Xiamen
厦门 · Xiàmén
Car-free Gulangyu island and Minnan street food.
2Days
Oct–AprBest time
74Foreigner-friendliness
Photo: rheins · CC BY 3.0
Second stop or second trip
Best time to visit
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
From the airport or station to the city
Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.
From Xiamen Gaoqi Airport (XMN)
厦门高崎国际机场
From Xiamen North Railway Station
厦门北站
From Xiamen Railway Station
厦门站
Getting around
Xiamen Island is compact. Metro Lines 1–3 and the BRT cover the main routes; pay with Alipay or WeChat transit codes. Taxis and DiDi are cheap. The best way to see the south coast is by bike or on foot along Huandao Road. Gulangyu is car-free: you reach it only by tourist ferry from the Xiamen–Gulangyu Terminal at Dongdu (daytime), and walk once there.
Book these before you fly
These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.
- Gulangyu Island (Kulangsu)Ferry tickets are real-name and timed, and popular slots sell out days ahead on weekends and holidays. Official channels only: the 屿见厦门 (Yujian Xiamen) mini-program in WeChat or Alipay, or the Xiamen Ferry website xmferry.com. Add yourself as a passenger with “other ID / passport” and your passport number. Tickets open up to about 15 days ahead at 09:00. If online booking rejects your passport or needs a Chinese phone, go to the counter at the Dongdu terminal early with your passport. Board by showing your passport or order QR code.
- Xiamen UniversityOnly through the 厦门大学访客预约系统 WeChat account or the 参观厦大 mini-program, 1–3 days ahead; demand is high and a lottery is used on busy days. Passport holders enter through the Visitor Centre gate on Siming South Road and are checked manually at the counter, so bring the passport you booked with.
- Nanputuo TempleFree timed booking, up to 4 days ahead, only via the 南普陀寺预约服务平台 WeChat mini-program; enter at the east gate in your hour slot. Ignore paid “booking services”. If the mini-program will not take your passport, ask at the east gate.
- Overseas Chinese MuseumFree real-name booking at least one day ahead on the museum website (hqbwy.org.cn, “Visit” page) or by phone 0592-2084028; bring the ID you booked with. If online booking will not take a passport, call or ask at the entrance.
- Jimei School Village and Turtle Garden (Aoyuan)Aoyuan and the memorial museum use free real-name booking in morning and afternoon slots, same day up to 7 days ahead, through the 集美鳌园景区 WeChat account (门票预约 → 散客预约). If it will not accept your passport, ask at the entrance with your passport.
Top sights
鼓浪屿Gulangyu Island (Kulangsu)A car-free UNESCO island of colonial villas, gardens and pianos, a 20-minute ferry ride from Xiamen.
日光岩Sunlight RockThe highest point of Gulangyu, a granite outcrop with a view over the red roofs to Xiamen’s skyline.
菽庄花园Shuzhuang Garden and Piano MuseumA 1913 seaside garden with a zigzag bridge over the water and a museum of antique pianos.
厦门大学Xiamen UniversityOften called China’s most beautiful campus: lakes, seaside lawns and 1920s buildings mixing Chinese roofs with Western walls.
南普陀寺Nanputuo TempleA busy Buddhist temple at the foot of Wulao Peak, with lotus ponds, incense halls and paths up to rock carvings.
胡里山炮台Hulishan FortressAn 1890s coastal fort with a giant German Krupp cannon, sea views towards Kinmen and daily cannon drills.
曾厝垵Zengcuo’an villageA former fishing village turned maze of snack stalls, guesthouses and shops, across the road from the beach.
沙坡尾ShapoweiAn old typhoon harbour where fishing boats still moor, surrounded by warehouses turned into cafés, studios and a skate park.
中山路步行街Zhongshan Road pedestrian streetXiamen’s old main street of 1920s arcaded shophouses, full of snack shops, running down to the harbour opposite Gulangyu.
厦门园林植物园Xiamen Botanical Garden (Wanshi)A large hillside garden in the middle of the island, with a misty rainforest zone, a cactus and succulent garden, lakes and viewpoints over the city.
华侨博物院Overseas Chinese MuseumA free museum founded in 1959 by the philanthropist Tan Kah Kee, telling the story of Chinese emigrants to Southeast Asia and beyond.
集美学村Jimei School Village and Turtle Garden (Aoyuan)Schools and colleges founded by Tan Kah Kee, with swallowtail roofs around a dragon-boat lake, and his tomb garden of carved granite on a spit in the sea.
环岛路（白城沙滩）Huandao Road seafront and Baicheng BeachA palm-lined coastal road with a separate cycle and walking path running east from Baicheng Beach past sandy coves, with views across the water to Kinmen.
厦门市博物馆Xiamen MuseumThe city museum in the Culture and Arts Centre, covering Xiamen’s history as a trading port, Minnan culture and local crafts; free and rarely crowded.
山海健康步道Mountain-to-Sea TrailA free elevated walkway that crosses Xiamen Island over hills, parks and roads, with viewpoints over the harbour, the city and the sea; about 23 km on the Cloud Sea line alone.
皓月园Haoyue Garden (Koxinga Statue)A seaside garden on the east tip of Gulangyu with a 15.7-metre granite statue of Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), the Ming loyalist general, looking out across the strait.
漳州古城Zhangzhou Ancient CityA day trip to a lived-in old town of arcade streets, stone memorial arches, a Confucius temple and Minnan snack shops, a short train ride from Xiamen.第八市场（八市）Bashi (No. 8 Market)Xiamen’s most famous wet market in the old arcade streets near the harbour: live seafood, dried fish, fruit and old snack shops that locals have used for generations.
五缘湾湿地公园Wuyuan Bay Wetland ParkXiamen’s largest park, 85 hectares of lagoons, boardwalks and islands in the north-east of the island, with egrets, black swans and a raised metro line crossing the water.
鹭江夜游Lujiang Night CruiseAn evening boat trip of about 90 minutes from Heping Pier past lit-up Gulangyu, the Xiamen University shore and the Haicang Bridge, with small shows on board.Map
What to eat here
沙茶面Satay noodle soup (shacha mian)Noodles in a rich peanut-and-shrimp satay broth; you pick toppings like pork liver, squid, tofu puffs and prawns from a counter.
海蛎煎Oyster omeletteSmall local oysters fried with egg, sweet potato starch and spring onion, served with a sweet chilli sauce.
土笋冻Sea-worm jelly (tu sun dong)A cold jelly set from boiled sipunculid sea worms, eaten with vinegar, garlic and mustard. Xiamen’s famous dare food, and genuinely good.
花生汤Peanut soupPeanuts slow-cooked until soft in a light sweet soup; a classic breakfast or dessert, often with a fried dough stick.
姜母鸭Ginger duckDuck braised in a clay pot with lots of old ginger, sesame oil and rice wine; warming and rich.
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