About Xiamen
What to see and do in Xiamen
Weather in Xiamen
Airport in Xiamen
Visa
Xiamen, also known as Amoy, is a coastal sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It looks out to the Taiwan Strait and borders Quanzhou (Ch'an-chiu) to the north and Zhangzhou (Chiang-chiu) to the south.
Xiamen and the surrounding countryside are famous for being an ancestral home to overseas Chinese and one of China's earliest Special Economic Zones in the 1980s. It covers an area of 1 565 km' with a local population of 5 million. It was recently named China's 2nd most livable city.
Earlier, the name was written with the meaning "Lower Gate" ' possibly because of its position at the mouth of the Nine Dragon River. The characters "lower gate" in Zhangzhou dialect of Hokkien (one of the major Min nan languages) are pronounced E-m'i (using the POJ Romanization). This is the source of the name "Amoy". The dialect is still spoken in the west and southwest of the city. In Quanzhou dialect of Hokkien, the most common dialect.
Xiamen is a coastal city in Fujian Province, China generally not considered a "must see" destination in China, it does have a number of attractions, an interesting history and is tourist friendly.
Most tourists come to Xiamen to visit Gulangyu Island, a small island which contains some beautiful colonial buildings and is car free.
Taxis are cheap, starting at RMB 8 for the first 3 kilometers. You can go anywhere on Xiamen island, including the airport, for under RMB 40.
The local bus system is very good, but the bus routes are listed in Mandarin and do not have English on them.
If traveling to/from Gulangyu you should take the ferry.
You could enjoy Xiamen's unique scenery not only in the day but also in the night. Take a breather and walk beside the Yuandang lake in the evening and you could see how Xiamen transforms into a different setting: lighted artistic sculptures, scent of the sea, and romantic lovers by the lake. Enjoy your stroll and notice that some buildings even have a "light shows" at night, simple laser/light shows that attract attention, which is some form of an "advertisement" mostly done by newly opened commercial buildings and some residential complexes to draw attention to their business.
Be sure to see these places of interest, and compare the differences viewing them during the day versus at night:
Zhongshan Lu ' See the yearly "facelifts" and notice that older buildings are becoming extinct and being replaced by modern ones.
The night markets ' See how smaller businesses trade in the night.
Public parks ' Clean and set with greenery.
Yuandang Lake ' See how the egrets flock in the day and fly home in the night.
Bailuzhou Park ' A large and beautiful park. Go around 8:30PM and enjoy the vendors, music, and dancing.
Xiamen University ' Beautiful campus with old traditional buildings and a tranquil lake outside the foreign language department.
Jiageng Park ' A beautiful park in memory of Chen Jiageng, founder of Xiamen University.
Nanputuo Temple ' A big Buddhist temple outside Xiamen University at Xiada (short for Xiamen University) Street, and if you're interested there is an old nun there who is good at acupuncture.
Other places to visit:
Youngding County is in the south of Fujian Province. It is just to the south east of Longyan. Most visitors come here to see the Hakka tulou or roundhouses.
The countryside is extremely beautiful, and punctuated by many thousands of tulou, a Hakka structure where a number of residences are built inside a single fortified compound. Most of these tulou are still in use, however the area has suffered an extreme population drain as the able-bodied have generally moved to Eastern Coastal cities as migrant workers, leaving behind a population of the very old and the very young. The villages also contain modern housing, and older houses that aren't tulou.
The people in the area are friendly, tourist infrastructure is minimal, and there are no large tour buses - which makes for a very pleasant contrast with other touristed rural areas in China. However, don't expect any English to be spoken, anywhere.
Chuxi Tulou Cluster Scenic Spot.
Hongkeng Tulou Cluster Scenic Spot, Hongkeng. This world heritage site
contains some beautiful tulou of all different shapes - around, square, U-shapes.
Zhencheng Lou is the highlight and Rusheng Lou is a mini tulou. RMB 50,
students half price.
Gaobei Tulou Cluster Scenic Spot.
Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster, Tianluokeng. On a slope of the Hudong Mountain,
sits five tulou - three circular, one oval and in the middle a square tulou.
These were built over 600 years between the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the
1960s. Fee includes entry to Yuchang Earth Building and a local village. RMB 65,
students half price.
Yuchang Earth Building. Twenty Five generations have lived in this tulou, even though its leaning up to 15 C in places.
Located on the southeast coast of China, Xiamen enjoys a pleasant climate and beautiful natural environment. And the city claims to be a city in the sea and is renowned for its various scenic spots and cultural relics. There are mainly five or so tourist areas in Xiamen.
Among them, the most attractive place should be the Gulangyu Island, which prohibits motor vehicles. With rich tourist resources of intriguing scenery, historical relics and architectures of varied styles, the Gulangyu is promising to be an AAAAA national tourist attraction and surely is a must-see during your trip to Xiamen. The Sunlight Rock, which claims to be Xiamen's highest point and the Shuzhuang Garden are highly recommended. Haoyue (Bright Moon) Park and the Piano Museum are also appealing to visitors.
Nanputuo Temple, XiamenThe Nanputuo tourist area is famous for the Nanputuo Temple, which is located at the foot of Wulaofeng (Mountain of Five Old Men) and is deemed to be the most renowned Buddhist temple in Xiamen. Closely to its south is Xiamen University, which is believed to be one of universities with the most beautiful campus. Near the campus lies the famous Hulishan Battery characterized by its hold of the largest and the smallest cannons in the world.
Jimei, XiamenAnother remarkable tourist area is Jimei, the hometown of Mr. Tan Kah Kee (Chen Jiageng), an outstanding educator and leader of overseas Chinese. The academic atmosphere and attractive natural scenery of Jimei is manifested by attractions such as Jimei Study Village and Ao Yuan. In addition, Guilai Tang, Jiageng Park, etc. are also worth visiting.
Wanshishan tourist area located on the north piedmont of Mt. Shishan in the east of Xiamen boasts a unique sight of exotic rocks and stones as well as various subtropical plants. Tong'an tourist area also has many interesting attractions to see.
Xiamen has a subtropical monsoon climate, the weather is mild and pleasant most of the year. In this case, the whole year round is good time to visit Xiamen except that typhoons influence the weather four to five times during the months from July to September. The annual temperatures of Xiamen average 21 C (about 70 F) and rainfall abounds mainly in the months from May to August. Xiamen winters are mild, requiring only sweaters or light coats in the coldest January. Summers are free from extreme heat, although thin clothes are needed in the hottest July.
If you are interested in the culture and customs of Xiamen, you can pay attention to the various local festivals. For example, June is noted for the Phoenix Flower Tourist Festival, August is noted for the Gulangyu Piano Festival, and the week of Mid-Autumn Day is noted for the Xiamen Bobing ('Cake Gambling') Festival.
In addition to the local festivals, Xiamen also hosts many international activities, of which the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) is the most influential. CIFIT is held in Xiamen every September 8th to 11th since 1997. It is now a grand international investment promotion event and serves as a bridge connecting China and other parts of the world.
January 16 C to 9 C
February 15 C to 9 C
March 18 C to 11 C
April 22 C to 15 C
May 26 C to 20 C
June 28 C to 23 C
July 31 C to 25 C
August 31 C to 25 C
September 30 C to 23 C
October 27 C to 20 C
November 23 C to 16 C
December 19 C to 12 C
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (IATA: XMN, ICAO: ZSAM) is the primary international gateway in Xiamen, Fujian. This airport is the base of Xiamen Airlines, but also is served by the carriers listed below. TAECO, which is an aircraft maintenance provider, is based at the airport.
In 2007, Xiamen airport was the 9th busiest airport in terms of cargo traffic, 11th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic and the 13th busiest airport by traffic movements in China.
Having been in operation since October 22, 1983, Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is one of the busiest airports in China. It is located at the northeast end of Xiamen just 10 kilometers (about 6.2 miles) from the city center. Over 50 domestic airline routes connect Xiamen to 58 cities in China including the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Guilin, Chengdu, Harbin, and others. In addition, a number of international flights leave from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport every week taking passengers to 17 cities in South Korea, Japan, America, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
Transport between the airport and the city center is quite convenient. At the bus station about 100 meters (about 300 feet) west of the airport, shuttle buses regularly depart for the railway station in the city center. The charge is RMB 6 per person and the trip takes about 30 minutes.
Alternately, you can take a taxi from the airport to the city center. It takes a mere ten minutes and costs RMB 25 - RMB 30. Public bus service is also available outside the airport. The bus station is about 200 meters (about 600 feet) east of the airport. Several buses can take you to the city center. Among them, the No.27 Bus runs between the airport and the ferry dock. It leaves every half-hour and charges RMB 1 per person. The whole journey will take you about one hour. The No.37 Bus heads for the railway station. It takes about 40 minutes and costs RMB 1 per person.
Airlines and other destination of Xiamen
The following destinations are served from Xiamen :
International(Plus Hong Kong and Macao SAR)
Air China (Jakarta, Singapore)
Air Macau (Macau)
All Nippon Airways (Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita)
Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
China Southern Airlines (Hong Kong, Manila)
Dragonair (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong Airlines (Hong Kong)
Japan Airlines (Tokyo-Narita)
Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur-Sepang)
Philippine Airlines (Manila)
SilkAir (Singapore)
Thai Airways International (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi)
Tiger Airways (Singapore)
Xiamen Airlines (Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka-Kansai, Seoul-Incheon, Singapore, Penang, Tokyo-Narita)
Domestic
Xiamen Airlines Beijing-Capital, Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guilin, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jinan, Kunming, Lanzhou, Nanchang, Nanjing, Nanning, Ningbo, Qingdao, Sanya, ShanghaiHongqiao, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Wuhan, Wuyishan, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Zhoushan, Zhuhai
Air China Beijing-Capital, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming
China Eastern Airlines Ganzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Jingdezhen, Kunming, Nanchang, Nanjing, Shanghai, Taiyuan, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an
China Southern Airlines Beijing-Capital, Changchun, Changsha, Chongqing, Dalian,Guangzhou,Haikou,Hangzhou, Harbin,Hefei, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Urumqi, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Wuyishan, Yantai, Yiwu, Zhengzhou
China Express Airlines Ganzhou
East Star Airlines Wuhan
Hainan Airlines Beijing-Capital, Guangzhou, Haikou, Lanzhou, Shenyang, Xi'an, Xining
Shandong Airlines Changchun, Changsha, Dalian, Guiyang, Hangzhou, Jinan, Nanning, Ningpo, Qingdao, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Zhoushan, Zhuhai
Shanghai Airlines Guangzhou, Shanghai-Hongqiao, Wuyishan
Shenzhen Airlines Chengdu, Shenzhen
Sichuan Airlines Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guilin
Spring Airlines Shanghai-Hongqiao
Cross-strait charter
Mandarin Airlines (Makung, Taichung)
Xiamen Airlines (Taipei-Songshan)
To be able to travel to Xiamen you need to have a valid China Visa, issue from your local government at the China Embassy, Chinese visa fall into four types: diplomatic visa, courtesy visa, service visa and ordinary visa. Ordinary visa is further divided into the following 8 categories each marked with a letter:
(1) Tourist and family visit visa (L-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China for tourist purpose, family visit or other personal affairs.
(2) Business Visa (F-visa ) is issued to a foreign citizen who is invited to China for visit, research, lecture, business, exchanges in the fields of science, technology, education, culture and sports, or attending various kinds of trade fairs or exhibitions, or short-term study, intern practice for a period of no more than 6 months.
(3) Student Visa (X-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China for the purpose of study or advanced study for a period of six or more months.
(4) Work Visa (Z-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China to work and his or her accompanying family members, or to give commercial performances in China.
(5) Transit Visa (G-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who is to transit through China on his or her way to a third country (or region).
(6) Crew Visa(C-visa)is issued to crew member performing his/her duties on board an international train, or on an international airliner, to a sailor on board an international ocean-liner or freighter, and also to their accompanying family members..
(7) Journalist Visa (J-visa)is issued to foreign journalists. J-visa has two categories: J-1 visa and J-2 visa. J-1 visa is issued to resident foreign journalists in China and their accompanying spouses and under-age children, J-2 visa to foreign journalists who visit China for temporary news coverage.
(8) Permanent Residence Visa(D-visa)is issued to a foreign citizen who has been approved by China's public security authority to reside in China permanently.
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