Xiamen 厦门

View of Xiamen, looking from south of Yundang Lake
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yundang_Lake.jpg
Author: Xmhaoyu


Xiamen (厦门) is the provincial capital of Fujian Province in southern China. It is one of the cities closest to Taiwan across the strait. Xiamen covers an area of 1565 square kilometers, and has a population of 2.5 million people. The city has prospered in the past few decades as a major manufacturing base. It is one of the four Special Economic Zones of China.

The history of Xiamen goes back to at least the Jin Dynasty, when it was called Tong'an District. By the Song Dynasty, it was already an international port. It was name Siming by Koxinga in 1650, but the Manchu government changed it to Xiamen Subprefecture in 1680. It reverted to Siming in 1912 before reverting again to Xiamen City.

Xiamen was one of the first Chinese ports that had contact with Western powers, beginning with the Portuguese in 1541. The local dialect, Hokkien, also called the Amoy dialect, had a big influence on many of the words used in English today, with many words of Hokkien origin penetrating the language, among them tea (teh), cumshaw (kamsiah), Japan (jit-pun), and so on.

Downtown Xiamen
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xiamen_-_Xiahe_Rd_-_DSCF9299.JPG
Author: Vmenkov


Today Xiamen's economic is based on manufacturing, food processing, textile, telecommunications and financial products. The city benefits from its proximity to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Planning your trip to Xiamen

The Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is located on Xiamen Island. It receives direct scheduled flights from a number of regional cities including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo and Seoul, in addition to all the major cities in China.

It only takes 20 minutes by taxi to reach downtown. The fare is ¥8 for the first 3 km and ¥2 for every kilometer thereafter. There's a 50% surcharge for journeys exceeding 8 km. The Airport Shuttle Bus makes the same journey for ¥6 per person.

There are also public buses between the airport and different parts of Xiamen. Bus No. 27 goes to the ferry station, No. 37 to the railway station and No. 91 to the exhibition center.

Xiamen, Fujian Province
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gulangyu_xiamen_skyline_2011_12.jpg
Author: Rolfmueller

Exploring Xiamen

The most practical way to go anywhere is to take the taxi, which is quite cheap at ¥8 for the first 3 km and ¥2 for every kilometer thereafter. The bus service in Xiamen is also excellent, but unless you are a commuter rather than tourist, it takes a bit to learn which bus to take. Another way to explore Xiamen is to join a local tour.

Places of Interest in Xiamen

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