Xiamen

Xiamen occupies a stretch of subtropical coastline in southeastern Fujian, bounded to the east by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the Jiulong River estuary. Its urban fabric now extends from the original island—divided between Huli District to the north and Siming District to the south—to a mainland hinterland comprising Jimei, Haicang, Tong’an and Xiang’an districts. Across Xiamen Bay lie the Kinmen Islands, administered by Taiwan, separated by little more than 6 kilometres of open water. Inhabited since at least the Sui dynasty, the city’s maritime role intensified under successive dynasties, reaching global scale in the 19th century when Yundang Bay was counted among the world’s great natural harbours. Land reclamation has since transformed the inlet into Yundang Lake, at whose shores the municipal government now resides.

In the early 1980s, Xiamen joined China’s first wave of Special Economic Zones, inviting foreign investment under Deng Xiaoping’s policy of gradual opening. That decision reshaped its economy. Today the Port of Xiamen ranks seventh among Chinese container ports and fourteenth worldwide, capable of handling sixth-generation container vessels. Its merger with neighbouring Zhangzhou Port in 2010 created the busiest hub in China’s southeast. Across generations, residents have looked beyond the strait: since the 12th century, many have emigrated to Southeast Asia, forming communities whose remittances supported local schools and cultural institutions.

Economic diversification has followed. Manufacturing clusters in electronics and machinery sit alongside logistics, tourism and finance. Xiamen benchmarks its business environment against World Bank indices, ranking second nationally in 2018 for permitting, power access and border trade. Research output places it among the world’s forty leading cities in the Nature Index. Its universities—including Xiamen University, a Double First Class institution, alongside Huaqiao University, Jimei University, Xiamen University of Technology and Xiamen Medical College—supply both talent and innovation.

Geographically, Xiamen Island lies just north of the Tropic of Cancer. It once stood alone but became a peninsula after completion of a seawall in 1955. Offshore, Gulangyu Island and a chain of smaller islets form natural breakwaters. Summers combine heat and humidity moderated by sea breezes; July’s average sits at 28.3 °C, while January averages 13.1 °C. Annual rainfall measures some 1,300 millimetres, with typhoons most frequent in late summer. Sunshine hours range from 29 percent in March to 58 percent in July, yielding nearly 1,900 hours of bright sun each year. Snowfall is virtually unknown, last recorded in 1893.

Demographically, Xiamen’s resident population grew from just over two million in 2000 to 5.16 million by 2020, reaching an estimated 5.35 million at the end of 2024. Han Chinese comprise the vast majority, with She and Hui minorities present in smaller numbers. Migrants drawn by opportunity now form a large share of residents. Mandarin serves as the official tongue, though the local Hokkien dialect—its Amoy variant—persists in daily life. Non-Hokkien newcomers adopt Mandarin or their own native languages, while the Tongan and Zhangzhou dialects retain regional influence.

Connectivity underpins Xiamen’s growth. The Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport handles some 28 million passengers annually, serving over 90 domestic and international destinations. Plans for a new Xiang’an International Airport on Dadeng Island aim to replace Gaoqi in coming years. On land, two railway stations link the city to China’s high-speed network: Xiamen North caters exclusively to bullet trains, while Xiamen Railway Station sits on the island. Passengers reach Shanghai in five hours, Shenzhen in three, and Fuzhou in two. An intercity rail project promises to bind Xiamen ever closer to Zhangzhou and Quanzhou.

Within the city, bus, bus rapid transit and metro lines—three currently operational, with lines 4 and 6 under development—carry commuters. Five bridges and two undersea tunnels connect island and mainland: the Gaoji Causeway and bridges at Jimei, Xinglin, Haicang and Xiang’an; the Xiang’an and Haicang tunnels opened in 2010 and 2021 respectively. Motorcycles, mopeds and traditional handcarts remain banned on the island, favoring buses, bicycles and licensed electric bikes. Gulangyu prohibits all motor vehicles, preserving its pedestrian character.

Cultural landmarks underscore Xiamen’s layered past. Gulangyu Island, a former treaty-port enclave, preserves Victorian-era mansions and the Sunlight Rock outcrop, rising to 92.7 metres above sea level. Its Piano Museum holds over forty historic instruments, testifying to the island’s moniker as “the Island of Pianos,” while the UNESCO-listed settlement reflects a fusion of Fujian vernacular, colonial revival and “Amoy Deco” styles. On the mainland, the Hulishan Fortress commands views across the strait, its Krupp-made cannon among the largest of the late imperial era.

Community-driven creative districts occupy reclaimed docks and former villages. Zengcuoan grew from a fishing settlement into a hub for artists and cafés, its narrow lanes flanked by red-brick houses. Shapowei retains the patina of old waterfront warehouses, now repurposed for eateries and craft shops. Aotou Village, facing Kinmen across a narrow channel, remains home to fishing families and returning overseas Chinese.

Public gardens and exhibition spaces extend green corridors. The Xiamen Horticulture Expo Garden sprawls across nine islands in Xinglin Bay, hosting international floral expositions. The Chengyi Discovery Center offers hands-on exhibits on space, navigation and natural disasters. Museums chart local memory: Xiamen Museum’s 30,000 artefacts range from porcelain to stone carving; the Tan Kah Kee Memorial Museum commemorates an early 20th-century overseas-Chinese leader; the Overseas Chinese Museum documents the diaspora’s links to Fujian. Elsewhere, the Oriental Fish Bone Gallery transforms discarded shells into intricate artworks, and a private “Museum of Incessant Memories” preserves vernacular objects from everyday life.

Folk traditions remain woven into civic life. Gongfu tea ceremonies, centred on Tieguanyin oolong, mark morning gatherings. Storytelling performances in Minnan dialect—Jianggu—use vivid gesture and colloquial verse. Mid-Autumn mooncake gambling, a game of six dice, assigns awards named after imperial-exam ranks. In coastal villages, the Song Wang Chuan ritual burns model boats to avert misfortune, reflecting maritime faiths that span Fujian and Taiwan.

Together, Xiamen’s port infrastructure, academic institutions, transport networks and cultural heritage form a city shaped by sea and by exchange. Its island heart bears the imprint of centuries of trade, migration and innovation; its mainland wings stretch toward future connections. Amid this dynamic, everyday life unfolds in teahouses and temples, on boulevards and bicycle lanes, sustaining a distinctive urban identity that balances Chinese tradition with a global outlook.