XIAMEN · ZHONGSHAN RD ROUTE
Zhongshan Road Route
Xiamen's foremost old street, Zhongshan Road, walked from the sea side at Lujiang Road. Open with Huang Zehe's peanut soup, graze Minnan snacks — shacha noodles, oyster omelette, savoury zongzi — and finish with Ajizai's coconut pastry. Along the arcaded pedestrian street, each plate tied to its shop.
What Zhongshan Road is
Zhongshan Road is the main avenue crossing the old town of Xiamen island east to west, and the city's foremost shopping street since the 1920s. Its mark is the "qilou" — buildings that jut over the pavement from the upper floor, the ground level an arcade of columns — a Southeast Asian streetscape shaped to this rainy, sun-struck city's climate. Its western end meets the sea at Lujiang Road, Gulangyu island across the water, and the further east you go the more local shops and old houses there are. The road itself is mostly souvenir and clothing shops, but turn a block into lanes like Jukou, Datong and Yingping and the snack shops that Xiamen people eat every day suddenly thicken. A sightseeing avenue and a local kitchen, back to back on one street.
Shacha and the sea — the Minnan taste
Xiamen's food belongs to Minnan cuisine, and two things run through its taste. One is shacha — a paste of peanut, dried shrimp, garlic and spices; originally Southeast Asian satay, carried across the sea by overseas Chinese and made local here as shacha noodles and skewers. Its fused sweet-salt-fragrant depth makes a Xiamen plate "rich but not hot." The other is the sea. Facing the Taiwan Strait, this city treats oysters, peanut worms and shellfish as everyday ingredients, turned into oyster omelette, tusundong and seafood congee. Added to that, the sweets and coffee culture brought by the Gulangyu concessions and returned overseas Chinese have taken root too. The richness of shacha, the freshness of the sea, and the sweetness of the Nanyang — know these three, and the plates of Zhongshan Road come much closer.
How to walk this route
Start at the western end of Zhongshan Road, on the sea side at Lujiang Road. First take a bowl of peanut soup at Huang Zehe to warm the stomach, then head east into the pedestrian street. Stretch toward Douxi Road to lay a base with Yuehua's shacha noodles, turn onto Jukou Street for Lianhuan's oyster omelette and Hao Qing Xiang's zongzi — the Minnan leads one by one. Slot in taro dumplings and mee sua paste, the local breakfast snacks, at Jiawei Zaitian on Datong Road, and finish with coconut pastry and tea at Ajizai on the eastern stretch. Reckon about two hours on foot. The good shops sit more in the side lanes than on the main road, so peer down the alleys as you walk. In summer the sun is strong, so keep to the shade of the arcades and it goes easier.
Route map
Zhenhai Rd Stn → Zhongshan Rd pedestrian street → Lujiang Rd (old town, east–west) · numbers match the dishes below
The dishes on this route (6)
Tap through to each shop and dish