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What To Do During A Long

Layover in Xiamen
% CHINA (/COUNTRY_OVERVIEWS/INDEX.PHP?PK_COUNTRY=178) & DESTINATIONS (/POSTS.PHP?
PK_CATEGORY=2), GETTING TO AND FRO (/POSTS.PHP?PK_CATEGORY=20)

(/posts/photos/73/XiamenCityStreet.jpg)
Not far from the airport and transit hotel are local streets with tons of character!

If you have a long layover in Xiamen, chances are

that you !ew Xiamen airlines. The layover is even
easier to deal with, with the choice of FREE transit
lounge, city tour, or hotel room.
A big bene"t to !ying Xiamen air is that if you have a layover of 2-6 hours or
more, you get your choice of hanging out in the Transfer Passenger Lounge, a
free city tour, or a free hotel.

(/posts/photos/73/xiamen_free_layover_options.jpg)
What to do during your long layover with Xiamen Airlines? You have free options!
Photo Credit: Xiamen Airlines

No matter which you choose, you go to the Transfer Service desk just next to the
domestic baggage carousels on the "rst !oor (turn right outside the international
baggage). It is very easy to "nd. There are three lines, each marked (in Chinese
and English) for Hotel, Passenger Lounge, and City Tour. When I went, only one
gal spoke a few words of English but you don't really need it. Just give them your
boarding pass and passport and they will hand you a voucher and point you in
the right direction.
 $

(/posts/photos/73/Xiamen_Transit_Desk.jpg)
Go to the Transfer Service desk on the 1st !oor to get your choice of hotel, lounge, or city tour. It's
really easy to "nd.

Lounge
They will point you downstairs just in front of the Transfer Service desk. You just
have to keep looking for the signs and you will "nd your way to it.

On my "rst trip through Xiamen, I decided to hang out at the lounge. I "gured a
glass of wine and some snacks might be nicer than a few hours sleep in a hotel
and I was a bit too tired to enjoy a city tour. Mistake. It's not much more than a
comfy seat and WiFi (Chinese WiFi mind you so no Facebook or Google).

There are a few lounger beds in the back (which stay pretty full) and a row of
massage chairs. The gold plates on the !oor slide open to reveal electrical
outlets, and there are others scattered throughout. There's Nescafe, a few cans
of soda, some soda crackers, and pickled tofu packets. So much for the wine
and snack I was hoping for!

' They certainly don't advertise it but there's a locked door labeled Bath
Room in the very back at the end of the hall. Use Google Translate to ask if
there is a place to bathe and they will unlock it for you. They didn't give me a
 towel (thankfully I had a sarong in my bag) but there was a little basket with
shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash, a razor, and even a hair tie. The
room smelled a bit like a sewer but it was clean and had nice hot water.
Ahhh, how nice to be clean. :)

$ $ $

(/posts/photos/73/Xiamen_Passenger_Lounge.jpg)
(/posts/photos/73/Xiamen_Passeng
(/posts/photos/73/xiamen_transit_lounge_food.jpg)
There are comfy seats, and If you're lucky to score a bed,
This is it. This is the lounge electrical outlets which is the lounge is probably worth it.
food and drink. Kind of better than you'll "nd in the
depressing, huh? terminal until you are able to
check in.

City Tour

It's a hop on hop o# kind of a thing. I haven't done this one yet. I overheard the
woman at the Transfer Service desk tell someone they can do it in 2 hours, but I
also heard second-hand from a traveler that used up 8 hours of their layover on
the city tour. So if you don't feel the need for a shower and a nap, this could be a
fun option.

$
(/posts/photos/73/xiamen_free_city_tour.jpg)
Hop on hop o# free city tour of Xiamen.
Photo Credit: Xiamen Airlines

Hotel
I think it depends on the hotel they are using that day, but expect to have to
share your room. So that means if you are traveling solo, you share with a
random stranger. Yeah, that can be kind of weird. If you befriended someone
during your !ight, you can ask to share with them.

You have to take your own taxi to and from the hotel which costs approximately
15 Chinese yuan ($2.20 US) each way and you must pay in the local currency.
There is a money changer just down the hall, ATMs upstairs (you probably only
need about $10 US unless you plan to shop), and the taxis are right outside the
door next to the Transfer Service desk. Show the taxi driver your voucher for the
hotel address as they will not speak one word of English and they will also try to
short change you. The hotels are close to the airport so although you might
want to allow time for tra$c returning to the airport, I had no tra$c at all at 7pm.

The hotels are nice. The one I stayed in was the Hezheng Hotel on Fanghu North
2nd Road. The halls reeked of cigarette smoke but the room was nice with a
kettle, waters, toothbrushes & toothpaste, and WiFi.

It was wonderful to have a shower, get some sleep and have a wander around
town. Even though it's an industrial city, there are some amazing little Chinese
local streets to roam around, have some ramen, see daily life, get lost, and have
a boba tea.

See My First Foray into China - Getting to the Transit Hotel (/posts/index.php?
pk_post=121).

$ $ $

(/posts/photos/73/SmoggyChina.jpg)
(/posts/photos/73/ChineseHerbShop.jpg)
(/posts/photos/73/ChinaCheapPast
Typical smoggy skies. The free Chinese herbal medicine shop The bao type yummies were
hotel is in the building on the complete with acupuncture only about $.35 each (2 CNY)
left. and jars of who knows what.

Go Exploring On Your Own

If those options don't suit you, you can just jump in a taxi or hit the pavement and
go exploring! Once you exit the plane and are out by baggage, you are out of the
secure area so you don't need to stay in the airport. Get some local currency and
either know the name of where you want to go, or "nd someone in the airport
who speaks English and have them write it down for you.

' Be armed with Google Translate if you venture outside the airport. You
will not even "nd basic English spoken and you'll need to to get back to the
airport.
The area I found that I liked is actually a very easy walk from the airport (see map
above) so if your layover isn't long enough to warrant the hotel, you can still get
out and see some of the city.

See An Afternoon in China (/posts/index.php?pk_post=133).

Hang Out at the Airport

You could just hang out at the airport, but you are not allowed to check in to
your !ight until about 3 hours before departure, leaving your food options at a
minimum. In the pre-check-in part of the terminal there is a KFC and one cafe at
the opposite end. You do only need a passport to get into the International
check-in area where there are a few more food options, but nothing spectacular.
It's mostly just duty free shops.

$ $

(/posts/photos/73/xiamen_international_gate_food.jpg)
(/posts/photos/73/xiamen_international_gate_se
Xiamen isn't the best airport for just hanging Soft comfy seats with no armrest at the mostly
out. It's not bad once you can check in (3 hours empty gates!
before your !ight), so it's best to use one of the
free options from the airline until then.

Once you are past security into the gate area things look a little less bleak. There
are even more options including a Burger King and a cafe that sells cans of
warm beer. There are fresh OJ vending machines (yes, full of real oranges and
they smell wonderful when you walk by) and free water re"ll stations! They
dispense hot and cold water so if you have something like cup-o-noodles (which
you can buy at some of the souvenir shops), you have yourself a hot meal. And if
you have enough of those warm beers, you might just be tempted to use one of
the karaoke pods!
 $ $ $

(/posts/photos/73/karaoke_pod.jpg
Yep, that's a karaoke pod.
(/posts/photos/73/fresh_oj_vending_machine.jpg)
(/posts/photos/73/water_re"ll_station.jpg)
Fresh OJ in a vending maching Free hot and cold water is a
- who woulda thunk. big win.

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