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From Wikitravel

Xiamen (厦门; Xiàmén) is a coastal city in Fujian Province in 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.

[edit] Understand

Most of the city is on Xiamen island. The smaller island Gulangyu and the mainland areas Jimei and Haicang, just across bridges, are administratively parts of the same city, but geographically distinct.

Until 1840, Western "barbarians" were allowed to trade only in Guangzhou (which they called 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: Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai.

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

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fujian was a focus of missionary activity. There are still many historic churches in the region.

In the 1970s, Xiamen was made a Special Economic Zone to encourage development and since it has flourished. Technically, only Xiamen island and Gulyang Yu are in the SEZ, but the whole region is flourishing. Xiamen has more Taiwan investment than any other mainland city, partly because the Minnan dialect spoken around Xiamen is nearly identical to Taiwanese. There is also a major influx of other foreign investment; among the foreign companies with large factories in Xiamen are Dell and Kodak.

It is not Shanghai or Hong Kong, but compared to many other cities in China, Xiamen is definitely a very vibrant, affluent and modern place. It got an international award in a contest for most livable cities in 2002, neighboring Quanzhou won the following year.

[edit] Getting in

[edit] By plane

Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is on Xiamen island and conveniently close to downtown, ¥30-40 and 20 minutes by taxi. Xiamen Airlines [1] use XMN as their hub. They have connections all over China and some international flights. Several other Chinese airlines also fly to Xiamen.

If you are flying to Xiamen from North America, consider Korean Air. They offer great discounts, and the Seoul Airport is the most user-friendly on the planet, free internet and nice free lounges with couches to stretch out on. If you are coming from elsewhere, look for cheap flights direct to Xiamen from Singapore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok.

[edit] By train

Train is not a good option for trips along the coast (for example from Fuzhou, Shantou or Hong Kong) because it takes a circuitous route through the mountains. This will be changing; a new high speed rail line along the coast Xiamen-Fuzhou is due to go into service in early 2010. The Fuzhou-Shanghai line is already in service, so once the Xiamen-Fuzhou connection opens, Xiamen will have good connections North. Until then, or for southbound trips, use the bus.

Trains to Xiamen include

• Guangzhou, ¥261 hard sleeper, 14 hours.

[edit] By bus

Buses to Xiamen include

• Quanzhou, ¥35, 1.5 hours.
• Fuzhou, ¥70-90, 4 hours.
• Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Zhuhai, around ¥200-300, overnight sleeper bus. There is a bus direct to Xiamen from Hong Kong airport. For trips from Hong Kong, try to choose a bus that goes all the way. With some tickets, you have to change buses at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border.

[edit] By ferry

A boat service operates to and from Kinmen in the Taiwan hourly 8:30AM-5:30PM every day. Tickets cost NT$700 from Kinmen and ¥180 from Xiamen.

[edit] Get around

Taxis are cheap, starting at ¥8 for the first 3 kilometers. You can go anywhere on Xiamen island, including the airport, for under ¥40.

The local bus system is very good, but the bus routes are listed in Mandarin and do not have English on them. The BRT is Bus Rapid Transit, on elevated bus-only roads; very fast and comfortable but of course it does not go everywhere.

There is a frequent ferry service to/from Gulangyu. No charge for the journey out; buy tickets near the pier for the return trip, ¥3. More comfortable seating on the upper deck is an extra ¥1; you pay for that on the ferry.

[edit] Talk

The Xiamen dialect of Minnan is taken to be the standard dialect, so Xiamen is an excellent starting place to learn Minnan. Minnan is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin, Cantonese or any of the other Min dialects.

Mandarin is almost universally spoken by younger people as it is the only language used in the education system. English is not widely spoken, though staff in higher end hotels will be able to communicate in English.

[edit][add listing] See

You can enjoy Xiamen's unique scenery not only in the day but also in the night. Take a breather and walk beside Yuandang Lake in the evening and you can 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 show 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.

• Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street. See the yearly facelifts and notice that older buildings are becoming extinct and being replaced by modern ones.  edit

• Night markets. See how smaller businesses trade in the night.  edit

• Yuandang Lake. See how the egrets flock in the day and fly home in the night.  edit

• Bailuzhou Park. A large and beautiful park. Go around 8:30PM and enjoy the vendors, music, and dancing.  edit

• Xiamen University. Beautiful campus with old traditional buildings and a tranquil lake outside the foreign language department.  edit

• Jiageng Park. A beautiful park in memory of Chen Jiageng, founder of Xiamen University.  edit

• Nanputuo Temple. A big Buddhist temple outside Xiamen University at Xiada (short for Xiamen University) Street. 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.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit][add listing] Buy

[edit][add listing] Eat

There is a whole strip of cafes and bars along the lake next to Marco Polo Hotel, most with patios or balconies with a view of the lake. On the side street off the lake are several more places.

[edit] Budget

[edit] Mid-range

• 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.  edit

• Coyote Cafe & Cantina, 58-2 Ganglong Huayuan, Yuandang Road, ☎ +86 592 5046623, [2]. Lunch and dinner. Tex-Mex made with fresh ingredients.  edit

• Javaroma. Good coffee, run by an Aussie. Very quiet except for Tuesday night's "two for one deals" on pizza.  edit

• Geo Geo Cafe, (Furthest from Marco Polo Hotel in the lake side strip). Serves good Italian and American food and coffee. The food is excellent. This is easily the best cafe along "Coffee Street"  edit

• Little Chili's. Offers excellent Chinese food at an affordable price. The menus are in English.  edit

• Lujiang Harbourview Hotel. Has a nice sixth floor al fresco restaurant looking out at Gulangyu Island. The restaurant has an English menu and serves Fuijian specialities. Highlight was some excellent wasabi marinated cucumber slices.  edit

• Marco Polo Hotel. Does a good Sunday international buffet for ¥120 plus service.  edit

• Tutto Bene. A very good Italian place.  edit

• Chu Family Coffee, 15 Zhonghua Road, Gulangyu Islet, ☎ +86 13600944308. Quiet and lovely place. The building was recently renovated. They offer coffee, Western style luncheon and desserts. Staff can speak a little bit of English and they offer English menus.  edit

[edit] Splurge

[edit][add listing] Drink

Tea Houses are popular in Xiamen. You will see relaxing people making tea in front of their houses in daytime.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

This lists accommodation in Xiamen only. For accomadation on Gulangyu island, see Gulangyu.

[edit] Budget

• Xiamen Baijiacun International Youth Hostel (厦门百家村国际青年旅舍), 20 Liaohua Lu (蓼花路20号) (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元.), ☎ +86 592 2131010 (baijiacunhostel@hotmail.com), [3]. . Clean, spacious hostel located in a great location at Zhongshan Gongyuan (中山公园) 40元 8-bed dormitory.  edit

• Xiamen International Youth Hostel, 41 Nanhua Road, Siming District, ☎ +86 592 2082345 (yhaxm@yhaxm.com, fax: +86 592 2199876), [4].  edit

[edit] 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. From ¥140.  edit

• Xiamen Lujiang Hotel, 54 Lujiang Road (100 metres north of the ferry station), ☎ +86 592 2022922. checkin: 3PM; checkout: Noon. A grand old place, very central on Beach road. The restaurant has authentic dim sum.  edit

[edit] Splurge

• Millennium Harbourview Hotel Xiamen, 12-8 Zhenhai Road, ☎ +86 592 2023333 (bc@millenniumxiamen.com, fax: +86 592 2036666), [5]. checkin: Noon; checkout: Noon. 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.  edit

• Sheraton Xiamen Hotel, 386-1 Jiahe Road, ☎ +86 592 5525888, [6]. The latest international chain hotel to grace Xiamen's shores. It is very plush, and the Waves Pan Asian buffet is very good.  edit

• Sofitel Plaza Xiamen. A super modern hotel, the rooms use a lot of glass and modern design techniques. The hotel also has an excellent ¥100 lunch buffet.  edit

• Marco Polo Hotel. This hotel is in an excellent location, and offers a very good international buffet and a great atmosphere.  edit

• Riyuegu Hot Springs Resort. One of the most beautiful resorts in Xiamen. Besides the regular accommodations, the resort also contains an exotic hot springs park. They have all sorts of flavors (like milk, rose, tea, etc.) mixed into their natural hot springs water. They also have a fantastic spa. It is worth a trip.  edit

• Best Western Xiamen, 158 Yuhounanli Road, Siming District, ☎ +86 21 61226688 ext. 7800, [7]. A 4-star business hotel offering 490 lavishly-furnished room, first-rate amenities and services, function rooms, gym, and spa.  edit

[edit] Contact

[edit] Get out

• Hakka Tulou - In Yongding County, 3-5 hours from Xiamen, are the amazing tulou, structures where a number of residences are built inside a single fortified compound.

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