooking. He also changes the menu seasonally, featuring fresh seasonal products. ¥200. (updated Nov 2016)

Haiwan Park

Haiwan Park (Haiwan Gongyuan in Chinese), just west of the lake, also has a number of places:

Havana Beach, Haiwan Park (among the group of bars by the sea.). Latin American food and often live latin music.
Jiangfeng Yuhuo, Haiwan Park. Seafood on a charcoal grill.
JJ Bar and Grill, Haiwan Park (near the south end of the group of bars by the sea.). A neon sign above the entrance says "Welcome to Texas" and that is the theme. For an American looking for a taste of home, this is good choice – steaks, barbecue, fajitas, and a lot of classic US-style appetizers. If you're really sporty, there is even a mechanical bull. Band at night plays mostly western classics. Frequent dinner stop for expats. Just around the corner are the popular nightclubs.
24.4772118.07144 Me & You 2, No.1 Hou Hai Ting, Haiwan Park (at the north end of the strip of bars by the sea.). Owner is a cheerful Scandinavian; decor includes some Viking-themed items. Good menu with both Asian and Western options including a large range of pizzas from ¥45-65 (they also deliver). They have Becks, Tiger and Stella on tap. Happy hour until 20:00 (Becks and Tiger are half price). Live music sometimes (in English).

The park has a lot of other stuff as well, including a lot of flowerbeds and lawns, popular with picnicking locals, an amusement park with several rides, several swimming pools, a roller skate and skateboard area, and a number of discos and nightclubs (see next section).

The Avenue of the Stars in the park is 300 m long by 40 wide and has over 2000 LEDs in the pavement which do computer-controlled light shows. A musical fountain down its center has 240 water nozzles, also computer-controlled.

Buses 11, 22, 31, 43, 54, 66, 71,102, 504, 520, 533, 625, 803, 808 and 810 stop just outside the park at the Haiwan Gongyuan stop. From the westernmost stop on the BRT, it is a ten-minute walk north along the seacoast to reach the south end of the park. From the area around the Marco Polo, a ten-minute walk west on Hubin Bei Lu puts you at the north end of the park.

Around the university

Xiada Street, between the university main gate and Nanputuo Temple, has many restaurants. These mainly cater to the student trade, so they tend to be relatively plain but to offer good value. Neither English menus nor English-speaking staff are common.

Along the boardwalk by the beach, from near the university out toward Hulishan Fortress, are many more restaurants and food stalls.

Red Armadillo, 18 Zeng Cuo An, Huandao Rd, ☏ +86 592-256-4128. A restaurant serving American and Mexican food.
Prague Cafe. A Czech restaurant with hamburgers, homemade sandwiches, Czech beer, and organic Xiamen-made bread. Sometimes there is goulash as well. Prices are good (about ¥45 for a very large hamburger with fries). Owner/manager is Czech and speaks English. Across from Xiada.
24.44238118.088515 Dafang (大方素食馆), 408 Siming South Road 思明南路408号. Upscale all-vegetarian restaurant. ¥60–100. (updated Mar 2024)

Other areas

There are also restaurants and bars at various other locations around town.

Lujiang Harbourview Hotel, Lujiang Road & Zhongshan Rd (Just south of the Gulangyu ferry terminal). Has a nice sixth floor al fresco restaurant looking out at Gulangyu Island. The restaurant has an English menu and serves Fujian specialities. Highlight was some excellent wasabi marinated cucumber slices.
Indiano John's, 69 Jian Tou Bei Lu (SM Mall area), ☏ +86 592-5557699. Indian food
Temptation of Spicy Fragrance (香辣诱惑川菜馆), No.625, Xianyue Road (inside the Smart Hero Club 骏豪会) (SM Mall area), ☏ +86 592-555-1111. An upmarket Sichuan place.
Little Chili (Xiao La Jiao), Xiahe Commercial Building (厦禾商厦), No.323, Xiahe Rd, ☏ +86 592-291-7773. daily 11:00-22:00. Offers excellent Chinese food, mainly spicy Sichuan food, at an affordable price. There is English on the menu, but staff do not speak English.

Drink

As everywhere in China, there are many tea houses in Xiamen and many KTVs (the 'K' is for Karaoke); both are quite popular with locals. See China#Drink for background information. A local speciality is kung fu tea (工夫茶), a type of black tea that is also popular in Chaozhou and in Taiwan.

Xiamen also has many bars and discos in a more-or-less western style; these are generally more affordable than comparable places in Shanghai or Beijing. Although crowded, these places are generally safe. Some caution is required, however, since pickpockets sometimes take advantage of the crowding and drunken customers sometimes get combative.

1801 Bar, 1st floor of the United Hotel, Hubin Bei Lu (Lakeside South Road), ☏ +86 592 520 1801. A disco with mainly R&B and hip-hop music. Open well into the small hours, sometimes past dawn.
Dushang bar (湖滨东路188号1楼), No.1 Building, No.188 Hubin Dong Lu (Lakeside East Street), ☏ +86 592-507-5078. Loud and expensive, but popular and lively.
The Key (湖滨西路海湾公园109号), 109 Hubin Xilu (Lakeside West Street) (Haiwan Park, on the inland side). Live music from a Filipino cover band with a broad repertoire — jazz and latin as well as rock and hip hop.
KK Disco Pub (in Haiwan Park, near the Key).

Also, most of the major hotels have live music from Filipino cover bands in their bars.

Alternative and cheaper nightlife can be found in Zengcuo An, formerly a separate village now a neighborhood near Xiamen University. Here you find a lot of cheap pubs, open-air BBQ´s and casual gatherings of students and other young people who enjoy the sunset and mild Xiamen nights over a drink.

Temple Cafe, No. 61 Zengcuo An, Siming District, ☏ +86 592-209-6780. Coffee, beer and cocktails in a unique location, in the courtyard of a functioning Buddhist temple. Western menu, moderate prices.

That area also has many hotels, mostly small and moderately priced.

Sleep

This lists accommodation on Xiamen Island only. Staying in Jimei instead might save a little money and could be reasonably convenient if you choose a place near a BRT stop. There is also plenty of accommodation on Gulangyu.

Budget

24.459709118.0751971 Xiamen Old Town Hostel (厦门古街青年旅舍), Kaihe Road, 24 Jiutiao alley (开禾路-九条巷24) (from Train Station take the BRT in front of the station #3/#2/#1 exit at Kaihe Road stop (开禾路). The hostel is a little hard to find, deep in a maze of narrow alleys, but the neighbors seem to know that travelers are looking for this place. From the airport it is best to take a taxi to intersection of Xiahe road (厦禾路) and Kaihe Road (开禾路). From there, call the hostel and staff will come find you.), ☏ +86 13313848939, xiamenhostel@hotmail.com. Check-in: 12:30, check-out: 12:00. A family-run hostel in a three-floor house located in one of the oldest parts of Xiamen, very central. The hostel has a large rooftop garden with a view of the city and harbour, wireless Internet, and big community kitchen. It is right off of the Kaihe road food market, one of the largest open air markets in China with lots of fresh veggies and seafood. You can also eat some the cheapest food in China at many small local eateries. ¥60 4-bed dormitories. Single rooms start at ¥120.
Hostel Locanda, No.35 Minzu Rd, Siming District, ☏ +86 592 2082918. One block from the waterfront with Gulangyu island across the water. It is a 10-minute walk to Zhongshan Road and Lundu Ferry and 20-minute walk to Xiamen University. Lovely double rooms upstairs, but the dorms on the ground floor are cramped and the shared bathrooms far from clean. Garden but no kitchen at all.
Xiamen Baijiacun International Youth Hostel, 20 Liaohua Lu (蓼花路20) (from Songbo (松柏) bus station, take bus #86/#616 to Gongyuan Dong Lu (公园东路), the hostel is on the opposite side with a red wall, taxi ¥17), ☏ +86 592 2131010, baijiacunhostel@hotmail.com. Clean, spacious hostel in a great location at Zhongshan Gongyuan (中山公园). ¥50 8-bed dormitory.
Xiamen International Youth Hostel, 41 Nanhua Road, Siming District, ☏ +86 592 2082345, fax: +86 592 2199876, yhaxm@yhaxm.com. Very well kept YHA hostel, dorms or rooms are impeccably clean and comfortable. Friendly, small kitchen, bar, space to sit. Close to Xiamen university and easily reached by bus (1 or 21 from the railway station, ¥1).
Meihulu Hotel (美湖鹭酒店), 52-5 Hubin Nan Lu (湖滨南路52-5号), Siming District (Almost invisible on the opposite left of the long-distance bus station), ☏ +86 2572255. Small place that accepts foreign passports and is quiet, yet conveniently located. From ¥70.
Xiamen Travellers' Home (旅行者之家), No.23 Zeng Cuo An, Island Ring Road 厦门环岛路曾厝垵23号, ☏ +86 592 2516180 -136 0693 7090. A very homy place to stay for holiday. clean, great hospitality, 5 rooms ensure small number of guests staying. low seaon – ¥200, high season ¥280/night.

Mid-range

Gem Hotel. Beautiful Japanese-style rooms overlooking much of downtown Xiamen. Includes Chinese buffet breakfast and free wired internet access. Most of the staff speak English well and are extremely helpful. ¥200+.
Jing Hua Hotel, 1130 Xiahe Rd, Siming District, ☏ +86 592 5819898. Three-star hotel offering 146 air-conditioned rooms, all of which have Internet access, satellite TV, and mini-bar. Some of its amenities include KTV, fitness center, and sauna. Best rates on official website start at ¥258.
24.4561118.06992 Lujiang Harbourview Hotel, 54 Lujiang Rd (100 metres south of the ferry station, at the foot of Zhongshan Road), ☏ +86 592 2022922. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. A grand old place, very central, near the Gulangyu ferry terminal. The restaurant has authentic dim sum.
24.48186118.0928283 Somerset Software Park Xiamen, No.2 Jinshan Rd, Siming District, ☏ +86-592-3236-888, enquiry.china@the-ascott.com. With 167 apartments ranging from studio to three bedroom apartments, the property is equipped with a breakfast lounge, children's playground, gymnasium and a video room. (updated Oct 2017)

Splurge

Le Méridien Xiamen (厦门艾美酒店), 7 Guanjun Rd, ☏ +86 592 770 9999, fax: +86 592 770 9998, reservation.xiamen@lemeridien.com. Surrounded by open spaces and lush vegetation. Nestled on a slope of Xianyue Hill. Breathtaking views of Xiamen Bay.
24.4782118.08354 Marco Polo Hotel. This hotel is on Yundang Lake, and offers a very good international buffet and a great atmosphere.
Millennium Harbourview Hotel Xiamen, 12-8 Zhenhai Rd, ☏ +86 592 2023333, fax: +86 592 2036666, bc@millenniumxiamen.com. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 12:00. Located in downtown Xiamen which is a major shopping and business district, the hotel is only minutes away on foot to the ferry to Gulangyu Island. It features a 22-story building that houses 352 rooms that include various business facilities including a work-desk and high speed Internet access.
Pan Pacific Xiamen, 19 Hubin Bei Lu (Lakeside North Road), ☏ +86 592 507 8888, toll-free: 0800 0850 229, fax: +86 592 507 8899, enquiry.ppxmn@panpacific.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. A super modern hotel with stunning sea views and natural scenery. The rooms use a lot of glass and modern design techniques. The hotel also has an excellent ¥100 lunch buffet. Facilities include a fitness center, spa and pool. Rooms start at ¥630.
Sheraton Xiamen Hotel, 386-1 Jiahe Rd, ☏ +86 592 5525888. The latest international chain hotel to grace Xiamen's shores. It is very plush, and the Waves Pan Asian buffet is very good.
Xiamen Fliport Software Park Hotel. Luxury hotel in a software park development area near the airport

Connect

There are consulates in Xiamen for:

Philippines, ☏ +86 592 513-0366, xiamenpc@yahoo.com. No. 2 Ling Xiang Li, Lianhua District,
Singapore, No. 189, Xiahe Road #05-07/08, The Bank Centre, ☏ +86 592 268-4691, singcg_xmn@sgmfa.gov.sg.
Thailand, Building No.3 (City Hotel Xiamen), No. 16 Hu Yuan Road, ☏ +86 592 202-7980. Visa section open only 09:00-11:30. (updated Jan 2017)

Cope

In addition to the supermarkets listed under buy above, Xiamen has a number of smaller stores catering to expat residents.

Tastylife, 10-105 Jianye Rd (near the Marco Polo). The most comprehensive collection of western supermarket items including a good selection of international beers.

Go next

Hakka Tulou – 3–5 hours west of Xiamen are these large earthen structures where a number of residences are built inside a single fortified compound, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kinmen – Islands controlled by Taiwan have charming villages with traditional Fujianese architecture and interesting cold war defenses. One-hour ferry ride from Dongdu Wharf, or 30 minutes from Shuitou Wharf.
Quanzhou – This ancient city has come down in the world a bit since Marco Polo sailed home from there around 1290 and described it as one of the two busiest ports on Earth and incredibly rich. However, it is still well worth a visit. The old fortress town of Chongwu is located farther east, and has direct buses from Xiamen.
Liu'ao – a windswept peninsula with long beaches and strange rock formations, south of Xiamen.
Chaozhou – Just across the border in Guangdong province, main center of Teochew culture, and whose Teochew dialect is closely related to Minnan.

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