Luxury hotels, cultural highlights & food adventures: How Xiamen is winning over visitors

I’m perched 29 storeys above Xiamen, a bustling port city in Fujian, China. Above the bed in my hotel room hangs an artwork made of egret feathers arranged in a circle. Egrets are the city’s official birds. These beautiful migratory avians have come to symbolise the Fujian diaspora, who are scattered all over the world in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In a way, the artwork represents a certain longing of the people of Xiamen to be reunited with their overseas kin. From the mid-19th century to the beginning of WWII, thousands of Fujian residents left Xiamen in search of a better life abroad. The descendants of those migrants routinely make the journey back to visit ancestral villages and long-lost relatives.

But now, Fujian is about to gain recognition beyond just overseas returnees (and curious domestic travellers): The Michelin Guide is set to debut a Fujian edition come December 2024. Among the cities to be covered in the guide are Xiamen, Quanzhou and the provincial capital, Fuzhou.

While Fujian cuisine is regarded as one of China’s eight major culinary styles, it is little known outside of the country and areas with significant population. There are high hopes that the guide will put Fujian cuisine on the global map. Down the road, there might even be a chance for it to step out of the shadow of its more famous brethren, Cantonese cuisine.

THE CHANGING FACE OF XIAMEN

I’m putting up at the swanky Waldorf Astoria Xiamen, which opened in December 2020. Xiamen doesn’t exactly have the cachet of a luxury destination: Among Singaporeans, Xiamen is known to be a foodie haunt where dishes like oyster omelette and peanut soup originated; otherwise it’s the gateway to ancestral villages. But properties like the Waldorf are changing that perception.

The first wave of international hotel brands, such as Crowne Plaza, Sheraton and Sofitel, swooped in in 2005 and edged the city closer to premium status. Twenty years on, Xiamen feels like it’s on the brink of achieving its goal. Marriott brands The Ritz-Carlton and the St. Regis will open soon, alongside Accor’s Fairmont.

For luxury travellers looking to bed down in Xiamen, the Waldorf is as good a bet as any. Located just a 20-minute drive from the airport (and 15 minutes to anywhere of interest on Xiamen Island), the 245-room property is a haven for sophisticates and gourmands. It’s a firm favourite of visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as American and Australian travellers, said its general manager, Filipe Ramos.

No less than three interior design firms worked to imbue the spaces with an international finesse: Hong Kong’s AB Concept, Canada’s D’lab Studio, and Japan’s STRICKLAND. An abundance of art adorns public and private spaces, thanks to the property owner’s love of art. Some works are signed by prominent artists like Anish Kapoor; others, by unnamed Chinese artisans, whose efforts represent the finest local artistic traditions, like gold leaf relief sculpture.

The rooms and suites feature floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views of the city skyline, the South China Sea, and mountains in the distance. Touches of luxury abound, from the Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries to the Simmons beds with 400-thread count sheets. My appointed digs, the King Premier Room, is a spacious 69 sq m. It comes with a walk-in wardrobe, lounge area, and marble-clad bathroom with a freestanding bathtub and double vanities.

Ramos explains that the hotel is popular with Singaporean and Indonesian families who visit Xiamen to reconnect with their cultural heritage.

A FONDNESS FOR FUJIAN

There’s no doubt that interest in Xiamen and Fujian is increasing, especially since the mutual 30-day visa-free arrangement between Singapore and China came into effect in Feb 2024. In June 2024, Xiamen Airlines launched a new direct flight connecting Singapore and Quanzhou, becoming the first and only operator to ply this route. The airline operates twice-daily flights from Singapore to Xiamen, bolstering Singapore Airlines’ daily service.

For travel agencies like Chan Brothers Travel, bookings to Fujian, such as 8-day and 14-day packages, have doubled this year compared to 2019, said Jeremiah Wong, the company’s assistant director of marketing communications. “Fujian offers a blend of coastal charm, cultural heritage and eco-friendly attractions, catering to diverse traveller interests,” he explained.

Wong added: “It is worth noting that Fujian is a province where many Singaporean Chinese have deep cultural roots and many of them maintain close ties with relatives in their ancestral hometowns. Returning to Fujian for family visits not only provides an opportunity for reunion but also offers a chance to reconnect with one’s heritage.”

To cope with the expected influx of visitors, a new airport is being built in Xiang’An district, to the east of Xiamen Island. Local tour guide Cathy Kou shares that discussions are underway to name the airport after Tan Kah Kee, the prominent businessman and philanthropist who established Xiamen University in the city and Nanyang Chinese High School in Singapore, among others.

STRIKING THE RIGHT CHORD

Kou leads tours to popular tourist hotspots such as Gulangyu, or Piano Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just a short ferry ride from Xiamen Island. Those who prefer to arrive in style can also charter a private yacht via the Waldorf’s concierge.

Piano Island is so-named because of its historical connection to the musical instrument. In the 19th century, the island was home to Western merchants, diplomats and missionaries. Music schools were established, and Fujian locals soon developed a taste for tinkling the ivories.

Today, that heritage is very much alive and well on the island. Strolling around the hilly streets shaded by banyan trees, you’ll hear elegant piano melodies wafting in the air. The islanders’ musical flair isn’t confined to pianos either; on street corners you’ll find budding musicians perfecting their techniques on the guqin (ancient zither).

The Western transplants built grand mansions and graceful plazas, giving the island a vibe similar to Macau’s Historic Centre or Shanghai’s French Concession. Today many of them belong to overseas Chinese tycoons, such as Indonesian sugar barons or timber merchants from Myanmar. Some have been transformed into retail or F&B destinations.

These stately homes, with their mix of southern Chinese and European architectural styles, sit cheek-by-jowl with magnificent Qing-era courtyard residences. Kou introduces a teahouse located in one such property; sipping piping hot oolong while snacking on bean paste cakes transports you back to a more genteel era. All in all, the island makes for a very Instagrammable day trip.

A TASTE OF HOME – BUT NOT QUITE

While there is no shortage of highly rated restaurants in the city, wining and dining in any one of the Waldorf’s six F&B venues is a worthy venture. Highly recommended is the hotel’s own Fujian restaurant Hokklo, which has private rooms as well as an opulent Chef’s Table option where menus are customised to your preferences.

One evening, I had dishes like the Hokklo Signature Braised Duck with Ginger and Stir Fried Slipper Lobster with Sacha Sauce. But it’s familiar favourites like the Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs, Quanzhou Style Deep Fried Five Spice Roll – essentially, Ngoh Hiang – and Oyster Omelette – Orh Luak – that gets my mouth watering. Comfort food in exquisite settings? It doesn’t get better than this, surely.

Incidentally, Sacha Sauce is inspired by laksa gravy, the influence of Fujian migrants returning from Nanyang, or Southeast Asia. Chef Du explained: “Sacha came from Nanyang. It’s rich with coconut milk, dried shrimp, shrimp paste and peanut sauce. Many immigrants came to Fujian, including Malays, [the Fujian diaspora] and Filipinos, and they brought a lot of raw ingredients with them. The locals initially developed Sacha as a street food, selling them from small roadside stalls. Over time, the dish became more popular.”

Not surprisingly, Du is thrilled about the Michelin Guide’s pending presence. “The Michelin Guide is coming on Dec 3. I’m very excited. It’s going to elevate and bring awareness about Fujian cuisine. It’s going to give pride and honour to local chefs. It’s going to show diners the best places to enjoy Fujian cuisine. It’s going to showcase the best attributes of Fujian cuisine to the whole world,” he said.

Du added that when he was in culinary school more than a decade ago, local chefs had to master Cantonese cuisine. In hotels, the head chef of the Chinese restaurant was always Cantonese; Fujianese chefs were relegated to the sidelines, cooking fried bee hoon, fried mee sua, fried rice and so on – food to fill bellies rather than showcased as art.

But in the last few years, thanks to the Internet and social media, young Fujianese chefs have been discovering new and different ways to approach their cuisine, in the process reasserting their identity as Fujianese. And this generation of chefs, said Du, is bolder and more open-minded. They’re more experimental, too. For example, they’re using western techniques like sous vide to cook beef, and combining it with Sacha Sauce.

All this has helped give Fujian food a shiny new veneer. The cuisine is also becoming more popular in China as locals seek out different regional styles to savour – no doubt influenced by what they see on Xiaohongshu and other social media platforms.

With its promise of gastronomic adventures, cultural escapades and historic highlights, Xiamen is clearly on the up. Our tip? Pay it a visit – if you haven’t done so before – before the rest of the world discovers the charm of this coastal gem and flocks there in droves.

Aaron De Silva was a guest of the Waldorf Astoria Xiamen