Xiamen

Coastal Fujian island-and-mainland city. Gulangyu (UNESCO) is a car-free European-villa island; the city has clean beaches, a relaxed pace and the warmest mainland climate north of Hainan.

Xiamen (older Western name: Amoy) is among the most relaxed of mainland China's cities — small enough to feel coastal, with a culture of cafes, music venues and the cleanest air on the eastern seaboard. Gulangyu, the small island just off the city, was a foreign concession in the late 19th century and accumulated 1,000+ European-style villas; it is now a UNESCO site, car-free, and the city's signature attraction. Xiamen University, on a hillside campus on the southern shore, is one of China's most photogenic. The city is also the closest mainland point to Taiwan (Quemoy / Kinmen is visible) and a major Hokkien (Min Nan) cultural centre.