Driven by its commitment to high-level opening-up, Xiamen, Fujian province, has made significant strides in the integrated development of commerce, trade, culture and tourism during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

"Currently, China's culture and tourism market is experiencing robust recovery and vigorous development, making it an opportune time with great potential to foster the high-quality development of the tourism sector.

"We will adhere to the deep integration of culture and tourism, drive the upgrading of the city's tourism business model from sightseeing to experiencing, and build Xiamen into a world-class tourism and leisure city," Cui Yonghui, Party secretary of the city, said at the Xiamen Tourism Development Conference in early November.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan, both the scale and quality of Xiamen's culture and tourism industries have greatly improved.

In 2024, Xiamen received 128 million tourist visits, generating revenue of 191.1 billion yuan ($27.02 billion), an increase of 15.4 percent compared to 2019.

There are 784 cultural enterprises above the designated size - those with an annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan-in the city that have recorded total revenue of about 260 billion yuan over the past five years.

The city now has 21 scenic areas rated A-level and above, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site Gulangyu Island, the Xiamen Botanical Garden, and the theme park Xiamen Fantawild Dreamland.

Popular destination

Due to its stunning urban landscape and natural beauty, Xiamen has long been a popular spot for filmmaking, attracting lots of fans and film enthusiasts.

City authorities have launched more than 10 tour routes connecting the city's famous tourist attractions and spots appearing in hit TV series and movies.

The city has hosted the China Film Golden Rooster Awards ceremony every year since 2019, one of the country's three major film awards, injecting impetus into its culture, film and music industries.

During this year's event in mid-November, 177 cultural, film and television programs were signed to be launched in Xiamen, demonstrating vitality in the sector.

Xiamen has seen robust growth in inbound tourism in recent years. In 2024, the number of overnight inbound tourists stood at approximately 2.31 million, nearly triple the figure from 2023.

During this year's Mid-Autumn Festival in September, Xiamen ranked among the top five popular destinations for overseas tourists visiting China, according to data from the country's leading online travel agency Ctrip.

Industry analysts said that Xiamen has won favor among foreign tourists with its diverse products and high-quality experiences. Tourists can not only explore the city's coastal scenery and cuisine, but participate in different traditional cultural activities.

"Focusing on quality and experience, we have made efforts to optimize inbound tourism services, releasing a batch of favorable measures in entry procedures, payment systems and sightseeing," said Su Ke, deputy director of the Xiamen culture and tourism bureau.

Bustling trade

"Amid uncertainties in the external environment, we have consolidated and enhanced the international circulation and boosted the driving force of domestic circulation, advancing their connectivity in Xiamen," said Lin Zhicheng, vice-mayor of the city.

Official data showed that the city's imports and exports of goods surged from 691.58 billion yuan in 2020 to 932.61 billion yuan in 2024, marking an average annual growth rate of 7.8 percent.

"We have been expanding our 'friend circle', and now we have trade partners in 239 countries and regions as well as more than 6,000 kinds of foreign trade commodities," Lin said.

The China International Fair for Investment and Trade, held annually on Sept 8-11 in Xiamen, is becoming a global public service platform for two-way investment.

During the past five years, the event has attracted entrepreneurs from 172 countries and regions. Nearly 3,500 projects were clinched at the fair, with a total investment of 2.35 trillion yuan, up 1.35 times in comparison with the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

Lin emphasized that foreign trade has become a powerful engine for Xiamen's high-quality economic growth, while domestic trade serves as the stabilizer.

The city is ramping up efforts to promote consumption upgrading and cultivate new consumption drivers to develop into a regional international consumption center.

Xiamen has established an urban commercial zoning system, comprising three city-level business zones, 12 district-level business zones and numerous characteristic commercial functional zones. Zhongshan Street has been recognized as a national demonstration pedestrian street.

Between 2020-24, the city's total retail sales of consumer goods climbed from 245.78 billion yuan to 332.98 billion yuan, representing an average annual growth rate of 7.9 percent.

Transport infrastructure

The high-quality development of Xiamen's trade and tourism industries is underpinned by a modern transport network that integrates sea, land, air, rail and postal services.

During the past five years, Xiamen Port has built 16 new berths, including six 10,000-metric-ton-class berths, and nearly 60 kilometers of 10,000-ton-class shipping lanes.

The port now operates 187 container shipping routes, connecting 150 ports across 54 countries.

Li Zongze, director of the Xiamen transportation bureau, said they have focused on the construction of cross-regional highways to enhance Xiamen's influence and capacity as a transport hub and create the "Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou one-hour commute circle".

In the rail sector, Xiamen has built a rail hub in the southeastern coastal region. Departing from Xiamen, travelers can reach major cities in the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by rail in just five hours.

The Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway, which began operations in September 2023, is China's first cross-sea high-speed rail line with a design speed of 350 km per hour.

Xiamen has two international airports, including one under construction. Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport offers flights to 134 destinations in 129 cities around the world. Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, which is expected to open in 2026, is set to handle 45 million passengers and 750,000 tons of cargo and mail annually, stepping up the capacity and connectivity of Xiamen's international aviation.

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SOURCE China Daily