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XMN · arrival routes

Xiamen — Airport to city

This guide is current through late 2026 — Xiamen Gaoqi Airport (XMN) is scheduled to be replaced by the new Xiang'an International Airport around the end of 2026 (exact date not yet finalized by authorities). Confirm which airport you're flying into before you travel. Until then, here's each way from Gaoqi's Terminal 3 (international and domestic) or Terminal 4 (domestic only) into the city, with real fares, pickup points and the signs to follow.

Gaoqi Airport is scheduled to close around the end of 2026

This guide is current through late 2026. Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is scheduled to be replaced by the new Xiang'an International Airport around the end of 2026 — the exact date has not yet been finalized by authorities, so confirm which airport you're flying into before you travel.

Plan before you land

Which way into Xiamen?

Pick by your arrival time, luggage and destination.

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Metro — Line 1, via the Airport Express shuttle

Daytime arrival (09:00–21:00), moderate luggage, cheapest ride into downtown or toward Gulangyu

Fare
≈¥3–5
Runs
≈23:24–23:26
地铁 · Metro Line 1高崎站 · Gaoqi Station空港快线 · Airport Express (shuttle)镇海路站 · Zhenhai Road Station
A Xiamen Metro Line 1 train
A Xiamen Metro Line 1 train. · Photo: Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fare & cautions

  • The Airport Express shuttle costs ¥10 per ride.
  • The metro fare from Gaoqi Station to Zhenhai Road Station is reported at roughly ¥3–5 (an estimate, not a line item on the official fare table) — about a 50-minute ride for 11 stops.
  • At Gaoqi Station, the first train toward Zhenhai Road runs at about 06:37 and the last at about 23:26; toward Yannei the first train runs at about 06:30 and the last at about 23:24.
  • Pay with an Alipay/WeChat transit QR code, a mainland transit card (易通卡 gets a 10% discount), or cash at the ticket machine.
Sources
Shuttle fare (¥10) and hours (25-min intervals, 09:00–21:00): Xiamen Rail Transit Group (Xiamen Metro) official site, cross-checked Jul 2026. The ¥3–5 Gaoqi-to-Zhenhai Road metro fare and first/last train times come from the same operator's station-to-station query tool, not a fixed published tariff line — treat as current but not a locked-in rate.

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请问高崎站怎么走?Which way to Gaoqi Station (高崎站)?
请问空港快线在哪里坐?Where do I board the Airport Express shuttle?

Official taxi

Late or early arrival (outside shuttle hours), heavy luggage, direct door-to-door

Fare
¥10 / 3 km
出租车 · Taxi7号自动门 · Door 7 (T3 Arrivals)

Fare & cautions

  • Flagfall is ¥10 for the first 3 km, then ¥2/km.
  • Beyond 8 km, an extra 50% "return-empty" surcharge (返空费) applies per km.
  • A night surcharge of about +20% on the per-km rate applies 23:00–05:00 — a general Xiamen taxi rule, not confirmed as airport-specific.
  • Travel-guide fare estimates (not an official tariff): to the Yunhe Hotel area (~7 km) about ¥20; to Songbai bus station (~9 km) about ¥30; to the Xiamen–Gulangyu Ferry Terminal about ¥40; to the Jimei University area about ¥20.
Sources
The ¥10/3km flagfall, ¥2/km rate, 50% return-empty surcharge beyond 8km, and night surcharge are Xiamen's official municipal taxi tariff structure, cross-checked Jul 2026; the landmark-to-landmark fare estimates (Yunhe Hotel, Songbai, ferry terminal, Jimei) are travel-guide figures, not official tariff-table entries.

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请带我去这个地址,麻烦打表,谢谢。Please take me to this address, and use the meter please.
请问出租车在几号门上车?Which door is the taxi rank at?

Ride-hailing (DiDi / Amap)

Working data and a saved Chinese address; similar cost to a taxi

网约车 · Ride-hailing喷水池 · Fountain (T3 B1)13号门 · Gate 13 (T4)

Fare & cautions

  • There is no fixed airport fare — the app quotes a price before you confirm.
  • No official comparison to taxi cost is published for Xiamen; check the app estimate at the time you book.
Sources
T3/T4 pickup points (Basement 1 fountain; Gate 13): on-site airport signage, cross-checked against Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport's official site (Yuanxiang Xiamen International Airport Co.), Jul 2026. The fare itself is app-quoted at booking time — no official taxi-vs-ride-hailing price comparison is published for Xiamen.

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我在T3负一楼喷水池附近,请告诉我具体上车点。I'm near the fountain at T3 Basement 1 — please tell me the exact pickup point.

Airport bus — BRT Airport Line

Budget ride toward downtown without booking a car, if you don't mind a longer ride

Fare
¥0.5–4
Runs
15–30 min
公交机场专线 · BRT Airport Line第一码头枢纽站 · First Pier Hub Station机场站 · Airport Station
Entrance of Gaoqi Airport Station on the Xiamen BRT line
Entrance of Gaoqi Airport Station on the Xiamen BRT line. · Photo: HualinXMN, CC BY 4.0

Fare & cautions

  • The fare starts at ¥0.5 and is distance-based, up to ¥4 for the full route; a 10% discount applies with an E-Tong (易通卡) transit card.
  • Buses run about every 15 minutes at peak times and every 16–30 minutes off-peak. Exact first/last bus times are not confirmed — check the on-site schedule or signage.
Sources
BRT Airport Line route, stops, and the ¥0.5–¥4 distance-based fare: Xiamen Rail Transit Group (Xiamen Metro) official site's BRT route listings, cross-checked Jul 2026; exact first/last bus times are not published and remain unconfirmed.

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请问机场站怎么走?Which way to Airport Station (机场站)?

Navigate to your hotel

Open the airport in your map app, then set your hotel as the destination. Amap and Baidu are the reliable maps inside China; Google Maps is limited on the mainland.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Gaoqi metro station isn't inside the terminal — take the ¥10 Airport Express shuttle (every 25 min, 09:00–21:00) from Gaoqi Station Exit 3 to reach T3/T4, then ride Line 1 for 11 stops to Zhenhai Road Station (~¥3–5, ~50 min) for Zhongshan Road, downtown, and the Gulangyu ferry area. Outside 09:00–21:00, take a taxi or ride-hailing instead.

Yes — Gaoqi Airport (XMN) is scheduled to be replaced by the new Xiang'an International Airport around the end of 2026; the exact date hasn't been finalized by authorities, so confirm which airport your flight uses before you travel. Gaoqi is also a designated port for China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy — confirm the current eligible-country list with your airline or immigration before you fly, since that list has been updated more than once.

The BRT Airport Line bus, which starts at ¥0.5 and tops out at ¥4 for the full route (10% off with an E-Tong card), or the metro route — a ¥10 shuttle plus a ~¥3–5 Line 1 fare — both much cheaper than a taxi.

How we verify airport routes

  • We prefer airport, metro, rail, and government operator pages for route, ticketing, terminal, and schedule claims.
  • If an exact fare, pickup bay, or last-train time is not confirmed on an operator page, we tell travelers to check it instead of publishing a number.
  • Last-updated dates mark when source links and page claims were reviewed.

Airport and transport sources

Last updated:

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