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 the university manages visitor numbers to protect daily campus life. Domestic visitors book a slot through the official "参观厦大" WeChat reservation channel, which now runs on a lottery rather than first-come, first-served: booking windows open up to three days ahead, and results post daily. Passport holders currently sit outside that lottery. Instead of booking online, head to the visitor centre at the New South Gate with your original passport for identity verification there (foreign-visitor procedures have shifted more than once, so confirm the current process on the official channel before you go; current as of 2026-07). Tourist visiting windows are split into a few short blocks on weekdays, typically late morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon, and stretch across most of the day on weekends and public holidays, when the university also raises its daily visitor cap several times over.
Students on the running track below the historic red-brick halls of Xiamen University
Tips
Aim for a weekday if you can work around the shorter visiting blocks; weekend and holiday quotas fill fast even with the wider windows. 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
Passport holders don't use the online lottery: go straight to the visitor centre at the New South Gate for identity verification with your original passport. Confirm the current process on the official “参观厦大” channel before you go, since the foreign-visitor route has changed more than once.
Reservations now run on a lottery
Domestic booking opens up to three days ahead and is drawn by lottery, not first-come-first-served; weekday visiting windows are split into a few short blocks, so plan around them rather than showing up at random.
It's a working campus
Keep noise down near classrooms and libraries, and allow an hour or two to walk the grounds.
