Continent |
Asia |
Country |
China |
Next Big City |
Xiamen |
Next Town |
Xiamen |
|
Type: |
Ocean |
Rider Ability: |
Beginner, Intermediate, Expert |
Features: |
Rooms, School, Shop, Rental, Rescue, Shower, Toilet, Food, Parking |
Water
Type: |
Shallow, Chop, Small wave |
Hazards: |
Fishernets, Rocks |
Quality: |
Cloudy |
Best Tide: |
Low tide |
Big tide difference: 5 m. Choppy short waves not good for surfing. Water quality acceptable. Some rocks in the water close to the beach. Better check them out during low tide. During high tide many of them are covered. During low tide normally better conditions for kitesurfing.
Beach
Type: |
Grass, Sand |
Size: |
Medium |
Hazards: |
Rocks, Bystanders |
Beach Users: |
June, July, August, September |
Great beach. About 8 km long between the `Asia Gulf Hotel` and Xiamen exhibition center. Very wide sandy area which is good for launching the kite. In summer in the evening more Chinese will enter the beach. Beach is for free unless you come with your own car which cost the car park of about 5RMB per hour.
Weather
Spring:
|
Shorts, Shorty |
Summer:
|
Shorts, Shorty |
Fall:
|
Normal |
Winter:
|
Normal |
Xiamen has convenient weather all year around. In winter 8-16°C, in summer 25-30°C. Can be very humid. Avoid noon time in summer because of strong sun light. May to July is raining season. From June to October no neoprene necessary, January and February require a 5 mm suit.
Wind
Best Months: |
March, April, August, September, October, November, December |
Wind Type: |
Thermal |
Best Direction: |
NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S |
Main Direction: |
NNE, NE, ENE |
Mostly NE or sometimes SW wind. Both directions are sideshore. NE is best and more stable. In summer generally less wind and from October to February more strong wind. More use of big kites and boards rather than small ones. Xiamen is located a bit `inside` a huge bay, thus the wind can not `hit` it directly. Wind is normally low in the morning and will come up between 14 to 18 o'clock. About 50% of days can be used for kitesurfing.
How to get there
Transport |
Car, Bus |
Access
|
Long walk |
Xiamen has an airport with connections to all major cities in China and some international flights. Get a Xiamen map and you will see the big beach right away.
Extra information
In summer time the army will occupy part of the beach for swimming training. But the beach is long enough that you can go somewhere else into the water. Stick to normal safety rules to protect other people specially on the beach.
Nightlife
Xiamen has some bars and pubs but not really great nightlife. In town, about 20 min by taxi from the beach. There is a favorite Coffee Street close to the Marco Polo hotel.