Once away from the well-trampled areas of China there’s little English, Cash, Credit Cards or Google. Determined to live like a native, I set off alone to the groovy area of Shapowei on Xiamen Island armed only with apps: Alipay to spend, WeChat to talk, DiDi China to move, all supported by the kindness of strangers. (See NEED TO KNOW)
XIAMEN AIR
I flew Xiamen Air from Sydney, whose airline code, MF, shares my initials. The food and the Boeing 787 were perfectly fine, however there were no spirits, only wine and beer, to blur the economy experience. Chinese movies and mainstream Hollywood movies didn’t offer much of interest; however, the European films were well curated. I watched a documentary on Botticelli albeit Venus’ breasts were blurred…of course. My only other MF gripe was the 5kg hand luggage limit – a rule to which only I complied!
DIDI CHINA
I caught a DiDi rideshare from the magnificently structuralist retro Gaoqi International Airport Terminal 3 to Shapowei. My DiDi app had flipped back from English to Chinese, which I only reverted with the help of ChatGPT and an English-speaking local at the Rideshare stop who repeatedly referred to me as “Uncle” – a term for those you believe are much older than yourself.
SHAPOWEI
Shapowei from the 85th floor of Shimao Straits Tower A. Daxue Road is above the canal and Shapowei Art Zone in the lower right of the canal.
Shapowei was once a fishing village. The fisherman would moor their boats in the canal in front of their house, and their back door led through to Daxue Road – the main drag where the cool kids now hang out and dozens of brides pose for photo shoots.
On the other side of the canal is Shapowei Art Zone – essentially more shops including and outdoor bar and a laboratory like fragrance shop.
And in the lane behind Daxue Road there’s a very local food market if you need a raw duck or some veg.
SHIMAO STRAITS TOWERS
Shimao Straits Towers illuminate the Shapowei canal. The further tower is the Conrad and, the closer one is my short-term rental.
Goddesses can either take my experience with short term apartment rental in Shimao Straits Tower A as an adventure or a cautionary tale. For less challenging accommodation, you may get a Conrad bargain in the Shimao Straits Tower B – though rarely cheap. Otherwise, in low season, there are many great prices with international hotels like W or Indigo or boutique chains like Atour further afield.
On trip.com you can see the interiors of Shimao apartments range from rampant glam to a little rundown though non-smoking is rare. Outside Starbucks, at the mall joining the towers, I texted the number provided in an email, and young guy met me. I gave him my WeChat ID and that’s how we communicated – warning me that I wasn’t dressed warm enough for the sea breeze. That night about 2am water started dripping loudly inside my room. I messaged my host and he responded with a video of the next-door apartment: a repairman on a chair holding an umbrella and ‘loo rolls as water poured from the ceiling as my neighbour stood patiently on his bed. Until recently, the government didn’t regulate interior fitouts, so older hotels and apartments can have unpredictable outcomes. Though for AUD50 a night I can’t complain, as I could have been next door.
BEER
A rewarding local stout after mastering Didi China, WeChat and Alipay and the craft beer bar photographed in the morning with the ubiquitous bride.
After check-in, I headed to a craft beer bar on the corner of Daxue and Fengchaoshan Roads, under a Miyazaki-cat-like rooftop. Google Translate struggled with the chalkboard menu, though I was able to make out IPAs, fruit beers, tea beer, and stout. A young man and his girlfriend from Qingdao chatted with me using WeChat and let me try some of their tasting set. The fruit lager seemed to have more fruit than beer; however, the stout was sweet, deep, and delicious.
BREAKFAST
As an early riser, I picked up the following for breakfast that evening:
- Yoghurt muesli from the Lawson convenience store near the Conrad.
- Matcha, Red Bean Cheese breads from Juicy Bakery.
- A Lawson’s Starbucks as the local brew, Costa, left me with a bad taste and un-caffeinated.
- A mandarin from a local fruit store.
COFFEE
Just a little further down Daxue Road from the craft beer bar, La Post Cafe supplied an easy and necessary start to the day. It has an English Menu and opens at 9am. Cappuccino was CNY28. Xiamen founded, China-wide coffee chain Luckin is much, much cheaper. However, Luckin achieve this economy by having no cashiers and a Chinese only app to order. Also, in some other cheap eats, if there’s no menu or cashier and just a QR code to scan in WeChat for a Chinese menu, you’ll just have to either master Chinese or pick up your bag and go, girl!
LUNCH
I had lunch at 118-101 Daxue Road in a local restaurant that stretched from Daxue Street to the Canal. I snapped the menu and used Google Translate to make some choices. The Taiwanese-style Braised Pork with Fermented Bean Curd and
Clam Kelp and Minced Meat Soup were both delicious and the environment was friendly and chill.
DINNER
Along Daxue Road you’ll see a few restaurants cooking Xiamen Ginger Duck in clay pots. I had to work on my Asian technique to suck the meat of the bones. It was tasty – however, I left the foot!
SHOPPING
Many shops and restaurants don’t open till noon or later. I spent the afternoon poking around clothes, fragrance shops and snacking. Having not packed for the sea breeze I bought a thick hoodie for about CNY200(AUD60) from a young lady claiming to be the designer. When I saw my local friend a few days later, he scanned my new hoodie with another app, PinDuoDuo, which showed I could get it online for about CNY90(AUD20). So, I’m not quite a native yet!
NEED TO KNOW
Trip.com, for Chinese hotels and flights, will give more variety and often cheaper prices than Western travel apps. They also offer a service for a small fee making flights more changeable and cancellable than the airlines offer.
Alipay is used for payments in shops and public transport. Away from major tourist sites cash and credits cards might not be used. Download Alipay and enter your credit card and you’ll be able to shop. Usually, you’ll present the QR code under Pay/Receive in Alipay to the shop scanner. Smaller vendors sometimes just have a QR code on a card for which you use the Scan option in Alipay.
WeChat is used chat and translate and much more. You can share your ID easily using the QR code in your Profile. If you have a Chinese speaking friend, get help to install the conversation app the local Gen-Z’s use. Otherwise, Google translate is usually adequate.
DiDi China is a specific ride share app for China. Even if you use Didi at home you’ll need to download the DiDi China app. It will default to English for your English phone.
Amap app is useful for public transport as Google has little information about China. You can use your Alipay Transport QR code to pay.
Dianping for the advanced Geek Goddess, find services and get discounts. It’s mainly in Chinese but has a translate button. After my sleepless leaky night, I used Dianping to find a neck and shoulder massage in the mall between the Shimao towers. The staff helped me get a voucher in Dianping for a 20CNY discount!
WISH I’D KNOWN
- Hotels will be cheaper and Xiamen less crowded in low seasons around April and November when 1.4 billion Chinese aren’t on the move.
- While is Xiamen don’t miss:
- Gulangyu (Kulangsu) – A tiny island of huge colonial mansions.
See our story “Stately Stays on Gulangyu Island, China” - DVLN Park – A rooftop hub of urban cool spreading its influence to the neighbourhood.
- Xiamen Mountain To Sea Health Trail – A elevated 23km walking trail spanning the Island through parks, gardens and the farming East Village.
- Taiwan. You can fly directly from Xiamen, or you might get a bargain from Kinmen Island, which belongs to Taiwan, a short ferry ride away.
DON’T WANT TO KNOW
Surveillance: Though Alipay, face scans, and the local police – you are being tracked. While we may protest for our privacy at home, it’s keeping you safe in China.
International News: Many western websites often cannot be accessed through local Wi-Fi. So, if you need Google, ABC, BBC or New York Times switch to your international mobile phones’ roaming service.
Hard Beds: If the bed is too hard, ask housekeeping for an extra duvet and sleep between two.
Smoking: Stop it!
Spitting: Good Grief! Need I say….
