"Zhongshan Road, half of Xiamen's history"-when this slogan is paired with AR lighting and the traditional flavors of southern Fujian, Xiamen tourism is once again trending. From August 22nd to 23rd, the Fujian Daily "Vibrant China Research Tour" reporter team visited the "Island Meets Southern Fujian: A Time-Like Fantasy" site, encountering 10,000 tourists simultaneously "traveling" through the Song and Yuan Dynasty Maritime Silk Road. The Weibo hashtag #XiamenTourismTooCursive# garnered over 300 million views in 24 hours.
Xiamen tourism has never lacked traffic; what's lacking is the creativity to turn traffic into retention. The "Island Meets Southern Fujian" project, which opened in May this year, transformed the former international cruise center terminal into a 200,000-square-meter folding space-time theater. Visitors first explore the "Ancient Mountains and Seas" before entering the "Southern Fujian Fantasy Land," where, guided by a real-life NPC, they experience how customs clearance documents were issued by the Supervisor of the Maritime Customs in the Song Dynasty. Huang Tao, Deputy General Manager of the project, revealed that the 80-day trial operation has already received over 200,000 visitors, with a return visit rate of 18%, significantly higher than traditional scenic spots.
Zhongshan Road has also been upgraded to an "inbound tourism-friendly street." All businesses along the street have installed Alipay NFC terminals, allowing international tourists to receive instant refunds on departure taxes. Multilingual road signs, Minnan dialect audio guides, and hand-painted maps showcasing overseas Chinese letters have made the seemingly incomprehensible accessible. A German backpacker left a note in German on the street: "Xiamen tourism has turned history into drinkable Dongding Oolong."
Gulangyu Island, across the sea from Zhongshan Road, unveiled its "Global Marriage Registration Center" on August 16th. Couples can obtain marriage certificates on the island without household registration, and the traditional Minnan wedding ceremony is also available. On the day the center opened, searches for "Gulangyu marriage registration + honeymoon travel guides" on Weibo and Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) surged 460%, directly driving weekend hotel bookings in Xiamen to over 92%.
Official data shows that Xiamen's inbound tourist arrivals increased by 73% year-on-year in July 2025, and visitor satisfaction has remained in the top ten nationwide for 60 consecutive quarters. The Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism stated that the "Immerse+" initiative will be replicated in Tongan's alpine villages and Jimei Academy Village, elevating Xiamen tourism from a "visit" experience to a "living experience."
As night falls, the arcades on Zhongshan Road light up with Minnan red brick lanterns, and the sound of Gulangyu pianos blends with the crashing of waves. Visitors discover that the charm of Xiamen tourism lies in transforming history into song and the city into a dream.