IFLY tips Xiamen
Back to Xiamen main page
Zhongshan Road shopping (1-2 hrs)
Zhongshan is a common name of Chinese roads, usually in honour of Sun Yat-sen, better known in Chinese as 'Sun Zhongshan', who is considered by many to be the 'Father of modern China'. In Xiamen this is an important road as well. It is the main shopping street and leads to the main ferry terminals.
It includes shophouses with the latest fashion, shoes and wide variety of products. A large section of the street (between the ferry landing and Siming Street) is for pedestrians only.
Shopping and dining however aren't the only items on offer at Zhongshan Road as the architecture in the area offers yet another reason to visit this magnificent street. Buildings on either side of Zhongshang Road feature a unique mix of eastern and western influences that blend together at this vibrant shopping venue.
Many of the shops on Zhongshan Road are open from 9 am until late night due to the huge crowds of customers that frequent this extremely popular shopping destination.
Coffee street (1-2 hrs)
Nearby Yundang lake and Bailuzhou park you can relax in the famous Yuan Dang Lu, or: Coffee street. This street has dozens of great coffee bars, restaurants and ice cream shops.
Most of the places are open from early morning. Some of them until the next early morning! We can’t really recommend one place as they all have their own specialty. Don’t just enter the first door you see on Yun Dang road, walk around, take a closer look and you might be surprised to find a café that is actually perfect for you.
Nightlife at Haiwan Park area (1 evening)
Xiamen has a rich and vibrant nightlife. The main hotspots at night are in Haiwan Park, next to Yundang lake. Here you find different clubs, pubs and discotheques. Just take a taxi to Haiwan Park and make your choice there.
Along the quay you will find most pubs and (western or fusion style) restaurants. These are great for the evening. At night you should visit one of the clubs. These are located a bit more away from the quay. Some of the main clubs we recommend are: ‘The Key’, ‘KK’ and ‘Me & You’.
Nanputuo temple's vegetarian restaurant (1 hr)
Inside the famous Nanputuo Temple is a special restaurant: Nanputuo’s vegetarian restaurant. The vegetable dishes originally were offerings for the Buddhas, but innovation and development made them popular nowadays.
If you enter the temple, the restaurant is halfway on your right hand side. You have to buy a voucher first at the booth before you can enter the restaurant in the garden. A meal costs 43 Yuan for 1 person. And what the food is… just let them surprise you. With you meal you can get, as it should be with a Chinese meal, some cold or warm tea. If you like to have other drinks you should bring it from outside. They also have a small assortment drinks for sale.
The temple is located at Siming Nanlu on the southeast of Xiamen Island. The opening hours are from 8 am to 5 pm.
Zhongshan night market (1 hr)
In the small streets around Zhongshan Road you will find a night market. Don’t expect night markets like other big Asian cities. Actually they call it night market but it's also a day market, which is open until midnight.
In these small alleys, market squares and tiny shops you can buy about anything. If you can’t find it here, most probably you won’t find it in Xiamen at all.
SM malls (1-3 hrs)
If you want to do some indoor shopping and are looking for the best malls, go to the SM mall. There are hundreds of shops featuring local and international brands. It is strategically located along the busy crossroad of Jiahe and Xianyue Road.
There are two SM malls actually, the old one and the new one. They are facing each other on the other side of the road. The new one is called SM lifestyle center, the old one is called SM city Xiamen.
The opening hours are daily from 10 am to 10 pm. So the real shopaholics can shop till they drop!
IFLYtheworld.com tries to be up-to-date with all travel information. If you despite our effort experience some things we need to know to update our tips, send us a message.
IFLYexchange
Prices of tips and articles are shown in local currency. To see it in another currency convert it here.
Prices are of course subject to changes. If you experience another amount as shown in this tip, let us know.
Language of the world
Of course you like to speak a few words of the local language onboard the plane or at your destination. Here you find some simple basics of the main language spoken in Xiamen.