Touchdown and Takeoff

XIAMEN CITY, CHINA. I had a very limited experience of the City of Xiamen. I didn't have a chance to go beyond the walls of its airport. So I only had a view of the city from above thru the windows of our plane or a view of it in passing thru the windows of our land transport from and to the airport - nothing more, nothing less. But every view and angle, it's no doubt a beautiful and well-planned city, which I hope to explore in the next visit.

My experience of the city is yet again thru the airport:
Xiamen airport serves flights to and from the city and neighboring districts and towns of Fujian province in China. Its official name is Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport. Its structural design is quite unique from what I grew up looking, NAIA terminals. Xiamen's is more modern and is predominantly circles.

Urban planners of the city have obviously done their home works well.

The airport's exterior is a classic design.

Moving walkway provides convenience to the passengers.

China Duty Free and your comfy seats at your service.

Souvenir shops are everywhere too (background).

And thru the roads from and leading to Xiamen:
We passed through two successive tunnels, the longer one being, Shantou Tunnel at 393 meters and the shorter, Sucuo Tunnel at 353. And through Xian'an Tunnel which, aside from a really grand entrance, boasts also its unbelievable length. Well it took us almost 5 minutes to get out at a speed of 80kph. It connects Xiamen to Xiang'an and is said to be the first subsea tunnel in Mainland China and is about 9 kilometers long.

Landscaped islands is a usual sight along the highways.

Sucuo Tunnel

Shantou Tunnel

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Expressway from Quanzhou to Xiamen.

Xiang'an Tunnel

This trip is my second but the real touchdown in the city still remains to take off. I hope that if a business trip brings me back, I could explore a little of this inviting city.