Overview of Xiamen
Xiamen is one of the most competitive cities in China and one of the first Special Economic Zones on the mainland. In 2010, Xiamen SEZ was expanded to cover the whole municipality. Now it has already become a modern and international port city featuring beautiful scenery.
As a beautiful seaside city located on the southeast coast of China, Xiamen faces Jinmen Islands and lies opposite Taiwan and the Penghu Islands across the Taiwan Straits. Legend has it that white egrets inhabited this area in the ancient times, hence its name Egret Island. Its annual average temperature is around 20°C, without any extreme heat or cold. With a land area of 1,573.2 km2 and a sea area of 390 km2, Xiamen administers six districts, namely Siming, Huli, Jimei, Haicang, Tong'an and Xiang'an. Southern Fukinese is the city's pervasive local dialect among its 4.01 million permanent residents.
Xiamen is one of the most competitive cities in China and one of the first Special Economic Zones on the mainland. As a vice-provincial city independently listed on the state development planning, it is granted provincial-level authority on economic administration and local legislative power. In 2010, Xiamen SEZ was expanded to cover the whole municipality. Now it has already become a modern and international port city featuring beautiful scenery. In 2017, the per capita GDP of the permanent residents exceeded $435.1 billion yuan ($69.2 billion). The fiscal revenue accounted for 27.3 percent of the local GDP.
Known as one of the most livable cities in China, Xiamen has been awarded numerous national and international honors, such as National City of Excellence in Social Ethics, International Nations in Bloom, UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor Awards, National Sanitary City, National Garden City, National Model City for Environment Protection, China Excellent Tourist City, China Top Ten Livable Cities, etc. It is also one of the top ten tourist destinations and one of the most frequently visited international cruise terminals in China. The major tourist attractions in the city include Gulangyu Island, Wanshi Botanic Garden, Island Ring Road, Nanputuo Buddhist Temple, Horticulture Expo Garden, Jimei School Village, Dadeng Islands, Haicang Bridge and Huoshaoyu Ecological Park.
Major Economic Indicators of Xiamen in 2017
Unit
Year 2017
Percentage Annual Growth Rate 2016-17
GDP
100 million yuan
4,351.2
7.6
Added value of industries above a designated scale
100 million yuan
1,437.16
8.1
Port cargo throughput
10,000 tons
21,116.25
1.0
Container throughput
10,000 TEUs
1,038.14
8.0
Airport passenger throughput 10,000
2449
7.7
Foreign trade volume
$100 million
5,816.04
14.3
Import volume
$100 million
2,562.39
28.4
Export volume
$100 million
3,253.65
5.2
Number of newly approved foreign invested projects
1,145
－
Contractual foreign capital
$100 million
328.12
- 34.3
Utilized foreign capital
$100 million
160.11
11.2
Total fiscal revenue
100 million yuan
1,187.29
9.6
Fiscal revenue to the local government
100 million yuan
696.78
11.0
Total Investment in fixed assets
100 million yuan
2,381.46
10.3
Total retail sales of consumer goods
100 million yuan
1,446.74
12.7
Per capita disposable income of urban residents
yuan
50,019
8.1
Per capita cash income of rural residents
yuan
20,460
11.5
