Impressions of Xiamen

I spent almost a week in Xiamen, and I have to admit, it really is a charming city. Smaller than Nanning, but still 3.5 million people. The nice thing about Xiamen is that the city center is an island in the sea, of about 10 by 15 km in size, and connected to the mainland by several bridges. Xiamen island comprises only about 10% of the city's area, with the majority of its population on the mainland, and a small fraction on some outlying islands, with Gulangyu being the most prominent. This little gem of an island just off the south-west corner of Xiamen island is reached by a short ferry ride (8 RMB round-trip) and is dotted with colonial style mansions and criss-crossed with narrow streets full of tourists.

Xiamen is a laid-back kind of place, much less crowded compared to Nanning, with less traffic and less noisy. Being a seaside town, the constant sea breeze brings clean air and a welcome coolness to its sub-tropical climate. The climate is similar to Nanning's, but less humid and therefore much more pleasant. The best part of Xiamen however are its beaches. Not the best beaches in China, but very close to that, and the proximity to the city center is unbeatable.The terrain of Xiamen island is quite hilly, with some substantial rock outcrops and large green patches. In some ways it reminded me of Singapore, but obviously less glamourous and tidy. Still, it is supposed to be the cleanest city in China.
The oldest part of the city still has many streets with the typical shop-houses which you also find in the the old streets of Macao, another former Portuguese stronghold.

I arrived from Nanning by train in the morning, after a long (28 hours) but comfortable ride, and found the Baijiacun hostel easily. The hostel is centrally located and housed in a beautiful colonial house, with some adjoining buildings and a nice garden. I stayed in a 50 RMB dorm room, which was perfectly fine. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and there was free internet with WiFi and two public computers.
I contacted kYra, a Dutch acquaintance who happened to live in Xiamen for 3 months and was willing to show me around a bit. We visited the graduation show of the Xiamen Art & Design College, on display in a large hall of the Xiamen Exhibition Center, and focusing mainly on graphic design and product merchandising. Very commercial work, except for a section of conceptual art, which looked like it could have been a grad show from the Rietveld or the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Quite impressive. This is the kind of stuff which is completely lacking in Nanning.

She also introduced me to some key people in the local art scene. The director of the Chinese European Art Center is the defiant Ineke Gudmundsson, who started the center in 1999 and has been running it without any structural funding for the past 12 years. The center offers residencies to 6 artists every year, and holds a continuous stream of exhibitions by European and Chinese artists, changing  every 2 to 3 weeks. Xiamen also has several art cafes showing work by contemporary young artists in a uncomplicated setting. One of them is Casual Locations, run by a Chinese graduate from the Sandberg Institute, who decorated his outfit with a collection of Sandberg and Rietveld memorabilia. The cafe organised a Dutch art festival in March, with paintings by Gustav Meist and film screenings by Alex van Warmerdam. A Dutch island of contemporary art in the center of Xiamen, and offering good coffee too.

I visted Xiamen University and was impressed by the American-style campus, almost posh. The university is close to the beach, on slightly elevated terrain, and you can see the sea from the campus grounds. I found the foreign student office and talked to a teacher who told me I could just join the second term, and continue the same course I started in Nanning. They use the same books, but the tuition fee is substantially higher.
I picked up a registration form and some documentation, including a campus map and the foreign student handbook. We also talked about accommodation, and she told me all self-paying foreign students are supposed to find an apartment or room by themselves. She gave me a business card of a real-estate agent who handles nearby rentals.

Besides art and study, the city has a lot more to offer. I already mentioned the wonderful beaches, and another noteworthy fact for the foreigner living in Xiamen are the Carrefour (3!) and Metro supermarkets which offer a wide selection of imported food. Speaking of food, Xiamen, being on the coast, has a large selection of fresh seafood, the market full of many weird sea creatures I had never seen before. Other local specialties are a thin pancake wrap with various fillings, and many other things I still have to discover. Clearly a different menu than the rice-noodle capital of Nanning.