The island on which Xiamen stands is located inside a large inlet on the southeastern coast of Fujian. The built-up area occupies the western part of the island, which faces the mainland, while the eastern part faces onto the Nationalist island of Jinmen. The areas of most interest are the old town in the far southwest, and Gulangyu Island just offshore. The remainder of the city is the Special Economic Zone, which stretches away to the east and the north, and to the causeway back to the mainland. There's little to detain you here, though the small town of Jimei , on the mainland just beyond the causeway, has the attraction of its School Village . The main north-south road, passing through the centre of the old town, is Siming Lu, which is crossed from east to west by Zhongshan Lu, the main shopping street. Zhongshan Lu emerges on the seafront by the Lujiang Hotel.

Xiamen's train station is on Xiahe Lu , about 4km east from the seafront and connected by city buses #1, #3, and #4. There are several long-distance bus stations ; you'll most likely end up either 2km northeast of the centre on Hubin Lu (city bus #23 to the seafront), or about 200m north of the train station (bus#27). The most central arrival point, the passenger ferry terminal , is fifteen minutes' walk south along the seafront from the Lujiang Hotel, and served by boats from Hong Kong. Twelve kilometres to the north of town, the airport is connected to the waterfront area by bus #27.