Xiamen Island Cycling Guide

As I mentioned before, I’m putting together a guide for cycling around Xiamen Island. Why make this guide? Because anyone who has done the full loop has run into these problems:

• You lose the “Ring Island Road” halfway through! Following it won’t actually take you around the whole island. The “Ring Island Road” only includes South Ring Island Road, East Ring Island Road, and North Ring Island Road — and you can’t even use North Ring Island Road.
• Without a continuous Ring Island Road, navigation apps don’t have a “full loop” option, so you don’t know which outer roads to take.
• During the ride, you can’t tell which sections have bike lanes and which don’t, and you might accidentally end up on an expressway.
• Some paths are only for pedestrians and bicycles, which don’t show up on maps or navigation.

For that reason, I’ve marked the full clockwise outer-loop route (keeping to the right) and all the tricky spots on the map below. I’ll explain each section one by one.

1. South Ring Island Road

Right when you reach Huangcuo Beach, there’s a checkpoint where shared bikes are not allowed, but your own bicycle is fine.

If you’re worried about not being able to return with your own bike and are using a shared bike instead, you need to cross to the opposite side of the road in advance at the crosswalk near Tatou Station. Go through the underpass when passing Yunding South Road, then cross back at the crosswalk near the “One Country, Two Systems” landmark or near the southern entrance of the Convention and Exhibition Center.

South Ring Island Road is the easiest and most comfortable section of the entire loop.

2. East Ring Island Road – Guanyinshan Tourist Street

If you keep riding along the right-side bike lane, you’ll automatically enter Guanyinshan Tourist Street and temporarily leave East Ring Island Road. Many riders suddenly realize: “Where did East Ring Island Road go?” If you try to turn back early, there’s an entrance next to a parking lot where you can turn left back onto East Ring Island Road — but that section has no bike lane and is dangerous.

The correct route: continue all the way to the end of Guanyinshan Tourist Street, then turn left back onto East Ring Island Road, where the bike lane resumes.

3. Guanyinshan Tourist Street – East Ring Island Road

When do you reach “the end”? Continue along Guanyinshan Tourist Street past the Xiamen-Jinwan Heliport, then turn left at the first intersection.

Ahead from this intersection, Fengtou Village is currently undergoing demolition and reconstruction¹, so a gate blocks the road. Before the closure, you could ride through Fengtou Village and return to East Ring Island Road via Wutong Lighthouse Park. But due to the ongoing construction and limited access — plus this path is remote and untested — it’s not recommended on the map. Instead, turn left back to East Ring Island Road.

Bike lane after turning left back onto East Ring Island Road

Continuing forward past Wutong Lighthouse Park, you’ll reach Wuyuan Bridge.

4. Wuyuan Bridge

Some riders follow the bike lane all the way to the bottom of the bridge, only to find a U-turn. But bicycles can cross Wuyuan Bridge: if you look closely, there’s a narrow pedestrian path on the far side.

The slope going up and down is steep, so it’s recommended to walk your bike.

Wuyuan Bridge and the pedestrian path beside it. Although fishing is prohibited on the bridge, you’ll always see a few people fishing here.

5. East Ring Island Road – Huayu East Road

This is where the most people get lost! Many assume Ring Island Road loops continuously, so they ignore the right turn and keep going straight. The road then changes from East Ring Island Road to Fangzhong Road. Riders are shocked when they see Huandao Gan Avenue and Gaoqi Airport T4.

The correct route: after coming down Wuyuan Bridge, watch for the first available right turn and take it onto Huayu East Road. Recently, the intersection of East Ring Island Road and Huayu East Road has been under construction for the Xiang’an Bridge (Second East Channel). Part of this intersection has no bike lane due to construction barriers, so be careful.

Actually, in the original Ring Island Road project², this section goes from East Ring Island Road to Fangzhong Road, then via Gaoqi Overpass, Huoju North Road, Shigushan Overpass, and Xinghu Road to Chang’an Road. But bicycles cannot pass under Gaoqi Overpass, making this route impossible.

6. Huayu East Road – Gaoqi Road

If you follow the car route, you’ll enter an underpass to North Airport Road. This has no bike lane and is extremely dangerous inside the narrow, curved tunnel.

The safe route: before reaching Jimei Bridge, enter the pedestrian path on the right. It passes under Jimei Bridge, with some steps where you must walk your bike. After Jimei Bridge, continue a short distance to the pedestrian path beside Gaoqi Road.

From right to left at the bottom: Huayu East Road, Jimei Bridge, Gaoqi Road

7. Gaoqi Road

In the second half of this year, a new bridge opened on Gaoqi Road, leading directly under Xiamen Bridge and connecting to Haidi Road. Many maps haven’t updated this bridge yet, and its name is still unreported in news.

Before this bridge was built, the loop required a long detour via Gaoqi North Road and Xiahe Road. Now it saves a lot of time and makes the route much more complete.

8. Gaoqi Road – Haidi Road – Gangdong Road

This is the intersection of Gaoqi Road and Haidi Road. On the right side of Haidi Road, you can see the Metro Line 1 bridge. If you look carefully, there’s a crosswalk with traffic lights ahead. Cross here and go under Metro Line 1, Fuzhou-Xiamen Railway, and Xinglin Bridge in sequence to reach Gangdong Road under Xinglin Bridge. A short ride further takes you to Gangzhong Road.

Metro Line 1 and Xinglin Bridge beside Haidi Road. The “Yield” sign marks the crosswalk mentioned above, leading under to Gangzhong Road.

9. Gangzhong Road

The northern half of Gangzhong Road is bicycle-friendly, with separate bike and pedestrian lanes. Beyond this point, however, there are no bike lanes. The area is part of the port zone with many fast-moving trucks, poor air quality, and high risk.

The middle section of Gangzhong Road appears to be under construction and impassable; you must detour via Chang’an Road.

For a safer and more comfortable ride, turn left onto Dianqian 1st Road to Chang’an Road, which has bike lanes. You’ll also see Bus No.22 here — if you get tired, you can take it straight back.

10. Dongdu Road – Xidi East Road

Few people know this part. Many riders reach here, recognize the area, and follow familiar roads back via Hubin West Road, Siming North Road, and Siming South Road. But this is not the outer loop, and Siming North/South Roads are busy with no bike lanes — dangerous.

The correct route: pass under the overpass of Dongdu Road and Hubin North Road, go along Hubin North Road, then watch for a right turn onto Xidi East Road. Xidi East Road runs parallel to Hubin West Road but at a higher level. If you’ve taken the bus to Haiwan Park, you’ll recognize it: after getting off at Haiwan Park Station and crossing the overpass, you cross another street — that’s Xidi East Road.

Bottom left: Xidi East Road; middle: Hubin West Road; under the overpass: Hubin North Road

After Haiwan Park, take the first right turn onto Xidi Road. Follow it all the way to the First Wharf Bus Station and BRT First Wharf Station.

11. Xidi Road – Lujiang Avenue

After the BRT First Wharf Station, you reach Xiahe Road — but don’t follow it. Ahead, you’ll see a small lane next to the old First Wharf marked “Xiamen Ferry • First Wharf”. Take this shortcut to Lujiang Avenue without looping around Xiahe Road.

12. Lujiang Avenue – Minzu Road – Yanwu Bridge

If you go straight on Lujiang Avenue, you’ll end up on Yanwu Bridge — but what about bicycles? Some riders turn back via Zhenhai Road and Siming South Road; others use Minzu Road and Daxue Road.

In fact, there’s a narrow pedestrian/bicycle path beside Yanwu Bridge. First, cross Lujiang Avenue at the traffic light at the intersection of Lujiang Avenue and Zhenhai Road — otherwise, there are no more crossings before the bridge. Then keep left onto Minzu Road. At the intersection of Minzu Road and Shoushan Road (the entrance to Railway Culture Park), turn left along Shoushan Road toward Yanwu Bridge. Enter the coastal path next to Haibin Commercial Building.

Follow this path past Yanwu Bridge Observation Deck all the way to Xiamen University Baicheng. You’ll detour slightly under Chenggong Avenue and Yanwu Bridge. There are two downhill sections near Shapowei and the China Museum of Fine Arts — watch your speed to avoid flying off the steps.

Best Time to Ride

Following the optimal route with no stops, the full loop takes about 4 hours.

Start around 2 PM, when the sun is less intense. This ensures you pass the quieter airport and port areas before dark, and that you can still catch a bus back if you get tired. You’ll also experience:

• Golden sandy beaches along Ring Island Road in the afternoon
• Perfect lighting on Wuyuan Bridge, Jimei Bridge, Xiamen Bridge, and Xinglin Bridge
• The port area at dusk
• Sunset at Haiwan Park
• Bustling Lujiang Avenue as night falls
• Yanwu Bridge’s lit-up night view

Below is an experience index for each section for reference:

Summary

Below is the route and timing from my ride with @Yiwei Hangzhi last November. Except for one dangerous, blocked section in the port area where we switched to Chang’an Road, the rest matches the recommended route above.

Hope everyone gets to do a full island loop before graduating!