First impressions
Arriving at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is a painless affair by Chinese standards. Medium sized and modern – a new terminal was opened in 2014 – it receives flights from more than a dozen international carriers. It is also home to Xiamen Airlines, one of the country’s aggressively expanding airlines, as well as TAECO, an aircraft maintenance provider. As a result, it operates fairly smoothly.
Xiamen has plenty of experience in dealing with foreigners, dating back to its inclusion as a Treaty Port in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking after the First Opium War. Then, international residents lived on the small islet of Gulangyu, the only official international settlement outside Shanghai. However, the Xiamen of those times has all but disappeared, as is apparent when you drive down one of many elevated expressways that crisscross the island, helping traffic flow and allowing the street-level road network to be quite navigable and almost pleasant thanks to an abundance of trees lining the roads.
There’s also a noticeable lack of rubbish, plenty of parks and green-swathed hills scattered across the island – making it easy to believe Xiamen’s accolade as one of China’s most liveable cities. There’s a more relaxed atmosphere, like a seaside resort town rather than a busy centre of commerce – and yet Xiamen is both of these things.
Orientation
The island of Xiamen, part of Fujian province and separated from the mainland by the deepwater port of Xiamen Bay, is only 300 kilometres from Taiwan and has been a thriving trading centre for many centuries. However, the modern city has now spread out beyond its island borders, incorporating six districts: Siming and Huli on the island, and on the mainland Haicang, Jimei, Tong’an and Xiang’an. That said, the majority of international visitors will still arrive and stay on Xiamen island, which stretches about 15 kilometres from north to south and ten from east to west.
A sub-provincial level city, Xiamen is one of China’s five special economic zones and is highly competitive in many fields due to its port status – it receives international cruise ships and considerable maritime cargo trade – and its geographic location close to Taiwan (and consequent close business links). It also benefits from well-developed domestic and international air links and an excellent high-speed rail network connecting it to Hong Kong and Guangzhou in the south, and Shanghai to the north.
The old town and main CBD can be found in the southwest of the island, though development in recent decades has seen the business district spread inland around the long expanse of Yundang Lake to reach the island’s centre. The airport is situated in the north, while the area around Wuyuan Bay in the northeast is the focus of much construction as it grows into a new secondary commercial district.
Economy
The city’s pillar industries are electronics, commercial shipping, machinery, finance and software/IT services. Dell was an early entrant, though its China headquarters have now been moved to Chengdu. Lenovo, Prima Electronics, Amoi Electronics and NEC are other major investors in the electronics sector, whilst King Long Motor and XGMA Machinery Corp lead the engineering field.
In 2014 GDP reached RMB327.3 billion (US$49.8 billion), a per capita equivalent of US$14,000, ranking Xiamen top among China’s medium-sized cities. The population in 2013 was 3.7 million, although unconfirmed reports place the current figure at closer to five million – a consequence of the burgeoning job market and Xiamen’s reputation as a great place to live.
Commerce and trade remain very important – Xiamen is the world’s largest producer and exporter of tungsten products, and is a major exporter of computers and digital audiovisual devices, capacitors, etc. Business is indeed booming – by early 2014, 55 Fortune 500 companies had set up business here, investing in 100 projects to the value of US$5.7 billion. This economic growth is highlighted in a variety of ways: construction is rampant, with the northeast of the island developing as a new business district; a second international airport is planned to open in 2020 on Dadeng Island, part of Xiang’an district to the north; whilst Beijing has included Xiamen as a core part of the Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone, positioning the city as a “Cross-Strait Financial and Trade Centre”, and a strategic pivot point for the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”.
The MICE industry is a major focus for city authorities, who want to build on an already strong foundation of major domestic and international exhibitions and events. The nation’s largest global investment event, the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) is held every September at the crown jewel of the city’s 17 exhibition venues: the Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Centre on the island’s east coast, which boasts 150,000 sqm of indoor space. Adjacent to this is the Xiamen International Convention Centre, while on the south coast Xiamen University has extensive event venues as well. There’s still room for more, though – the Straits Tourism and Convention & Exhibition Centre is under construction, scheduled to open in 2017.
Another big revenue generator is tourism. Blessed with a mild climate (average annual temperature is 21?C), a seaside location, interesting history and renowned seafood-inspired cuisine, Xiamen is one of China’s ten most popular tourist destinations. In 2013, a total of 46.64 million domestic and overseas tourists visited. Tourism revenue reached RMB62.1 billion (US$9.5 billion), an increase of 15 per cent on 2012, and this upward trend has continued in the last few years.
What to do
The small island of Gulangyu is Xiamen’s most famous tourist hotspot, its winding alleyways revealing a variety of old colonial houses and leading to great views of the city from Sunlight Rock, sandy beaches or the large statue of the ancient Chinese military leader Koxinga. China’s only piano museum is also found here. Locals can reach Gulangyu in five minutes from the ferry pier on Xiamen’s facing coast, but foreigners must now catch a ferry from the International Cruise Terminal on the west coast – a 45-minute boat ride costing RMB35 (US$5) each way.
Near the local Gulangyu ferry is Zhongshan Lu, a pedestrianised street lined by old shophouses that have been turned into both souvenir and local retail shops plus a cornucopia of eateries. Alleyways leading off the road are worth exploring as you wander. A short drive east brings you to Nanputuo Temple, the peaceful Wanshi Botanical Garden and the Qing-era Hulishan Fortress.
Visitors staying close to Yundang Lake should join the locals for a stroll around the lake or over the pedestrian bridges into Bailuzhou Park in its midst. Xianyue Park is also worth visiting, its many paths leading to pagodas, temples, gardens and viewing points; and if you happen to be on the mainland, the Xiamen Lingling International Circus in Jimei district makes for a memorable evening, its 50-metre-tall grand theatre holding audiences of 10,000 people.
Where to eat and drink
Fujianese cuisine is heavily seafood based, combining Taiwanese and Chaoshan flavours, and is renowned for its freshness and light spiciness. Famous snacks include Nanputuo vegetables, peanut soup, fried clams, Xiamen pie, leek pancakes and sea worm jelly. Noodle soup using shacha (shrimp-based) paste is particularly tasty – a bit like dan-dan soup but lighter.
Zhongshan Lu is a great place to sample some of these dishes, but many of the major hotels’ restaurants also offer superb examples of local cuisine – the Westin Xiamen’s Zen5es is a favoured dining spot for this, as is Marco Polo’s Lotus Court.
In the evening the “Coffee Street” and “Bar Street” areas near the Marco Polo Xiamen hotel are popular haunts for locals and expats alike, while on the west coast Haiwan Park has a colourful nightlife scene with live music, bars and restaurants.
Where to stay
Given the joint drivers of business and tourism growth, it’s unsurprising to find a huge choice of well-known hotel brands in Xiamen.
Although a taxi ride from one side of the island to the other rarely takes more than 30 minutes, location is important, and the hotel with probably the best is Marco Polo Xiamen (marcopolohotels.com). With Yundang Lake just across the road, this 20-year-old, 300-room luxury hotel was renovated in 2010 and remains very popular with business travellers for its combination of traditional style, modernised rooms and great dining options, especially Shogun, voted best Japanese restaurant in China in 2015 by China magazine.
Also in this lower downtown area is the 29-storey Pan Pacific Xiamen (panpacific.com/xiamen), offering 354 rooms and fully serviced suites, while farther inland but still beside the lake is the Pullman Xiamen Powerlong (pullmanhotels.com), which opened in 2002 but was rebranded a Pullman in 2012, providing three floors of dedicated executive rooms.
On the south side of Yundang Lake is an imposing building housing Kempinski Xiamen (kempinski.com), whose 460 rooms reach up to the 24th floor. From its high-ceilinged lobby and 2,600 metres of event space to its 22nd-floor executive lounge with expansive views, this is a stately property, and Kempinski’s signature beer hall Paulaner Bräuhaus is a popular meeting spot. The Westin Xiamen (starwoodhotels.com/westin), located just south of Xianyue Park in another iconic downtown high-rise, offers similar levels of grandeur in its entrance lobby, plus Fujian’s highest executive lounge on the 40th floor, with superb views over the island and beyond. The Westin focuses on “wellness” to encourage “better travel” – its elegant rooms are designed to provide a residential feel, its Heavenly Spa, 25-metre pool and large, state-of-the-art fitness area all promote health, and its excellent F&B outlets include the Latin-themed Qba and Chinese restaurant Zen5es.
Also in the inland district are the 327-room Crowne Plaza Paragon Xiamen (crowneplaza.com), part of a retail complex and boasting an attractive fifth-floor alfresco area next to its Royal Bar, which can be used for events; and the Sheraton Xiamen (sheraton.com/xiamen), almost ten years old but undergoing extensive renovations that will see its events rooms finished in September, and its rooms and F&B outlets upgraded after that.
Doubletree by Hilton Xiamen – Wuyuan Bay (doubletree.hilton.com) opened in August last year in the northeastern corner of Xiamen island that is undergoing massive development. Surrounded by new tower blocks, the 22-storey hotel’s 270 rooms are decorated in a light, breezy fashion with art inspired by sea themes. Another Doubletree is scheduled to open in Haicang district on the mainland at the end of the year.
Also in the northeast, but closer to the island’s main convention centre is Langham Place Xiamen (langhamhotels.com/xiamen), which opened in 2014 next to Wanda Plaza and close to a software industrial park. This 319-room property uses fun, music-themed artwork and modern aesthetics in its design, and Langham’s Chuan Spa adds to its appeal. Finally, down on the south coast opposite Gulangyu is Hotel Indigo Xiamen (ichotelsgroup.com/hotelindigo), a midscale boutique property that offers a more trendy, boutique atmosphere in the touristy part of town.
Beyond this selection of existing properties, hotels including a Shangri-La, W Hotel, Wyndham, JW Marriott, Hualuxe and Hyatt Regency are all slated to open in the next few years – ramping up the competition considerably.
