Xiamen Island

城市概覽

Most of the historic buildings and much of the new commercial and business core of town are in the area of Xiamen Island opposite Gulangyu, though newer development has spread out a long way east and north from there. Major streets in the old central area include Lujiang Road along the coast, Siming Road parallel to it and a bit inland, and Zhongshan Road which is a pedestrians-only shopping street perpendicular to the other two. Xiamen University is on the coast at the southern end of that downtown area. A long and rather pretty ring road, Huándǎo Lù (X401 on the map), runs from the university along the east coast all the way to the airport on the north edge of the island; there are popular beaches along it. A large new International Conference Center with its own hotel is just off this road, about halfway up the coast. Somewhat north of downtown on the west side of the island, there is a long, narrow lake running east-west. Its name can be romanised as either Yundang Lake or Yuandang Lake; we use Yundang here because it is closer to the sound in Chinese, but both forms are in widespread use. Major roads run parallel to the lake shore and a bit inland on all four sides, all with names that say which side of the lake they are on. The area around Hubin Beilu (Lakeside North Street) has several high-end hotels (the Marco Polo is a landmark), quite a few expat residents, and many restaurants and bars. Along the lake are mainly upmarket places, while the back streets have more modest establishments. Around Hubin Nanlu (Lakeside South Street) are shops and offices. Xiahe Lu, south of Hubin Nanlu and roughly parallel to it, is one of the main streets of the newer part of the city; it has many banks, hotels and offices, several of the larger shopping centers, and the train station. The east-west BRT line runs along it.

必看景點

Xiamen has a few large clumps of interesting stuff to see. Gulangyu may be the main tourist area, but there is quite a lot on Xiamen Island as well, and some out in the suburbs.

North of the lake

One is the area around Yundang Lake. The north side has a large group of restaurants and bars (see below) plus a rather pretty lakeside park area with a walkway right down by the water. Around dawn and dusk, you can watch the egrets (symbol of Xiamen, used as the logo for Xiamen Airlines) flying to and from the lake. At night, there is a bit of a light show; many buildings (especially around the south side of the lake) have laser or LED displays that attract attention, sort of an advertisement by commercial buildings and some residential complexes to draw attention to their business. This sort of thing is fairly common in Chinese cities, but Xiamen has more of it than most others. It is best seen from the north side, augmented by reflections in the lake. This is not really an attraction in itself, just a nice extra for anyone imbibing in a lakeside bar.

1 Bailuzhou Park (白鹭洲公园), 565 Bailuzhou Street, Siming District (思明区白鹭洲路565号) (On an island in the lake, crossed by a bridge, east of the Marco Polo on the north side and of the bus station on the south. Bus routes 8, 26, 97 and 758), ☏ +86 592 508-2380. Open all day. A large park that includes hotels, bars, restaurants and shopping. Go around 8:30PM and enjoy the vendors, music, and dancing. Free. 2 Mountains to Sea Trail. Elevated trail for walking with beautiful sights of the city. With a total length of 23 km, it starts at Huweishan Park north of Yundang Wai Lake and ends at Guaynishan Beach. Free. (updated Dec 2024)

Around the university

Another is the area around Xiamen University. In Chinese, it is 厦门大学 (Ē-mn̂g tōa-o̍h in Minnan, Xiàmén dàxué in Mandarin), usually abbreviated to 厦大 (Hā-tāi in Minnan, Xiàdà in Mandarin). This is Fujian's most prestigious university, the province's only "national key universi

體驗活動

1 Zhongshan Park (中山公园), Siming District (思明区) (On Zhongshan Road, toward the inland end beyond Siming Road. Near Zhongshan Park Station on Metro Line 1), ☏ +86 592 291-0888. Open all day. A large park named for Dr. Sun Yat Sen (Sun Zhong Shan in Mandarin), leader of the 1911 revolution that overthrew the Qing and established the Republic of China. It has a statue of him, several gardens, a small zoo, a flower exhibit hall, a lake with rental paddle boats, dance shows, and bumper cars. Free. Kite surfing, Huandau Road, near Asia Golden Bay Hotel (at Rasa Sayang restaurant, Haiyuntai). Training with English speaking IKO-certified instructors, equipment for sale and storage, compressor and shower facilities. 2 Xiamen Mandarin Fun School (厦门汉风堂汉语学校), Room 2304, Wei Ye Na Building, Century Bay, North Hubin Road, Siming District (思明区湖滨北路世纪海湾维也纳楼2304室) (The nearest bus stop is the Bank of China North Hubin Road Branch (滨北中行). Take bus no. 26, 31, 58, 85, 87, 88, 115, 309, 842, 849, 881 or 958), ☏ +86 592 511-8287, [email protected]. A registered private school specializing in teaching Chinese to foreigners, with lessons for students at different levels. Xiamen Marathon. An international marathon race run every year in Xiamen on the first Saturday in January. This is a large event; it had over 50,000 runners in 2013. Some of the world's top long distance runners compete and their times are impressive; in 2014 the men's winner was Mariko Kiplagat at 2:08:06 and women's Mare Dibaba 2:21:36. The course is mostly along the Huándǎo Lù ring road with the finish line right downtown near the Gulangyu ferry dock. If you book well ahead you might get a room at the Lujiang Harbourview Hotel with a balcony overlooking the finish line. (updated Jan 2017) 3 Guanyinshan Fantasy Beach Holiday Resort (观音山梦幻海岸度假区), 17 Guanyinshan Commercial Street, Siming District (思明区观音山商业街17号) (Bus no. 58), toll-free: +86 400 880 7677. 10:00-18:00 (general operating hours), 14:00 (start time of mo

購物

Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street (中山路步行街) runs inland off Lujiang Road (which runs along the coast) near the Gulangyu ferry terminal, through a historical part of the city. This is a major shopping area with interesting smaller streets off it. The opening time is generally from 09:00-22:00. The buildings along Zhongshan Road combine a European architecture style with Chinese. Other major shopping streets in the area are Siming Road and Jukou Street. The area also has many smaller streets with shopping; most are off to the left as you come up Zhongshan Road from the sea. As you come along Zhongshan from the sea, you can look for a set of stairs going off to your right a short way along; these lead to a smaller parallel street with many little shops and street vendors. From the inland end of that (Siming Road), turn left to get back to Zhongshan Road at the inland end of the pedestrian area. Xiamen University Street is actually half a street because the other side is part of Nanputuo Temple. Hundreds of shops line the street which is only a few hundred meters. Most of these shops sell garments and cultural things, and the book stores are als