Xiamen, China

Population: 3.9 million (2023 estimate)

Area:607.3 square miles (1,573 square kilometers)

Founded: 1387

Xiamen is a large port city in Fujian province on the southeastern coast of China. The city’s name, which is pronounced shyah-MUN, means “gate to the mansion” in Chinese, although the city is sometimes referred to as Amoy by English speakers. The city originated in the late third century CE as a port town often used as a haven by pirates. It was established as the city of Xiamen in 1387 as a coastal fort to shore up the defenses of the Ming dynasty. Xiamen was one of the first major Chinese cities to be opened to European traders in the nineteenth century. Its location near Taiwan has historically made Xiamen a key link between mainland China and the disputed island. In the late twentieth century, the Chinese government declared Xiamen one of the nation’s first special economic zones, transforming the city into a major urban area.

Landscape

Xiamen is located about 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) south of Beijing and about 400 miles (644 kilometers) northeast of Guangzhou, China’s fifth-largest city. Xiamen is built on a natural harbor and comprised of Xiamen Island—the city’s main section—Gulangyu Island, and the coastal area along the mainland near the mouth of the Jiulong River. The city is divided into six administrative units known as the Siming, Haicang, Huli, Jimei, Tong’an, and Xiang’an districts. Xiamen Island is connected to the mainland by several bridges and the Xiang’an Tunnel.

Xiamen is one of the closest mainland ports to Taiwan, an island that sits about 140 miles (225 kilometers) across the Taiwan Strait—although the closest of Taiwan’s outlying islands sits just 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) off the coast from Xiamen. Historically, Taiwan and China have had a complicated history, with the island and the mainland operating under separate governments since the mid-twentieth century. However, China has long claimed Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taiwan views itself as being more independent. This has led to periods of increased tensions between the two entities, but they continue to work together in an economic capacity as they try to reach a political consensus.

Xiamen’s climate is subtropical, with hot and humid summers, short winters, and periods of monsoon rains. The city’s average yearly temperature is 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). In July, Xiamen's average temperature reaches 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). Temperatures in January average 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Rain falls throughout the year in Xiamen, but the city receives its highest amount in June, averaging 6.9 inches (175.3 millimeters). Overall, the city receives an average of 44.5 inches (1,130 millimeters) of rain each year.

People

As is the case in China as a whole, the majority of people in Xiamen are of Han Chinese descent. While Mandarin is the official national language used for business and education, many people in Xiamen speak a local dialect called Hokkien. Among the lasting contributions of this dialect are the English words tea and ketchup, which are derived from the Hokkien words t’e and kê-tsiap.

Although China’s Communist government does not endorse any religion, it recognizes five faiths: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. The majority of the nation’s population (52.2 percent as of 2010) does not adhere to any religious beliefs, but Buddhism is the most followed religion across China at 18.2 percent. As of the late 2010s, Xiamen had a larger-than-average number of Protestant denominations in the city. This demographic was a reflection of a large British population in the mid-nineteenth century as Xiamen became a major port for foreign trade.

By 2023, the population of the Xiamen urban area, including the city and the surrounding region, had reached an estimated 3.9 million. The city’s population grew exponentially after China designated it as one of the nation’s first four special economic zones in 1980. In 1980, the city’s metro population was reported as 491,000, and by 1996, it had topped one million people. In 2010, the metro area’s population was just over 3 million. The population continued to climb during the 2010s and early 2020s. According to estimates, Xiamen’s population is expected to reach more than 4.5 million by 2035.

Economy

The region around Xiamen city was connected to illegal foreign trade as far back as the Song dynasty from 960–1279 CE. After the first Europeans arrived in the sixteenth century, the port was sporadically used as a center of trade before political instability forced its closure on several occasions. When the British seized control of the area in the 1840s, Xiamen was fully opened to foreign traders and became the center of the region’s tea trade. As this trade later shifted to the island of Taiwan, Xiamen became the primary economic link between the mainland and the island as well as the chief port for the export of Taiwanese tea.

Thirty years after Communist forces took control of mainland China in 1949, the government embraced some free market reforms and established areas where economic activity could be conducted without complete government control. Due to its proximity to Taiwan, Xiamen was named one of these first special economic zones in 1980. This move ignited the city’s economy, resulting in substantial growth in a number of industries and services. By 2023, Xiamen’s gross domestic product (GDP) had reached $112.07 billion, a 3.1 percent increase from the previous year.

The city remains one of the world’s busiest ports, moving an estimated 219 million tons of cargo in 2021, a figure that placed it as the ninth-largest port in China and the thirteenth-largest in the world. Xiamen’s industries range from fruit and fish processing plants to shipbuilding and aviation to information technology. It has also increased its focus on modern businesses such as the financial and technology sectors. By 2024, the city had also focused on its new display technology, creating screens that are thinner and clearer. In the first two months of this year, this sector reached $2.97 billion, an increase of more than 33 percent from the previous year. Additionally, in 2024, four enterprises in the Xiamen Torch High-Tech Zone made the list of the top 100 innovative cases in the national artificial intelligence initiative.

Landmarks

The history of Xiamen can be seen in its numerous landmarks representing its transformation from ancient seaport to modern city. Among the oldest of the city’s attractions is the South Putuo Temple, a Buddhist temple near Wulao Peak on Xiamen Island. The original structure was built during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) but was later destroyed. In the late seventeenth century, a general of the Qing dynasty ordered the temple rebuilt. The temple grounds cover more than 63.8 acres (25.8 hectares) and include two towers, pavilions, and a lotus pond. The four main temple halls take up about 228,200 square feet (21,200 square meters) and feature traditional multi-tiered Chinese architecture.

Gulangyu Island is located between the western edge of Xiamen Island and the mainland. It is a small island—with an area just over one-third of a square mile (1.87 square kilometers)—and considered one of the city’s most scenic regions. The island is accessible only by boat and off-limits to motor vehicles. The island is known for its British colonial-style architecture, the oceanside Shuzhuang Gardens, and its numerous museums, including a piano museum and an organ museum. The island is also home to a 51.5-foot (15.7-meter) statue of Zheng Chenggong, a seventeenth-century rebel leader who fought against the Qing dynasty.

Xiamen University was founded in 1921 by a Chinese expatriate living in Malaysia. The university is renowned for its academics as well as its picturesque campus, which spreads out for 15.7 million square feet (1.46 square meters) in the southern section of Xiamen Island. Each June, the university grounds are covered in bright red as phoenix flowers bloom across the campus. Hulishan Fortress was a hilltop defensive fort built by the military on the southern edge of Xiamen Island in 1894. One of the fortress’s cannons—built in Germany by the Krupp Corporation—held the Guinness World Record for the largest remaining coastal artillery from the nineteenth century. The artillery, nicknamed the Kings of Cannons, is about 43-feet (13-meters) long and has a range of 10 miles (16 kilometers).

Among the city’s modern-day landmarks are the Xiamen Shimao Straits Towers, a pair of twin skyscrapers that measure 969 feet (295.3 meters) tall. The towers share a unique architectural design with a curved upper section resembling the edge of a knife. The city’s tallest building is the Xiamen International Centre, a 1,128-foot (343.9-meter) angled tower with a distinctive open space near the top.

History

People have lived in the Xiamen region for thousands of years, but it was not until 282 CE, under the Jin dynasty, that the first government was established in the area. Known at the time as Jiahe Island, Xiamen was mainly used as a haven for pirates who conducted illegal foreign trade from the port. In the late fourteenth century, the rulers of the Ming dynasty built a fortification on the site to guard against pirates. The city was rechristened Xiamen in 1387.

By the sixteenth century, Xiamen had evolved from a military base to a bustling trade center. In 1544, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in the region but were soon expelled by Chinese leaders. In 1644, the Ming dynasty was overthrown and the Qing dynasty established. Zheng Chenggong—often known by his Westernized name, Koxinga—was a rebel pirate leader and Ming supporter who battled the Qing from his base in Xiamen. Zheng briefly opened Xiamen to European traders, but when Qing forces captured the area, he retreated to the sea and took control of Taiwan. After Zheng’s death, the Qing conquered the island.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the British and Chinese fought a series of trade wars known as the Opium Wars. After the British victory in the first of these conflicts, the 1842 Treaty of Nanking established Xiamen as one of five Chinese ports open to foreign trade. During this time, Xiamen was often referred to by Westerners as Amoy, a name taken from the Hokkien word for the city, Ē-mûi, pronounced ah-MOI. The British and other foreign visitors were allowed to live on Gulangyu Island, which is why that section of the city continues to bear a strong European influence.

Xiamen was the key mainland port for trade with Taiwan until 1895, when the Japanese captured the island. Xiamen itself fell under Japanese control in 1938 and remained so until the end of World War II in 1945. The following year, civil war erupted in China with the Republic of China led by Chiang Kai-shek battling the Communist forces of Mao Zedong. Mao and the Communists emerged victorious in 1949, forcing Chiang to retreat to Taiwan where he continued to rule as the Republic of China. Communist China and Taiwan spent several decades in open hostility, with Xiamen often caught in the middle of the conflict. Chinese forces in the city exchanged fire with the Taiwanese island of Jinmen several times in the 1950s. For many years, the Chinese government refused to develop Xiamen into a modern city, for fear it would become a target of Taiwanese forces.

Tensions began to cool a bit in the 1970s as Taiwan became an economic force of its own. In the late 1970s, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping decided to remake China’s economy, opening it up to some free market reforms. To take advantage of its location near Taiwan, Xiamen was named one of China’s first special economic zones in 1980. The nation invested heavily in the city’s economy, which also received considerable financial attention from Taiwan and the Hong Kong region. As a result, Xiamen experienced an explosion of economic growth, transforming it into one of China’s largest and most prosperous cities in the twenty-first century.

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