About Xiamen
Xiamen, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang, and Xiang'an. All together, these cover an area of 1,700.61 square kilometers (656.61 sq mi) with a population of 5,163,970 as of 2020 and estimated at 5.365 million as of 31 December 2025. The urbanized area of the city has spread from its original island to include most parts of all six of its districts, as well as 4 Zhangzhou districts, which form a built-up area of 7,284,148 inhabitants. This area also connects with Quanzhou in the north, making up a metropolis of nearly ten million people. The Kinmen Islands (Quemoy) administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan) lie less than 6 kilometers (4 mi) away separated by Xiamen Bay. As part of the Opening Up Policy under Deng Xiaoping, Xiamen became one of China's original four special economic zones opened to foreign investment and trade in the early 1980s. Source: "Xiamen" by Wikipedia contributors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiamen), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Edit history on the linked Wikipedia page.
Overview
Xiamen, China is served by 1 airport tracked in this guide: Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN). Together they handle inbound and outbound flying for the metropolitan area, and each one links through to a full guide on this site with terminal, lounge, layover and ground-transport pages.
Choosing the right airport
Because Xiamen has a single primary airport, all scheduled commercial traffic funnels through one terminal complex. That keeps ground transport simple, but it also means peak banks can get crowded. Aim to arrive a little earlier than usual when local school holidays or major events are on the calendar, and check the airport's published live-wait page before you leave the house if your route is on a known busy bank.
Ground transport
Ground transport between central Xiamen and its airports normally includes licensed taxis with published rank fares, ride-hail apps with dedicated pickup points, public transport (bus, metro or rail) into the city centre, and rental car desks landside. For an early morning departure, a pre-booked airport transfer or an airport-hotel stay the night before is usually the most reliable option. Cash-only taxis still operate in parts of China, so carrying a small amount of local currency is a sensible backup even if you plan to pay by card.
Layover tips
If you are visiting Xiamen, it often makes sense to combine the airport visit with a short stay nearby. Look at hotel clusters within a 15-minute drive of arrivals if you have an overnight layover, and check luggage storage options at the airport if you want to head into the city centre between flights. Most major airports now have a left-luggage office airside or landside, although prices and hours vary widely.
When to fly through Xiamen
When you fly through Xiamen matters more than you might think. The morning bank between roughly 6am and 9am is the busiest at most airports, with a second peak in the late afternoon as long-haul flights time their arrivals into evening connection banks elsewhere. If your dates are flexible, a midday departure usually means shorter security lines and a calmer terminal. The shoulder seasons either side of the local holidays tend to be the cheapest and the least crowded.