Zonghshan District. Xiamen, 2018
Bike Sharing
It is hard to walk a block without finding an Ofo or Mobike or one of their competitors. The dockless bike share system – along with multiple docked bike shares – make transit cheap, flexible and very fun. The city’s raised bike path further allows riders to escape the cars and commuters for a bike ride above city streets.
Rental bikes outside EMall Plaza. Xiamen, 2018
"Bike graveyard" off of Nanhou Street, Fuzhou. Fujian Province, 2018
Public Transit
Too hot for a bike ride? Not a problem. Busses, including those operating on a raised road exclusive for their express operation, reach across the city. They are cheap, frequent, clean and air-conditioned.
(Regional buses that I have taken in several parts of the country are also quite impressive - comfortable, clean and high-tech.)
Stairs to the street from the raised BRT platform at California Plaza. The BRT is an elevated road exclusively for express private bus lines. Xiamen, 2018
Public buses in Tongan. Xiamen, 2018
City bus in Xiamen. 2018
Regional bus from Chengdu to Kanding (aka - very far from Xiamen...but while we are on the subject, I thought it would be worth sharing). 2018
Small business & innovation
Many regulations involved in starting a business seem to be……. optional. As long as a business owner doesn’t make the wrong person angry and follow communal norms, they seem to operate just fine regardless of the legality of their operation. Xiamen itself is a city full of wealth and was the focus of a national "PR campaign" to showcase China's advancement during the BRICs conference last year.
All of this lends itself to a city flush with small business, local shops and innovative service start-ups that I often wonder how we in the so-called “developed world” have gone without. From white-gloved, designated drivers, who will drive you and your car home after a long night at KTV, to delivery boxes that hold onto your food until you return home from work, the modern niche of “needs” has never felt so anticipated.
Fat Fat Beer Horse Brewery in Shapowei. Xiamen, 2018
Small side street in the Huli District. Xiamen, 2018
Hive box package delivery holding service. Xiamen 2018
Tea, tea and more tea
Hot or cold, fruity or earthy, when someone asks you out for a drink here, what’s on tap is more likely to be a selection of delicious – and fresh – tea, rather than a cold beer.
Fruity tea deliciousness. Xiamen 2018
Tea fields in Wuyishan. Fujian Province, 2018
Chinese New Year Tea with new friends in Wuyishan. Fujian Province, 2018
Drying flower tea in a tolou village, just outside of Long
WeChat Pay
Of course, nowhere is this more true than when paying for, well, anything. WeChat pay allows users to connect their WeChat accounts to their bank account, paying for all sorts of goods and services with their cell phones. WeChat is so ubiquitous - and convenient - that many vendors become irritable if a customer tries to pay in cash. Many more will not even accept credit cards. WeChat is another notch in the ease of starting up a new business in Xiamen.
