How to Spend 3 Days in Xiamen - A Complete Itinerary for Xiamen

Day 1 | Morning

Hulishan Fort

Opening Hours: Open from 8:00am-5:30pm

Ticket Price: 25 RMB

Recommended Length of Stay: 1-2 Hours

Location: No. 2, Zengcuo Road, Siming District, Xiamen

Xiamen Hulishan Fortress Scenic Spot was built in Qing Dynasty, Guangxu Reign, 20th Year. The fort is located at the outskirts in Xiamen's southeastern end. The geographical location is very important. Hulishan Fortress is a product of the Westernization Movement of China. It is the "world's oldest 19th-century coast gun that is still preserved at its original site" and was listed in the 2000 World's Guinness Book of Records. At 10:00 and 16:00 daily, there are performances by the guards at the Hulishan Fortress.

Reviews from Real Guests:

Trip.com User: I visited Hulishan Fort during China spring festival. A great historical place where the details of the events that took place are well recorded and described to the visitors. the giant german cannon is the most attractive part of this tourist site.

Trip.com User: one of the nice place to visit in Xiamen

Day 1 | Afternoon

Now we come to another great highlight in the city: Gulangyu Island.

Gulangyu Island

Opening Hours: Gulangyu 5 major attractions: Sunlight Rock, Haoyue Garden, Shuzhuang Garden: 5:30-20:30 (winter), 5:30-21:00 (summer); Organ Museum, Lettering Art Museum: 8:15-17: 45 (winter), 8:15-18:15 (summer). 2, round-trip ferry tickets: day: 7:10-17:30 (winter), 18:30 (summer); night flight: 17:30 (winter), 18:50 (summer) - the next day 6:30. 3 Gulangyu World Hall of Fame attractions: 8:30-17:30. 4. Gulangyu Red Carpet Wax Museum: 9:00-22:30

Ticket Price: Free

Recommended Length of Stay: 1-2 Days

Location: Gulangyu, Siming District, Xiamen City

Gulangyu Island is a tiny island located on the estuary of the Chiu-lung River, facing the city of Xiamen. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site that used to be an important window for Sino-foreign exchanges during the 19th and 20th century. The island is a popular attraction for architecture enthusiasts, providing a mixture of different architectural styles including Traditional Southern Fujian Style, Western Classical Revival Style and Veranda Colonial Style. You can hike up the Sun Rock to overlook the whole island, take a walk in the Shuzhuang Garden (including the Piano Museum) which is one of the finest Jiangnan classical gardens, visit the Hao Yue Garden containing architectures from the Ming Dynasty (including a statue of national hero Zheng Chenggong), the organ museum, and the international letter carving art museum. Don't forget to send yourself a postcard from the future at local stores!

Reviews from Real Guests:

Trip.com User: Gulangyu island was very charming. I had some trouble as an English speaker finding the ferry terminal, but got there eventually! It’s listed as “Xiamen Youlun Center Xiagu Wharf” on Apple Maps and “International Cruise City” on English Didi. You’ll need your passport to buy a ticket. I just chose the soonest departure time listed on the board (which was leaving about an hour after I bought my ticket). Price was 50 RMB. I went through security and waited for my ferry. The gate was listed in English on the ticket. Boarding was 10 minutes before the departure time. Ferry ride was about 20 minutes. I wasn’t sure which port on Gulangyu I was going to,but ended up at NeiCuoAo. Gulangyu is beautiful! Lots of gorgeous plants and gardens, old European architecture, Chinese market-style shops, and some western style cafes. All the signs have English as well. I started by wandering a bit, and then I went to Sunlight Rock (the highest point on Gulangyu). Entrance was 50 RMB, but also gave me access to a temple at the bottom of the rock. The view was beautiful, but there were lots of steep steps so be prepared to sweat! After that, I wandered some more and then went to Huangan Park (listed as Zheng Chenggong Giant Stone Statue on Apple Maps). This is where the white big statue you can see from Xiamen is. There is also a small beach. Entrance fee was 10 RMB, but you could only pay through their wechat mini program. A nice security guard helped me click through what I needed to do. There was a golf cart shuffle system throughout the island but I didn’t feel like figuring out how it worked. I also enjoyed walking around and taking everything in as I walked site to site. I could have spent more time wandering around, but a thunderstorm was on its way, so I headed back to the ferry. The GangXin ferry is for Xiamen locals only. I took the YuSan QiuTian ferry back. I did not have to purchase a new ticket, they just scanned my departure ticket again. highly recommend as a day trip!

Miss_Traveler: I was lucky enough to have this holiday for free!!! There is a whole community that live on this little island! I mean, there are no cars, maybe 1 or 2 that are used for transportation of goods. Where do I start.... first of all, the architecture is amazingly stunning. It’s actually British style buildings because of the history behind that island. There aren’t normal roads, they are actually pathways that look like alleyways. You can walk through the entire island via them. From watching how pearls are found to yummy Taiwanese treats and food, you won’t want to miss this experience. Once you book your ferry ticket to the island, your whole journey is about to change! You can see Hong Kong from the ferry while you just enjoy the ride. There are lots of friendly people who live on the island who will want show you a whole range of sea creatures, some of which I’ve seen for the first time in my life! Make sure you get some of those tasty sweet treats I mentioned, they come in beautiful boxes and different flavors. I did not have enough time, as usual, so I’ll definitely be going back there! 😊👌🏻

Day 1 | Evening

If you want to explore other popular attractions later, Xiamen Airlines Lakeside Hotel is a suitable place for you to stay and refresh.

Xiamen Airlines Lakeside Hotel

The Xiamen Airlines Lakeside Hotel (Xiamen Hangkong jinyan jiudian) has an excellent location by Bailuzhou Park. It is only a ten-minute drive from Gulangyu, the train station and Zhongshan Road. Of the hotel's 316 guestrooms, all those on the lake side enjoys views of the lake, while on the other side are views over the streets of Xiamen.The hotel's Chinese restaurant serves Fujian, Guangdong and Huaiyang cuisines. The cafe is open 24 hours and serves international foods and drinks. For recreation, there is an outdoor pool, a chess and cards room, a night club and a bar.The hotel's tourism desk provides flight booking and information services, as well as in-hotel flight check-in services for guests' convenience.

Day 2 | Morning

Xiamen Botanical Garden

Opening Hours: Botanical Garden opening hours: 6:30-18:00 Rainforest World Fog Sen opening hours: October 8 - April 30, 9:00-11:00, 14:00-16:00 May 1 - October 7 8:30-11:00, 15:00-17:00

Ticket Price: 30 RMB

Recommended Length of Stay: 2-5 Hours

Location: No. 25, Huyuan Road, Siming District, Xiamen

Xiamen Botanical Garden, also known as Wanshi Botanical Garden is set amidst Wanshi Mountain in the Southeastern part of Xiamen Island. It is an integral part of the Gulangyu Islet – Wanshi Mountain National Key Scenic Spot, covering an area of 4.93 square kilometers. The garden has more than ten segments that showcase a variety of rare plants, including Chinese larch, hoop pine, strangely-shaped cacti, and other exotic foliage. In addition to the unique foliage, the park also brings together many natural wonders and human creations, including stone carvings, lakes, lawns, temples, and other attractions.

Reviews from Real Guests:

Trip.com User: This garden is huge, wear comfortable shoes and plan to go around lunch time so you have time to explore it all. I walked around it for about 3 hours and still missed some areas. There are buses that will take you where you want to go around the park if you don’t want to walk. I walked the whole way though. If you are only interested in the succulent garden with the cactuses enter through the west gate. There is also a rain forest this side and if you go a little further you will get to a vine garden that is nice to walk through. I made the mistake of going during the CNY holiday. There were not many people throughout my walk in the park until I got to the succulent garden, then there was a crowd. I appreciated that you didn’t have to stay on one path in the succulent garden, you could walk through the cactuses on the sand to find a good empty spot for photos. Just be careful not to step on the small cacti or prick yourself going between the big ones!

jini : I didn't have a great expectation from the Wonrin Botanical Garden blog, but I couldn't see where I could feel the ambient feeling because the time was not right, but I started taking a exciting photo at the Cactus spot. Recommended if you want to leave!!!

Day 2 | Afternoon

Having the chance to enjoy the charming Xiamen Botanical Garden, Riyuegu HotSprings Resort next to it is another great place that you will never want to miss!

Riyuegu HotSprings Resort

Opening Hours: Open from 10:00am-11:00pm

Ticket Price: 228 RMB

Recommended Length of Stay: 4-4 Hours

Location: 1888 Fulian Road, Haishu District, Xiamen City

Riyuegu Hot Springs is a well-known hot spring in Xiamen. If you want to relax while in Xiamen, you must consider this hot spring. It has a rich Southeast Asian atmosphere, with a beautiful environment, a large area, a full range of pools, and very clean water. There are rich and bold white wine springs and red wine springs, refreshing and beauty-promoting milk springs and coconut juice springs, healthy and nutritious ginseng springs and angelica springs, as well as romantic rose springs and fog springs. There are also deep and shallow water swimming pools. Fish therapy and sand therapy are also available for an additional fee.

Reviews from Real Guests:

Moon_forest: I went on a shuttle bus. The dressing room, shower room is so good and the smell of shampoo, treatment, body wash and clamping foam is so good ~ The pool is spacious and there is a hanger for each hot spring, so it was good to wear towels and go around. The towels are freshly exchanged if wet. I wrote down my key number, so I paid for it, but it wasn't written in the receipt:) I think there's a bus every couple of hours when I go to work, and every few hours when I come. If you use Xiamen Airlines, take your ticket and get a discount on your ticket! I got a discount and entered 158 yuan per person! I wanted to get a massage, but I couldn't get it because it was expensive. The last picture is the shuttle bus ride!

Trip.com User: This is the most enjoyable place on my trip to Xiamen. Xiamen in December was colder than I thought, and it was really good to be able to put hot springs into the travel course! The children also say that the hot springs are the most memorable. Please go!

Day 2 | Evening

Don’t forget to book Kun City Resort & Spa in advance, because all the tourists head to Riyuegu HotSprings Resort love staying at it.

Kun City Resort & Spa

Kun City Resort & Spa (Xiamen Kuncheng Tang’an Wenquan Dujiacun) is located within easy reach of Riyuegu Hotsprings. Guests can dine on Chinese and Western food at the on-site restaurants. Those traveling on business can take advantage of the meeting rooms and business center. Guests looking to stay active can utilize the gym while those simply wanting to relax can make use of the spa. This Xiamen hotel provides free Wi-Fi in public areas and rooms and free parking on site.

Day 3 | Morning

Chengyi Discovery Center

Opening Hours: Open on Tue-Sun,9:00am-5:00pm;Closed on Mon

Ticket Price: 90 RMB

Recommended Length of Stay: 2-3 Hours

Location: No.339, Xinglinwan Road, Jimei New City, Xiamen

Chengyi Science and Technology Discovery Center is located at Xinglinwan Road in Jimei District. The exterior of the building is a modern Jiageng style. It consists of a main exhibition hall and a special theater. The basement houses a maritime and an aviation themed restaurant. Chengyi Science and Technology Discovery Center has "Dream Flight Station", "Interplanetary Exploration", "Navigation Lab", "Navy Mobilization" and other exhibition areas.

Day 3 | Afternoon

After finishing the tour at Chengyi Discovery Center, you can head to Xiamen Horticultural Expo Garden, the most worth visiting place around the corner.

Xiamen Horticultural Expo Garden

Opening Hours: Open from 4/1-10/31,7:30am-7:00pm;Open from 11/1-3/31,7:30am-6:00pm

Ticket Price: 60 RMB

Recommended Length of Stay: 1-1 Days

Location: Xingqian Road, Jimei District, Xiamen City, Fujian

Xiamen Horticultural Expo Garden is located in Jimei District's Xinglin Bay. The garden is divided into Jiangnan Park, Modern Park, Northern Park, International Park, Lingnan Park, Landscape Park, Public Park, Folk Park, Fujian and Taiwan Park, and so on. Each park has very distinctive features, with unique architecture and plant life; it's perfect for taking pictures.

* All reviews in the blog are machine-translated.