Hostels in Xiamen, China

Xiamen, China, in the Fujian province, is located in the southeastern corner of China, opposite Taiwan. It is just under five hundred kilometers northeast of Hong Kong along the coast. Xiamen used to be an island, but the city has spread north onto the mainland and is now joined to it by a series of causeways and two underwater tunnels.

Just off the southwest coast of Xiamen Island is tiny Gulangyu Island, a pedestrian-only island that was occupied by various European settlers after the First Opium War in the mid-nineteenth century. The architecture of the island reflects this diversity, with many colonial European styles present. Gulangyu is also home to a piano museum! Gulangyu is easily reached by a five-minute ferry from central Xiamen.

Xiamen is also known for its tree-lined beaches, botanical gardens, and the Xiamen Wushipu Oil Painting Village, which employs around five thousand artists.

There are a couple of international youth hostels in Xiamen, China, catering for domestic and international travelers alike. You'll find them in Siming district, about twenty-five minutes’ walk from Five-Old-Men Peaks in Wanshi Botanical Gardens, behind the Nanputuo Temple in the southwest of the island. The hostels in Xiamen, China, are well run and are easily reached by public transport from the mainland center of Xiamen. The Xiamen, China hostels are good places to meet other travelers and get information for your onward trips and also for what to see and do in and around the city.

Xiamen is also known for its street food markets. These tend to pop up during the evenings, where visitors can taste Xiaochi, a particular Chinese/Taiwanese street cuisine of small snacks eaten together to form a more substantial meal.

Getting around Xiamen has been made easier with the construction of the Xiamen Metro. Although this has yet to be completed, one line from Yannei on the mainland to Siming on the island, has been operational as of just before this writing.