Tips and Trivia for your Xiamen Trip!

Not to miss in Xiamen: xiaolongbao and other juicy dimsum by the sidewalk!

Accommodations
High-end: Opened in 2012, Kempinski Hotel Xiamen is the tallest building in all of Fujian province and a new landmark building in Xiamen. Established in 1897 in Berlin, Kempinski is Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group with over 70 five-star hotels worldwide.

Budget: Various B&Bs and inns (mostly family-owned businesses) popular among domestic tourists at Zengcuoan, Siming. Prices range from 100 RMB and up. Xiamen Violet Cloudland Hotel, Xiamen Sunshine Holiday Inn

Trivia
Xiamen is known as the “Garden on the Sea” because of its rich natural landscapes, pleasant climate and flowers blooming all year round. The city is also known as “Egret Island” because of the white birds that inhabit its lakes and mountains.

In 2010, Xiamen’s municipal government set its goal of becoming a “National Forest City,” investing billions of RMB to have greenery cover 40% of the entire city. Today, the government has clearly met its goal.

Side Trip
Kinmen Island, a territory controlled by Taiwan, is either a 30-minute or 60-minute ferry ride away from one of Xiamen’s international ferry terminals. Marked by its war-torn past during China’s civil war, today interest in Kinmen’s military history drives tourists to visit the island. In addition to having a couple hundred New Taiwan Dollars, remember to also prepare your re-entry visa back to Xiamen.

Tip!
It’s always fun to visit Chinese cities during holiday festivities: Chinese New Year in February, performances along Zhongshan Road during the Lantern Festival in March (15th day of the lunar calendar) and the Mid-autumn Festival in September, although be wary of domestic travelers and peak season rates.

There are fewer foreigners in Xiamen than in Beijing or Shanghai, so having your hotel’s business card with their address is recommended when taking taxis. English is not widely spoken; rather, the Minnan dialect (also called Hokkien or Taiwanese) is.






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