The Ultimate Xiamen Travel Guide from a Local Perspective

The Most Comprehensive Xiamen Travel Guide – Transportation

1. You can choose various ways to come to Xiamen, such as by plane, train, bus, or self-driving, depending on your convenience.
2. If you come by plane, it is recommended to pick up a free hand-drawn map of Xiamen at the airport. It is very cute and practical, having both reference value and collection value.
3. Xiamen is not large. Taking a taxi from the airport to the ferry terminal only costs about 45 yuan. Be careful to prevent taxis from taking a long route. Recently, the reputation of Xiamen has almost been ruined by these taxis. Here are some tips to prevent being overcharged: 1) Don’t tell the destination before getting in the taxi. Inform after getting in. Don’t get out if the driver doesn’t drive. 2) Ask for an invoice. Don’t pay if there is no invoice. 3) There are no drivers who don’t know the way. Only drivers who want to take a long route. 4) Never go to the seafood restaurants recommended by taxi drivers.
4. For self-driving, park your car in the underground garage at the ferry terminal. It costs 4 yuan per hour, but capped at 30 yuan per day.
5. Xiamen has two railway stations, one is Xiamen Station and the other is Xiamen North Station. Xiamen Station is on the island, and Xiamen North Station is in Jimei. If you arrive at Xiamen North Station, you can take the BRT to the urban area. There is no need to take a taxi as it is very expensive.
6. Cycling is the best way to tour the Island Ring Road. Motor vehicles, flatbed carts, electric bicycles, etc. are prohibited from driving on Gulangyu Island. If there is a special need, you must apply for a scenic area access sign. To cycle around Xiamen Island Ring Road, you can consider renting bicycles at Xiamen University and Hulishan. Here, renting bicycles is the cheapest. Xiamen University is very large. You can also rent bicycles to tour inside.
7. Xiamen’s BRT is known as the sky bus. There is an exclusive viaduct for BRT. Taking it during off-peak hours allows you to view the street scenes of Xiamen urban area.

The Most Comprehensive Xiamen Travel Guide – Shopping

1. Zhongshan Road is a very bustling road. This century-old commercial street is the only commercial street in Xiamen that directly leads to the sea. While shopping, you can also enjoy the scenery of Gulangyu Island. Several streets adjacent to Zhongshan Road, such as Siming South Road, Siming North Road, Siming West Road, Siming East Road, and Jukou Street, are also good places for shopping and can be visited incidentally.
2. There are many stores selling specialties on Zhongshan Road. It is not recommended to shop there. Reasons: 1. Expensive. 2. Buying specialties in big bags when traveling is extremely tiring!
3. For those who want to buy specialties, a website is recommended: Shouli.com. It has a complete range of products. Basically, all Xiamen’s time-honored brands are available. The prices are very cheap, 10% to 20% cheaper than supermarkets in the urban area, let alone scenic areas.
4. In Gulangyu, beware of the following consumption traps: ①Guided by illegal tour guides. Generally, they charge 10 yuan a day, but they will take you to black shops. If you don’t buy things, they may threaten you. It is best to wander around the island without any tour guides. ②The seafood restaurants on Gulangyu have a long history of overcharging. Although not as exaggerated as in Sanya, it is still quite harsh. It is not recommended to eat seafood on Gulangyu. Just have a meal at Rongji Shacha Noodles. ③Don’t buy famous watches, Taiwan cigarettes, and alcohol. They are all fake.
5. For those who want to buy Taiwan sorghum wine, the following two methods are recommended: ①Buy it on Dadeng Island. There is a Taiwan duty-free commodity market there, but beware of fakes. ②You can buy it on Shouli.com. Shouli.com is a state-owned enterprise. The import of Taiwan sorghum wine follows regular procedures. So the things are 100% genuine and cheap.
6. Xiamen specialties include: lacquer thread carving, dried seafood, pastries, Xiamen bead embroidery, tea, Huang Shengji dried meat floss, Kinmen tribute candy, fish skin peanuts, bodhi pills, qingjin fruits, peanut crisps, etc.

The Most Comprehensive Xiamen Travel Guide – Accommodation

1. In terms of accommodation, you can consider homestays. Homestays are concentrated in Gulangyu, Nanhua Road, Huaxin Road, Baijia Village, Zengcuo’an, and Huangcuo. There are more than a thousand homestays in Xiamen with varying qualities. Choose carefully.
2. If your budget is limited, you can choose to stay in the urban area. The prices in Gulangyu are basically twice as high as those in the urban area. 7Days Inn, Home Inn, etc. in the urban area are good choices.
3. If you stay in a homestay in the urban area, Nanhua Road, Huaxin Road, Baijia Village, Zengcuo’an, and Huangcuo are all good choices. The prices on Nanhua Road, Huaxin Road, and Baijia Village will be higher, ranging from 180 to 300 yuan. This recommends Letang Garden Inn near Xiamen University and Shanshe Coffee Inn in Baijia Village.
4. For those who want to stay more comfortably, it is recommended to stay in an apartment-style hotel. Generally, they are very high-end single apartments with large rooms, large beds, separate bathrooms, and you can even cook by yourself. It’s almost like your own home. There are many available online. You can look for them.
5. The hotels in the area along the Island Ring Road, Zengcuo’an, and Huangcuo are generally of poor conditions. The prices are generally 100 to 200 yuan. It may be more expensive during peak periods. Recommended are Rongshuxia Coffee Inn in Huangcuo and Galaxies Inn Huandao Road Store in Tatou (next to Zengcuo’an).
6. If you choose to stay on Gulangyu, there are many choices. There are many family inns on Gulangyu. For old villa types, Xilin Pavilion Inn, Happy Sky Inn, etc. are recommended. For sea view inns: For those with money, the old villa inn is recommended. For those who like heights, Wanshuiqianshan Inn can be considered. For those with high cost performance, Grandma’s Penghu Bay is recommended. For those close to the pier, Nana Inn can be considered. Nana Inn is very good. The rooms are very petty bourgeois. In European style, it has the fresh and small literary flavor of Gulangyu. If you want to experience the feeling of staying on Gulangyu, Nana Inn is recommended.
7. There are currently many inns on Gulangyu. However, try to find those with licenses for more guarantee.

The Most Comprehensive Xiamen Travel Guide – Food

1. The snacks you must try when coming to Xiamen are: Rongji Shacha Noodles, braised pork dumplings, bowl-shaped cakes, fried spiced rolls, fish ball soup, oyster omelette, bamboo shoot jelly, shacha noodles, herbal jelly, peanut soup, Xiamen pastries.
2. Recommended braised pork dumplings are 1980 Braised Pork Dumplings and Taiwan Awan 加料 Braised Pork Dumplings. Recommended bowl-shaped cakes are from Wu Zaitian Snack Shop. Recommended fried spiced rolls are from Jiawei Zaitian Snack Shop. Recommended fish ball soup is from Yongfeng Fish Balls. Recommended oyster omelette is from Lianhuan Oyster Omelette. Recommended bamboo shoot jelly is from Ximen Bamboo Shoot Jelly. Recommended shacha noodles are Sili Shacha Noodles, Yuehua Shacha Noodles, and Dazhong Shacha Noodles. Recommended herbal jelly is from Babamama Herbal Jelly and Fubo Herbal Jelly. Recommended peanut soup is from Huang Zehe Peanut Soup. Recommended Xiamen pastries are from Wang’s, Huang Zehe, and Ajixia.
3. The snacks in scenic areas are just for casual eating. The so-called century-old stores may have only been open for less than two years. Don’t expect too much so that you won’t be too disappointed.
4. When coming to Xiamen, you can’t avoid eating seafood. Tourists generally like to go to Xiaoyanjing. In fact, there are many good choices. Yajian Seafood Stall near Xiamen University, 141 Seafood Stall near the ferry terminal, and Liangfeng on Hexiang West Road are all good choices. If you want to eat better seafood, you can consider going to Jiali Seafood Grand Hotel, Shuyou Seafood, etc. In addition, never go to the seafood restaurants recommended by taxi drivers!
5. The ones that are very popular online but are extremely not recommended by locals are: Zhang Sanfeng Milk Tea, Pan Xiaolian Yogurt, Yuanxiangkou Fish Balls, etc.
6. There are many food streets in Xiamen. Basically, all the Xiamen snacks mentioned above can be found in these food streets. Recommended food streets are:
   ①Zhongshan Road – Datong Road line: including the area around the Eighth Market, Zhongshan Road, Dazhong Road, Datong Road, Siming East-West-North-South Roads.
   ②Other sections: Xiamen University, Baicheng area, Hubin East-West-North-South Roads, Hexiang East-West Roads, Wenzao, railway station, Lianhua New Village area.
   ③SM City Plaza Food Court: The underground floor is a Wal-Mart supermarket. The large shopping mall on the first to fourth floors is the basic layout of this plaza. The food court on the fifth floor gathers delicious cuisines from all over.
   ④SM City Plaza Food City: Delicious cuisines from all over are gathered. You can taste a complete range of snacks.

The Most Comprehensive Xiamen Travel Guide – Sightseeing

1. The scenic spots that people generally visit when coming to Xiamen are:
   ①Gulangyu. Needless to say.
   ②Nanputuo. No ticket is required and you can get a free incense stick.
   ③Hulishan Cannon Fort. Ticket required. Near Hulishan Cannon Fort is Baicheng Beach. You can go and play there on the way.
   ④Xiamen University. No ticket is required. But Xiamen University has started to limit visitors recently. Xiamen University campus has implemented limited opening since December 27 last year. It is open to tourists in two periods every day from Monday to Friday, namely 12:00 – 14:00 and after 17:00. At other times, it does not receive tourists. There are two open school gates, Qunxian Gate (west gate) and Danan Gate (near Nanputuo). In addition, during the noon period, it is limited to 1000 people (300 people at Qunxian Gate and 700 people at Danan Gate). There is no limit on the number of people in the evening. Visitors and tourists must enter the school by swiping their second-generation ID cards.
   ⑤Baicheng Beach of Xiamen University. Free. There are also many people.
   ⑥Wulaofeng. Ticket required.
   ⑦Wanshi Botanical Garden. Ticket required.
   ⑧Xiamen Island Ring Road. No ticket is required. The scenery is very beautiful. You can ride a bicycle to tour. It’s very good!
   ⑨Zengcuo’an. Zengcuo’an is a small fishing village with diverse cultures. There are many very lovely small shops. You can stroll around.
2. In addition to the must-visit scenic spots, you may also consider Jimei, Garden Expo Park, Ri Yue Gu Hot Spring, Tulou, etc. Tulou tickets can be purchased on the Xiamen Tourism Individual Service Center website.
3. The best place to watch the sunrise on Gulangyu is not Sunlight Rock but Moonlight Rock above Bishan Park. Moonlight Rock does not require a ticket and is the second highest point on the island.
4. The best place for swimming is Wanyuepo on the Island Ring Road. However, pay attention to safety when swimming in the sea!
5. You can’t see Taiwan from Xiamen. The closest place to Xiamen is Kinmen Island under Taiwan’s jurisdiction. It only takes an hour’s voyage from Xiamen to Kinmen. However, you need to join a tour group.
6. After 8 pm, you can consider visiting these places: ①Xidi. Next to the municipal government. There are many coffee shops there. It is also beside Yuandang Lake. You can enjoy the night view of Xiamen and also go to the bar street on Binglang Road. ②You can go to Zhongshan Road to stroll. Zhongshan Road is very lively at night. The Pizza Hut on the top floor of Zhongshan Road is said to be the best place to watch the night view of Gulangyu in Xiamen. If it is summer, you can also go to the Island Ring Road to stroll. ④Egret 洲 City Park: At 8 pm, there is a music fountain. There are activities at the cultural square every weekend. There are professional bands or song and dance performances.

The Most Comprehensive Xiamen Travel Guide – Others

1. Xiamen is very small. There is no need to join a tour group. Independent travel is the most comfortable.
2. Items to be carried: ①Common medicines for people, especially medicines for treating diarrhea. ②Toiletries. Essential items for traveling. ③Documents. Things for identification. ④Rain gear. Fujian Province is one of the provinces with the most rainfall in China. ⑤Money. Don’t prepare too much. The amount carried should be 50% more than the budget in case of emergencies. Also exchange some coins for taking buses in Xiamen. ⑥Sunshade umbrella, sunscreen, hat. Especially in summer, the sun is very strong. ⑦Flip-flops. How can you play in the water without flip-flops?
3. How long is appropriate to stay in Xiamen? If it is your first time and you just want a quick look, about 3 days. Spend one day in the city. Stay one night by the sea. Go to the island on the second day and stay there. Return to the city on the third day and then leave. However, Xiamen is a place that makes people feel lazy. Staying for a few more days won’t make you feel tired.
4. When you leave, you can bring some dried seafood. At the dried seafood street on Xiaxi Market on Zhongshan Road. There is a PIZZA HUT at the intersection which is relatively easy to recognize. On Gulangyu Island, there is Huang Shengji (Huang Zehe) dried meat floss. Wang’s pastries or Gulangyu brand pastries (there are many brands. Don’t get it wrong). Huang Zehe’s glutinous rice balls. Nanputuo vegetarian pastries. Tieguanyin tea. All kinds of shell accessories (many are fake shells). Shouli.com also has many dried seafood products that can be purchased. And you can pick up at the airport. It’s very convenient!
5. It is especially difficult to take a taxi from 5 to 6 pm because they have to change shifts. At that time, it is also the rush hour and it is relatively congested. Try to avoid that time.
6. Friends who travel lightly and don’t bring a computer can download some software that may be useful during the journey in advance, such as “Trip” for booking flights and hotels, “Palm Shouli” for booking specialties, “Mobile Scenic Spot Tourism” for checking various tourist attraction information, “Google Maps” for checking buses, “Dianping” for checking food, “Moji Weather” for checking the weather, etc.