Tong'an, Xiamen: neighborhood guide

Tong'an (同安) is the largest of Xiamen's mainland districts by land area and the most northerly. It is administratively part of Xiamen but feels separate: the local Minnan speech differs noticeably from the island's, and it is the only mainland district with no bridge or tunnel straight to Xiamen Island, where the city centre sits.

The built-up core runs along the river north of the BRT terminus, with older houses and painted murals mixed into newer blocks. High-rise apartment towers have gone up fast along the BRT line, and prices out here are well below downtown. Beyond the centre, the north and west turn into villages, hills and terraced farmland, reached by infrequent buses from the main bus station.

Choose Tong'an if your trip is built around Fantawild Oriental Heritage, the TV and movie city, or the northern villages, and you want to keep costs down. Families with children who plan a full theme-park day get the most from it, because the park is a long haul from the island.

Skip it if this is your first Xiamen trip. The ferry to Gulangyu, the colonial streets around the island's south, and most of the food and nightlife sit on Xiamen Island or on Jimei, and you would spend an hour or more each way. A two-night island base with a Tong'an day trip is the better shape for most readers.

A middle option: stay in Jimei, which is also on the BRT and closer to the island, and visit Tong'an as a day trip.

Tong'an's food scene is local and cheap. The district is known around Xiamen for its own style of thin wheat noodles and for braised pork over rice, sold in small shops along the river core and near the BRT terminus. Expect Minnan seafood cooking: steamed fish and shellfish, oyster omelette, and peanut soup for dessert.

Street stalls and family restaurants dominate; English menus are uncommon, so pointing at what other tables are eating works well. Bring your own translation app. The district is not a destination for bars or late-night dining — plan an early dinner, or eat on the island before heading back.

From Xiamen Airport, city bus 105 runs to Tong'an. From downtown Xiamen, the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) reaches Tong'an; the district is on the same system as neighbouring Jimei. By road, you cross a bridge to Jimei or take the tunnel to Xiang'an, then continue into Tong'an — both districts border it and connect well.

Once here, taxis and local buses cover the district. Bus 655 serves Tong'an TV & Movie City, and routes 601, 604, 618, 631, 636, 653, 691, 762 and 765 reach Fantawild Oriental Heritage; bus 653 starts near the Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center on the island. Buses to the more remote northern villages are infrequent, so check times before setting out.