Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) — Airport Guide 2026

✈️ Gaoqi Today — and the Xiang’an Switch

Gaoqi (IATA XMN, ICAO ZSAM) handles Fujian’s air traffic across two main terminals: Terminal 3 covers international and domestic departures, Terminal 4 is domestic only. Xiamen Airlines — full-service, part of the China Southern group, headquartered on the premises — is the dominant carrier, alongside other Chinese airlines and a selection of regional international routes.

The replacement is the news for anyone flying late 2026 or beyond. The new Xiamen Xiang’an International Airport, on reclaimed land roughly 25 km from the city centre, completed basic construction at the end of 2025. Its first phase is sized for 45 million passengers a year and, unlike Gaoqi, will have direct metro service via Xiamen Metro Lines 3 and 4. Once Xiang’an opens, Gaoqi closes and the XMN code moves across.

🛂 Border & Visa — Two Doors

China’s visa rules have shifted quickly, and Xiamen is a designated port for both main visa-free schemes. Which door you use has practical consequences beyond the immigration desk.

Door 1 — 30-Day Visa-Free

Citizens of most EU member states (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and others), plus Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea, now qualify for 30-day unilateral visa-free entry — covering tourism, business and visits, with no onward-ticket requirement and no restriction on domestic travel within China. The list has been expanding through 2025–2026; verify your nationality against the current scheme before flying.

Door 2 — 240-Hour Transit Visa-Free

For nationalities not on the 30-day list — notably US passport holders — Gaoqi is a designated 240-hour transit visa-free port, open to citizens of around 54 countries including the US, UK and Russia. The conditions: you must be in transit to a third country or region (not the country you departed from), and your onward ticket must leave China within 240 hours. Under this scheme you can travel freely across Fujian and many other provinces. Processing is at the immigration desk on arrival — no online application required.

🚌 Getting Into the City

Gaoqi is close. The centre is 20–30 minutes in normal traffic, and the transfer options are cheap.

Taxi. Metered fare to the city centre runs around ¥30. Use the official rank at the terminal or book via Didi — China’s ride-hail app, which can be linked to a foreign Visa or Mastercard through Alipay.

BRT and city bus. Xiamen’s elevated Bus Rapid Transit runs early until late at ¥5 or less per trip. Ordinary city buses are ¥1–4. Both accept Alipay/WeChat QR or tap-to-pay with a transit card.

Metro. Gaoqi has no metro station of its own. To reach the Xiamen Metro you need a bus, BRT or shuttle to a connecting station. The replacement Xiang’an Airport will have direct Lines 3 and 4.

💳 Paying in China — Sort This Before You Land

China is effectively cashless, and Gaoqi is not an exception. In practice, you need Alipay or WeChat Pay to use taxis, the BRT, street food vendors, the Gulangyu ferry and most restaurants.

Both apps now allow foreign Visa and Mastercard linkage after a passport verification step that takes around ten minutes inside the app. Payments under ¥200 are fee-free as of 2026. Do this before you land.

Cash is still legal tender and ATMs at the airport dispense yuan at a reasonable rate. The airport exchange counters offer a poor rate — skip them. The harder problem is that many vendors don’t want cash and will be short on change; mobile payment is not optional if you want the trip to run smoothly.

🛋️ Lounges — Priority Pass in T3 and T4

Gaoqi has seven lounges across its terminals. Several accept Priority Pass.

Terminal 3 has two Priority Pass options: First Class Lounge No. 7 (airside, after security, near Gate 17) and the Premier Lounge in domestic departures (near Gate 6). Terminal 4 has a First/Business Class Lounge in domestic departures. Amenities across these lounges run to snacks, drinks, Wi-Fi and TVs; some include showers, which matters on a 240-hour transit stopover if you need to reset mid-journey.

Standard caveats: confirm your lounge is in the terminal you’re departing from, and carry a same-day boarding pass. Both T3 and T4 have cafés and free Wi-Fi for non-lounge passengers.

🦪 Xiamen Food — Oyster Omelettes, Satay Noodles and the Local Dare

The airport food courts are adequate and nothing more. Xiamen is worth eating properly — it’s one of China’s stronger cities for xiaochi (snack culture), and Minnan cooking from southern Fujian is genuinely distinct: seafood-led, lighter than most mainland styles, shaped by generations of Fujianese emigration to South-East Asia.

The dishes to know:

• Oyster omelette (o-a-tsian) — oysters bound in sweet-potato starch and egg, fried until the edges crisp. A Minnan staple available throughout the city.
• Satay noodles (shacha mian) — wheat noodles in a peanut-and-spice satay broth. The broth is a Xiamen original, not an import from Malaysia or Singapore; they share a name and not much else.
• Popiah (bobing) — fresh, un-fried spring rolls assembled at the table.
• Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (fotiaoqiang) — Fujian’s slow-simmered seafood-and-meat soup, the splurge option if one is warranted.

The local dare is tusun dong — a translucent jelly set from a coastal sea-worm, a Xiamen delicacy with a clean split reaction from visitors. It’s worth trying once, but find it on Zhongshan Road or Gulangyu where the preparation is fresher than at the airport. Braised pork and peanut soups are the everyday staples if you want something less confrontational.

💡 Layover Guide — Gulangyu, Nanputuo and the 240-Hour Window

Xiamen rewards a long layover better than most Chinese coastal cities because its signature sight is a short ferry hop from the centre, and the 240-hour transit scheme means leaving the airport is straightforward — processed at the immigration desk on arrival, no application required.

Gulangyu Island

A small, car-free island reached by ferry from Xiamen’s downtown terminal in under 15 minutes. Gulangyu was a foreign settlement from the 1840s and is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2017). The interior is a grid of colonial-era villas, gardens and piano museums from its 19th-century Westernised period. Two to three hours is adequate to wander the lanes.

Nanputuo Temple and Xiamen University

If the layover rules out Gulangyu, Nanputuo Temple at the foot of Wulao Peak is free to enter and a workable stop from the mainland. Xiamen University, considered one of China’s better-looking campuses, is immediately adjacent; entry may require ID registration or advance booking. Neither is a substitute for Gulangyu, but both are realistic on a shorter window.

Zhongshan Road

The pedestrian shopping street of arcaded qilou buildings running toward the waterfront. Good for xiaochi vendors and a short walk; useful as the mainland fallback when Gulangyu isn’t viable.

The trap to name: don’t go cash-only in a near-cashless city. Set up mobile payment before you arrive, use the BRT or Didi, and skip the airport exchange counters on the way out.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

📊 At a Glance — XMN 2026