Xiamen

Xiamen, China

Xiamen ranks among China's most appealing tourist destinations, with a fine mix of urban and natural attractions. Located on the southern coast of the Fujian Province, Xiamen is, in large part, set on a separate island. With origins dating back 5,000 years, trade has been the lifeblood of Xiamen and the city has grown on commerce generated by merchants, both Chinese and European, who used Xiamen as their gateway to China.

Population:

4,010,000 (as of 2017)

Currency:

Chinese Yuan (CNY)

Emergency Numbers:

Police: 110
Ambulance: 120
Fire: 119

Opening Hours:

9.00 am - 6:00 pm for most department stores; Zhongshan Lu market stalls open all day and late into the night.

Newspapers:

China Daily Europe www.chinadaily.com.cn
China Today www.chinatoday.com
What’s On Xiamen www.whatsonxiamen.com

The City

With a sense of rich history, Xiamen has developed on the trade of merchants from around the world, attracted by its location at the mouth of the Juilong (Dragon) River. Traders in previous centuries included those working in a less than legal fashion, commonly known as pirates, but all contributed to the success of a city which today is one of the more important commercial centres.

Whilst it is actually built on an island, Xiamen is linked to the mainland by a bridge. Just a ten-minute ferry ride will land you on another island, Gulang Yu. There is a remarkable collection of colonial buildings, main mansions built by traders from near and far. Today the city has the status of a Special Economic Zone, which offers the visitor great shopping opportunities whilst the local beach areas, the offshore islands and some nineteen public parks and botanical gardens make Xiamen a great city to explore and enjoy.

Do & See

Xiamen offers the tourist a balance of cultural and historical, natural and man-made attractions. The city has miles of coastline and nice beaches to choose from. The city does not only offer historical sites like a Buddhist Temple and Huli Shan Fort but also amazing gardens like Wanshi or the Underwater Sea World.

Dining

Xiamen has a good mix of restaurants with a varied range of Chinese provincial specialities represented, from Shanghai to Mongolia. With the Straits of Formosa and the South China Sea close by, it’s not surprising that many of the local delicacies are based on seafood. Fujian restaurants often specialise in crab dishes and other local dishes include ginger duck, jellyfish salad, seasoned oysters and Xiamen fried noodles.

Cafes

Xiamen is one of the first Chinese cities that was open to the world and is naturally one of the first cities that came into contact with coffee. Xiamen actually boasts the highest density of independent cafés in China. In the business district around Hubin Bei Lu and Yuandang Lu, there has been an upsurge of coffee shops and cafes, catering mainly to guests of nearby hotels, business people and office workers.