Xiamen Hotels

Xiamen is a coastal city in Fujian Province, China. Generally not considered a "must see" destination in China, it does have a number of attractions, an interesting history and is tourist friendly. Most tourists come to Xiamen to visit Gulangyu Island, a small island which contains some beautiful colonial buildings and is car free. Until 1840, Western "barbarians" were allowed to trade only in Guangzhou (which they called Canton), and only under strict controls. After China lost the First Opium War, Britain took Hong Kong and China was forced to open five "Treaty Ports": Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai. In Xiamen, the island Gulangyu became a foreign enclave with consulates and luxurious homes. Today it is a quiet area (no cars or motorcycles) and five minutes by ferry from downtown, and still quite scenic. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fujian was a focus of missionary activity. There are still many historic churches in the region. In the 1970s, Xiamen was made a Special Economic Zone to encourage development and since it has flourished. Xiamen has more Taiwan investment than any other mainland city, partly because the Minnan dialect spoken around Xiamen is nearly identical to Taiwanese. There is also a major influx of other foreign investment. It is not Shanghai or Hong Kong, but compared to many other cities in China, Xiamen is definitely a very vibrant, affluent and modern place. It got an international award in a contest for most livable cities in 2002; neighboring Quanzhou won the following year