Discover Xiamen
Huandao Road (Ring Island Road)
环岛路
A seafront boulevard with a dedicated cycle and running track hugging the south-east shore, facing Kinmen across the water. The best way to see Xiamen island in half a day.
The story
What makes this place special
Huandao Road is the coastal road built around the southern and eastern shore of Xiamen island, running from the Baicheng beach beside Xiamen University eastwards past Hulishan, Zengcuo'an and the convention centre towards the Guanyinshan district. Published lengths vary considerably — around 31 kilometres for the road proper, and figures over 40 kilometres for the full extended route — and locals also call it the five-colour road. It carries the Xiamen Marathon, which is why the seafront stretch is laid out as a continuous running and cycling corridor with distance markings.
What you’ll discover
A road, a dedicated cycle and running path, and a continuous seafront walk, with the Taiwan Strait on one side and the city on the other. Along it are Baicheng beach, Hulishan Fortress, Yefengzhai with its palms and sunset viewpoint, Zengcuo'an, the sand sculpture park and the international convention centre, and views out to Kinmen. The stretch between Baicheng and Zengcuo'an is the one worth walking; the eastern stretches are better by bicycle.
A little local insight
Good to know before you go
- Rent a bicycle. The road is far too long to walk and the dedicated path along the seafront makes it one of the best urban cycle rides in China — the usual mistake is taxiing between two points on it.
- The sunset is from the southern and western stretches, towards Gulangyu and the strait; the eastern stretches face the sunrise. Pick the end of the road that matches your hour.
- Mind the tide and the typhoon season. Sections of the lower path and the rocks flood, and from July to September the whole seafront can be closed with little notice.
- Distance markers along the marathon course are painted on the path, which makes it easy to plan a measured out-and-back run without a map.
- Yefengzhai is the standard sunset stop and gets busy; the rocks a few hundred metres either side of it are empty and identical.
When to come
October to December: dry, clear and warm, with the best light. Early morning or the hour before sunset; midday in summer on an unshaded seafront is unpleasant and the path is hot.
Getting around
Excellent along the seafront. The promenade and the shared path are flat, wide, smooth and continuous for many kilometres, with ramps at the access points and level crossings — one of the best long accessible waterfront routes in China, and usable by a wheelchair user unaccompanied. Beach access and the rocks are not step-free, and the inland sections away from the shore are ordinary urban road.
Worth knowing before you go
Rent a bike at Hulishan and ride east - the 'One Country Two Systems' slogan boards facing Kinmen are about 5 km along.
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