Xiamen provides plenty of amusements for children and attractions that will appeal to the whole family. The city’s seaside location means that beaches and water sports feature prominently, and in the city itself there are museums and a folk village that will please children. The city’s parks offer the opportunity for cycling, kite flying and family picnics.

Sea Rhyme Recreation & Amusement Scenic Area
This island-based amusement and recreation park features most anything you and the kids might need for a day of fun in the sun and the water. In addition to shower, changing and barbeque facilities, the area has designated areas for beach soccer and volleyball and shops that sell beach and travel items. You can even hire an electric cart to tour around the scenic area and make travel arrangements for any other tours you have in mind. Phone: +86 592 256 6766

Strange World Museum
This museum of all things unusual is the Chinese version of ‘Ripley's Believe It or Not.’ Kids are fascinated by the exhibits of the emperor’s clothing and rare creatures such as albino reptiles and two-headed dogs. There are also colonial-era antiques on display, swords used in beheadings, a re-created opium den and lots more. Puppet shows are held on a traditional, ornate stage. Phone: +86 592 206 9933.

Taiwan Folk Cultural Village
Originally built to help in promoting cross-Straits understanding and to portray life in Taiwan, this folk village is a re-creation of a traditional, rural Taiwanese community. Features include a theatre where Taiwanese-themed plays are staged and an exhibition hall with displays of photographs of daily life in a traditional Taiwanese village. A manmade lake in the centre of the village is based on Taiwan’s well-known ‘Sun Moon Lake.’ It’s possible for parents to take their children on a boat ride around the lake, on a visit to the waterfalls or on a hike up Golden Mountain. You’ll find an animal show and an amusement park here as well.

Xiamen Happy Valley Water Park
Perfect for a hot summer afternoon, Xiamen Water Park features numerous wading pools and water slides that will keep kids occupied and cool for hours. There are also swimming pools onsite that will appeal to adults as well. The park is located in Huli, not far from Xiamen centre.Phone: +86 592 563 9975.

Xiamen Underwater World
This attraction was built in the late 1990s at a cost of more than US$10 million and is considered to be one of the finest aquariums in China. Over 350 species are represented, with 10,000 sea creatures in all. As you make your way through a plexi-glass tunnel, you’ll see sharks up close. The seal and dolphin shows are sure to please even the youngest children. This popular attraction is located near the Gulangyu ferry pier, just behind the enormous octopus statue. Phone: +86 592 206 7668.

Zhongshan Park 
Parks of this type have been built throughout China. The park in Xiamen was constructed in 1931 to honour Dr Sun Yat-sen. This is a huge expanse where exhibitions are held and locals come for relaxation and to enjoy all sorts of amusements. You’ll find lakes where paddleboats and rowboats are available for hire, a children’s amusement park and a zoo. The park is popular with local families and it tends to get crowded at weekends. If you’re looking for a pleasant outdoor environment where there’s plenty for the kids to enjoy, Zhongshan Park has it all.

In addition to its cultural and historically important sites, Xiamen also boasts 17 museums including the largest piano museum in Asia. Other cultural highlights include a bridge museum, the first anthropology museum opened in China, a Sino-European art museum, a postal museum and a military museum. Gulangyu Islet in its entirety stands as a world-class museum of international architecture, with its more than 100 century-old buildings.

Koxinga Museum, Xilin Villa
The elegant red-brick villa built at the base of Sunlight Rock was completed around 1932. In more recent years it was converted into a museum dedicated to the life and work of Chinese warrior and poet Koxinga. Over 300 historical relics are on display including carvings, models and photographs. Exhibits feature Koxinga's apparel, including fragments of his robes and shoes and his jade belts, silver coins minted in his honour and poems that Koxinga penned in his own hand.

Museum of International Architecture
The small island of Gulangyu is an open-air museum that showcases most every style of architecture found in the world. In the early years of the 20^th century, wealthy Chinese and foreigners built mansions here reflecting the leading building styles found in major world cities. These magnificent structures have been carefully preserved and are open for visitors today.

Overseas Chinese Museum
There are more than 2.5 million Chinese living in more than 50 countries around the world that have roots inthe province of Fujian, making it appropriate for this notable museum to be located in Xiamen. Opened half a century ago, the museum’s many exhibits cover topics such as the history of the overseas Chinese, Chinese antiques, natural history and hundreds of others areas of interest. Phone: +86 592 208 4028.

Rongguang Cultural Relics and Treasures Exhibition
This exhibition was constructed on the site of the Huli Fort barracks and was a joint venture between the local government and a Singaporean gem company. A local collector named Zhang Rongguang provided many of the cultural relics on display. His family has been collecting Chinese memorabilia for seven generations including cannon, guns and swords. Phone: +86 592 208 4184

Xiamen Gulangyu Piano Museum
Gulangyu has a long and rich musical heritage so it shouldn’t be surprising that the island is home to the largest piano museum in Asia. More than 70 pianos from countries around the world are on display here including examples from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, the UK and the US. Included are pianos that accompanied a street musician in France, graced an English palace and one that was prized by US President Abraham Lincoln. The collection fills the museum’s two halls, which are set on a 2,000 square metre tract amid tropical flowers, all overlooking the sea. Phone: +86 592 257 0331

Xiamen Music Square
This outdoor museum, dedicated to music, features dozens of sculptures by well-known composers from around the world. All statues bear inscriptions in both Chinese and English, but when you look at the faces you’ll notice that all the composers’ eyes appear Chinese. As you wander through the garden and take in the various sculptures, you can take on the ‘Music Square Challenge’ by trying to determine which statues bear the wrong birth and death dates. The Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and other musical groups play here during the summer.

Xiamen cuisine is known for being light and fresh, crispy and somewhat spicy. Seafood features prominently, and menus include local crab, fish and prawn along with other fresh catch from the sea. The island is also well-known for its many types of delicious snacks. A very popular tangy and spicy seafood snack called tu sun dong is seasoned with catsup, chilli, garlic, mustard and vinegar.

There’s a long line-up of bars and cafés stretching along the lakeshore, starting at the Marco Polo Hotel. Most feature balconies or patios with views of the water. There’s a selection of international eateries in this area including American and Italian cafés and a couple of popular coffee shops.

Xiamen has undergone recent modernisation and this has meant the addition of large shopping malls and supermarkets along with commercial and industrial parks. All this modernisation adds to the choices available to shoppers. The shopping core is the heart of the old city, along Zhongshan road. It’s here that you’ll find shops, unique boutiques and restaurants occupying renovated colonial-era buildings.

With a history of being one of the first cities in China to open up to foreigners, visiting shoppers will find a range of modern fashion choices available at some of the better shops here. Some of the larger stores on Zhongshan road feature goods by top international designers including Armani and Gucci among others. There’re a number of modern malls surrounding the city that are quite large and feature a wide range of retail shops. As Xiamen is also home to numerous clothing factories, shoppers have the added benefit of purchasing fashion labels at highly reduced prices at the factory outlets.

One of the most attractive features for adventurous shoppers is the selection of bazaars and small markets where those with sufficient patience will find unusual curios, handicrafts and souvenirs. A number of markets are found on Xiahe road, around Zhongshan road and on Longtou road on Gulangyu Island. The city’s night market is held on Dinghai road every evening. Crunchy peanut candy and Xiamen bead embroidery are two local specialties to look out for.

There’s a wide range of activities available to visitors on a visit to China, and the Xiamen area is no exception. The city’s location by the sea means that there’s plenty of beach and boating activity on offer. Biking is also possible, as are boating and rafting on inland waterways.

Beach Activities
Beach culture is on the rise in Xiamen, and the Zengcuoan area in particular has become popular with visiting tourists. Xiamen’s mild winters make spending time at the beach feasible throughout the year. The beaches are well-maintained and the water along the coast is relatively clean. The cleanest beaches are located along the Round Island Ring Road in Xengcuoan. Vendors are plentiful and some new restaurants have opened so you’ll never be without the availability of good food or drink.

Biking
Cycling has always been popular in China, and in many areas the bicycle remains the main means of transportation. There’s no problem in finding a place to hire a bike while you’re in Xiamen, whether it’s a standard one-speed or a mountain bike. Xiamen boasts special bicycle lanes built within designated pedestrian lanes, making this city particularly accessible by bicycle. Cycling tours are also on offer.

Boating and Rafting
The Changtai White Water Rafting Club, located just 28 miles (45kms) west of Xiamen, is the country’s national training centre for kayaking. This area is referred to as ‘Xiamen's backyard,’ and it features spectacular scenery, with mountains, rivers, streams, valleys and waterfalls. Rafting is possible here on a stretch of river that runs for five miles (eight kilometres), making for a three-hour trip. In addition to boating and rafting, other activities on offer include hiking, horseback riding and parasailing.

Hiking
A visit to Xiamen University, with its picturesque campus overlooking the sea, is a good starting point for a local hike. Behind the modern architecture of the university’s administration and classroom buildings you’ll find trails leading up the mountains that are the backdrop to the university. There are temples along the way, magnificent views of the sea and lovely botanical gardens on the other side of the mountains.

Kite Surfing
Of the numerous beaches in Xiamen, Haiyuntai beach is the most popular for kite surfing and windsurfing, which have become year-round activities. This is due to the wide expanses of beach and the very fine sand. You’ll find the beach situated between the Asia Gulf Hotel and the Xiamen International Exhibitions and Conference Centre.

Swimming
Swimming in the sea is possible throughout the year off the Xiamen coast, and the water is quite clean. In the winter, you may find the sea water a bit cold for your liking and heading to a swimming pool might be a good alternative. The pools at the Holiday Inn and the Marco Polo are open to visitors for a fee. A less expensive option that might be worth considering is buying a 30-visit pass to the Huli Sports Centre, located near Huli Park, just behind the theatre.