Xiamen
Fujian Province Regional hubAn island-and-bay city regularly ranked among China's most livable, Xiamen pairs one of the country's most beautiful seafront campuses — Xiamen University — with a clean subtropical environment, overseas-Chinese heritage and the car-free UNESCO island of Gulangyu.
- Xiamen University's seafront campus — arguably China's most beautiful
- Gulangyu Island, UNESCO World Heritage
- Clean air, beaches and bayside cycling
- Dense direct flights across Southeast Asia
Living here
Monthly budget
CNY 2,200–4,200 (USD 300–580) / month incl. dorm or shared flat
The livability premium shows in rents — dorms are the budget anchor, and island housing costs more than the mainland districts.
Getting around
Metro system in operation. Gaoqi (XMN) is one of coastal China's busiest airports, with dense Southeast Asian and East Asian routes plus strong domestic coverage.
Halal food
Lanzhou noodle and Xinjiang restaurants plus campus halal windows; the Southeast Asian visitor flow keeps a few Muslim-friendly kitchens around the old town.
Healthcare
Xiamen's Grade III-A hospitals (such as Zhongshan Hospital) are strong; campus clinics are the first stop.
Climate
Warm subtropical — mild winters (10–18°C), hot summers, typhoon season July–September.
Metro lines link the island to the mainland campuses; bike-share suits the flat bayside paths; mobile payments are universal and English relatively common in this tourist city.
Factual fields as of 2026-09-21 — editorial estimate, not official figures.
Universities in Xiamen (2)
1 English-taught program tracked in this city — see them.