Xiamen Botanical Garden （Northwest Gate） — Local services in Xiamen

I was pleasantly surprised by my visit to Xiamen's Botanical Gardens.

Make no mistake about it: this is literally a grouping of several distinct gardens, and the scope of the area is very large. During my initial trip on 2019-10-24, I walked from 13:30 until the park closed at 18:00, and still had a lot of unseen area, which is why I returned on 2019-11-03.

I read many reviews and websites claiming that one may enter the park for free before 07:00, and so I forefeited sleep to make that cutoff time. (Truth be told, I'd been having difficulty sleeping, and decided to wear myself out with another day of extended exercise and sightseeing instead of laying in bed until sleep overcame me.) However, I was denied entry: the park staff said I needed to get a new ticket to enter. So while FREE ENTRY BEFORE 7 AM may have once been a reality, be warned that that is NO LONGER the case.

30 RMB is a very fair price to charge for admission. Although I feel adverse to traveling and sightseeing in China because of how crowded and needlessly noisy it usually is, the vehicular noise pollution disappears once you walk 10 or so minutes away from the West entrance.

That having been said, my first was very peaceful and relaxing. Aside from protesting in an effort to get free admission (I paid for a cab to get to the park before 07:00), my second visit was less pleasant because there were a lot of elderly men smoking as they slowly strolled along the paths.)

If you're going to visit, just accept that you'll pay a reasonable entrance fee, and come at a time that's convenient for you. I'd arrive no later than 16:00 (Two hours prior to closing time.) But if you want to see everything, you're going to need a lot more time.

To fully explore the park in its entirety, you may want to make multiple trips instead of one mega trip lasting all day. From my exposure, as with every other place in China, it's better to come during a weekday when there is no holiday going on.

My only complaint is that the park should not allow visitors to enter using their private vehicles since most of them disturb the peace by honking at pedestrians. Either fine people for creating noise pollution or don't enable them to do so by letting them...

Xiamen Botanical Garden‌

Nestled in Wanshi Mountain near Xiamen University, this 4.93 km² garden (established 1960) showcases over 4,000 tropical plants, including rare cacti and mist-shrouded rainforest zones‌. Highlights:

‌Rainforest World‌: Ethereal fog and lush greenery create a fairy-tale atmosphere‌. ‌Sand Plant Zone‌: Iconic giant cacti perfect for photos‌. ‌Scenic Views‌: Trails lead to panoramic overlooks of Xiamen‌.

Open daily, it blends natural beauty, scientific exploration, and cultural landmarks like stone carvings and temples‌. A green oasis just minutes...

it's not a friendly place for foreign tourists! access is by presenting your passport, a phone number from China 😵‍💫 there is no presentation, no indication of plants in English! the toilet and the rules are translated into English... as a foreigner you are guarded wherever you go in the park... it's not a pleasant experience! 😣 If the park management doesn't want foreigners, make it explicit! I didn't come 10,000 km to not understand anything I...