All guides
Everything we've written so far. Each guide is researched on foot, kept current, and free. If you'd rather have a human walk you through it — that's what our local guides do.
Itineraries
Day-by-day plans that actually fit in the time you have.
Essentials
Payments, transport, where to stay — solve the boring stuff first.
Xiamen Without a Visa: The 240-Hour Transit Rule, Explained
Citizens of 50+ countries can spend up to 10 days in Xiamen visa-free under China's transit policy. Here's exactly how it works and how to plan around it.
Getting Around Xiamen: Metro, DiDi, Buses and Bikes
Xiamen is compact and transit is cheap and excellent — once you know which app does what. The complete transport setup for visitors.
Paying for Things in Xiamen: Alipay & WeChat Pay for Foreigners
China is near-cashless and your physical Visa card won't work in most shops. Set this up before you land and money becomes a non-issue.
Where to Stay in Xiamen: Neighborhoods Compared
Old town atmosphere, harbor cool, beachfront calm or a night on Gulangyu itself — how to pick your Xiamen base, honestly compared.
Food
What to eat, where, and how to order it.
Deep cuts
The places locals go. Worth the detour.
Xiamen's Beaches: Where Locals Actually Swim
Forget the postcard beach the tour buses stop at. Here's where Xiamen residents go for a morning dip, an evening swim, and the calmest water on the island — plus when to skip the beach entirely.
The Eighth Market at 7am: Xiamen's Best Breakfast Walk
Bashi is the city's century-old wet market and its beating heart. How to walk it, what to eat inside it, and why you should set an alarm.
Cycling the Island Ring Road: Xiamen's Best Free Morning
A dedicated seaside bike path runs along Xiamen's east coast — beaches, banyans and sea views the whole way. The route, the bikes, the timing.
Gulangyu Without the Crowds: A Strategy Guide
Xiamen's UNESCO islet hosts tens of thousands of visitors a day — and almost all of them do it wrong. The ferry tricks, timing and routes that change everything.
Shapowei: Xiamen's Old Harbor, New Cool
A fishing port that became the city's creative quarter without losing its soul. Coffee, skateboards, temple incense and harbor sunsets — the full Shapowei circuit.
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