Xiamen
Xiamen University
Xiamen University is regularly voted the most beautiful campus in China, and a stroll through it has become a genuine tourist attraction in its own right. It was founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee (Chen Jiageng), an overseas-Chinese industrialist from Fujian who poured his fortune into education. His legacy is everywhere in the distinctive "Tan Kah Kee style" architecture: solid Western-style stone bodies topped with sweeping Chinese tile roofs, set among palm trees, a lake, and the sea.
Jiannan Hall, the landmark Tan Kah Kee-style auditorium at Xiamen University
What to see
The showpiece is Jiannan Hall, the grand auditorium framing the Shangxian Stadium, an amphitheatre-style sports field built into the hillside where students jog beneath the old red-brick buildings. The Furong Tunnel, a pedestrian tunnel covered end to end in student graffiti, is a quirky favourite. Quiet Furong Lake mirrors the campus buildings, and the seaside edge of the university opens onto Baicheng Beach. Because the grounds back onto Nanputuo Temple and Wulao Peak, the whole southwest corner makes one easy walking circuit.
The Shangxian Stadium and Tan Kah Kee buildings at Xiamen University
How to visit
Entry is free but managed to protect daily campus life. Chinese visitors reserve a slot through the university's official WeChat mini-program (daily quotas are larger on weekends and holidays). Foreign visitors who cannot use the Chinese booking system can usually present a passport at the South Gate visitor centre and be let in — bring your physical passport. Visiting hours are limited on weekdays (the campus opens to tourists mainly in the afternoon, after classes) and run longer on weekends and public holidays.
Students on the running track below the historic red-brick halls of Xiamen University
Tips
Go on a weekday afternoon if you can — weekends fill the quota fast. The campus is large and green, so allow an hour or two to wander. Combine it with neighbouring Nanputuo Temple and Hulishan Fortress for a half-day in the southwest of the island, and remember it is a working university: keep noise down near classrooms and libraries.
Highlights
- Often called China's most beautiful university campus
- Distinctive Tan Kah Kee architecture: Western bodies, Chinese roofs
- Jiannan Hall and the hillside Shangxian Stadium
- The graffiti-covered Furong Tunnel and tranquil Furong Lake
- Free entry, right beside Nanputuo Temple and Baicheng Beach
Travel Tips
Foreigners: bring your passport
If you can't use the Chinese WeChat reservation, present your physical passport at the South Gate visitor centre to enter.
Weekday afternoons are easiest
Tourist entry is limited on weekday afternoons after classes; weekend quotas fill fast, so book ahead or arrive early.
It's a working campus
Keep noise down near classrooms and libraries, and allow an hour or two to walk the grounds.
