Wuyuan Bay Recognized as a Provincial-Level Tourist Resort Area: Where Ecological Wings Help Coastal Dreams Appear

On May 20, the Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism issued an announcement officially designating Xiamen’s Wuyuan Bay Tourism Resort as a provincial-level tourism resort. In recent years, with continuous enhancements to its ecological environment and infrastructure and the vigorous development of diverse leisure and resort offerings, Huli District has launched the construction of the Wuyuan Bay Tourist Resort benchmarked against national-level tourist resort standards. By thoroughly integrating, optimizing, and upgrading existing elements and functions, the District has reconstructed a new leisure-and-resort space that melds urban vitality, ecological harmony, cultural diversity, and comprehensive service facilities.

In 2024 alone, the Wuyuan Bay Tourism Resort welcomed 4.5569 million visitors, marking a leap in annual arrivals and solidifying its status as one of Xiamen’s most influential cultural-tourism attractions. As a model for ecological restoration and integrated development on Xiamen Island, Wuyuan Bay is now accelerating its efforts to be qualified as a national-level tourist resort.

Ecological Foundations: Building a Coast Where All Thrive as One

Camping and strolling along the 2km beach, running on the 8km bay trail that winds between mangroves and azure waves, enjoying nature in the 99-hectare wetland park, or intimately connecting with the ocean while sailing..., the Wuyuan Bay Tourist Resort, with a total area of 6.08 square kilometers, has become a peaceful and joy-filled destination where citizens and tourists together enjoy the blissful integration of community and seaside environments. This butterfly-like transformation began in 2005 with Xiamen's strategic decision to "return the bay to the sea." Through projects such as pond-to-sea reclamation and wetland restoration, the area now achieves a 100% excellent water quality rating at nationally controlled monitoring stations, supports an annual average of over 80 bird species in its wetland park, and includes a 40-hectare core protection area for blue-tailed bee-eaters.

Ongoing infrastructure enhancements have made leisure and vacationing more convenient for residents and tourists. The surrounding area features approximately 50 parking lots providing 1,283 spaces; professional synthetic running tracks ensure safety while adding enjoyment; parent-child rest stations, equipped with vending machines, are set up every 500 meters, demonstrating a humanized approach to visitor care; and barrier-free access now covers the entire resort, complemented by medical stations outfitted with AED devices and professional medical staff. Most recently, smart storage lockers were installed to address visitors’ luggage-safekeeping needs, along with six intelligent drinking water machines providing cold and hot water services along the bay trail.

A comprehensive visitor service center and multiple service stations are in place within the resort, alongside specialized yacht and sailboat visitor centers. Additionally, a 24/7 emergency command center ensures real-time monitoring and rapid response.

"Thanks to Wuyuan Bay’s 70% green coverage and its rich wetland ecosystems, every Sunday’s charity family run has become natural education classrooms, where the elegance of egrets skimming over water and the wonders of intertidal life open windows for children to explore the world. This land has given me not only physical strength but also a sense of achievement in participating in the city's growth. A sense of belonging like 'My Bay, My Being' is the most beautiful gift of urban civilization in the new era," said Li Zhenghuang, station chief of the "Hundred-K Star" Charity Family Park Run at Wuyuan Bay Yacht Club station. According to reports, charity family runs are now regularly held weekly at Wuyuan Bay Yacht Club Plaza and Red Cross Plaza.

Industrial Linkage: Culture and Commerce Making Tourism Fun

The excellent ecological environment has likewise built the leverage and support points for Wuyuan Bay's economic growth. The marine cultural tourism industry, led by yachts and sailboats and covering dining, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, entertainment, and shopping, has attracted seven five-star and above high-end hotels including Fliport, Hilton, and Wyndham, to set up here. From these anchor properties spring a host of modern service industries like commercial complexes, ecological wellness, and more. The area features diverse dining options and mature commercial facilities, gathering six large commercial complexes including Sasseur (Xiamen) Outlets, Wuyuan Bay Rainbow Shopping Center, and C&D OnePark Plaza, forming a complete dining and consumer ecosystem.

The Wuyuan Bay Tourist Resort, which embraces the bay and connects to the city, possesses a unique quality offering an otherworldly escape without leaving the city. Previously, Wyndham Yuzhou Xiamen, for instance, discovered through customer research that the resort holds significant appeal for family tours and team trips: families can combine tourism, educational programs, and leisure stays altogether, while team tourists can access diverse team-building cultural tourism projects.

"Wuyuan Bay enjoys an extremely advantageous geographical location, facing the Xiamen Olympic Sports Center across the sea and directly accessible via Xiang'an Bridge. In recent years, the concert economy and sports event economy have brought considerable visitor flows, and hotels in our area have jointly launched a product matrix tailored to concert services," explained Lin Zhi, the PR director of Fliport Wutong Hotel.

As temperatures rise, Wuyuan Bay's water activities are expected to bring a sustained peak in visitor flow for more than half a year. Data shows that in 2024, the Wuyuan Bay Tourist Resort received 625,600 visitors for sailing experiences and 337,000 visitors for yacht experiences. It also hosted various sporting events such as the 18th China Club Cup (Sailing) Challenge Match and the "Ocean Star" Teenager Regatta. The Xiamen Wuyuan Bay Sailing and Yacht Sports Harbor was recognized as a 2024 China Sports-Tourism Boutique Project.

Wuyuan Bay's superior trail network has become both a beloved leisure venue for residents and a hook for event developers in Huli District. On April 20, 2025, the inaugural Wuyuan Bay Fun Run was held in the area, with nearly 3,000 runners from 11 countries and regions running along Huli's "Blue Ribbon" trail. At the same time, the "Tide-Watching Sailing Chase Race" set sail across the bay. According to reports, another Fun Run is already planned for the second half of the year.

In addition, the area now hosts three top-tier tertiary A hospitals: Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University (Xiamen Branch), Xiamen Humanity Nursing Home, and Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University, forming a high-quality medical-wellness cluster. In 2024 alone, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University handled over 290,000 outpatient and emergency visits and completed more than 21,000 cardiovascular surgeries, with over 70% of patients coming from outside Xiamen.

Relying on its ecological advantages and high-quality public services, the area has enhanced its ability to attract industries, resources, and other elements, becoming a magnet for corporate headquarters. Industrial parks such as the Cross-Strait Financial Center and Huli Innovation Park now host over 6,000 renowned corporate headquarters or financial institutions, including Hengan, Xiamen Airlines, Yealink Network, Zijin Mining, and Qiaodan, highlighting the agglomeration effect of headquarters economy, high-end service industries, and new economy.

Innovation Mechanism: Platform Approach Gets Challenges Done

Behind this integrated development of culture, sports, tourism, and commerce lies Huli District’s fast-track effort to establish a “National-Level Tourism Resort.” In 2023, Huli District formally launched the Wuyuan Bay Tourism Resort construction process and set up Xiamen Wuyuan Bay Culture-Sport-Tourism Development Co., Ltd. as the resort’s management authority. Charged with developing tourism resources and overseeing industry regulation, the company has fostered a model of “regulated growth through protection,” ensuring that economic returns are reinvested into ecological preservation, creating a virtuous cycle of high-quality development and top-tier conservation.

Since its inception, the Wuyuan Bay Culture-Sport-Tourism Company has leveraged its platform role to elevate the resort’s commercial ambience and unlock new uses for its rich ecological assets. In its first year, the company introduced the OFFWORK camping experience, and is now working on the “Starry Coast” leisure project at full speed. Meanwhile, the Wuyuan Bay Merchants’ Alliance has also been established as a consultative channel for shaping the resort’s new culture-sport-tourism offerings. “Together with local businesses, we can develop a ‘Spirits Trail,’ a ‘Coffee Trail,’ a ‘Cultural-Creative Trail’… There are countless immersive eco-tourism products waiting to be explored around the wetland park, yacht harbor and sandy beaches,” said Lin Xiaokun of DoubleTree by Hilton Xiamen-Wuyuan Bay, whose excitement about Wuyuan Bay’s future sparks a torrent of new ideas.

In 2024, the Wuyuan Bay Culture-Sports-Tourism Company processed a total of 97 inquiries and applications for events and activities. It assisted in organizing numerous significant events, including the opening ceremony for the 28th World Wetlands Day Promotion in Fujian Province, the 2024 World Oceans Day and National Marine Publicity Day, the 4th "Ocean Star" Teenager Regatta, the 6th China College Students Sailing Championship, the 13th National Business School Elite Regatta, and the 16th China (Xiamen) International Boat Show, among others.

A senior representative of the Wuyuan Bay Culture-Sports-Tourism Company stated, "We are mobilizing the strength of the entire bay area to develop Wuyuan Bay Tourist Resort in alignment with national-level tourism resort standards. Currently, we continue to promote upgrades to basic infrastructure, including signage, smart guidance systems, and improvements to the surrounding micro-circulation public transportation system. Additionally, we’re teaming up with local businesses to further refine and package the area’s tourism-and-leisure offerings, bringing visitors in, keeping them here, and ensuring they enjoy an exceptionally valuable experience during their visit."

Wuyuan Bay's transformation vividly illustrates the deep integration of ecological construction and urban development. With ecology as its foundation, industry as its wings, and innovation as its soul, it has created a coastal resort destination ideal for living, working, and recreation. Steadily advancing toward its goal of becoming a national-level tourism resort, Wuyuan Bay has emerged as a dazzling example of ecological civilization construction in Xiamen and across China, providing the world with a "Xiamen model" for sustainable urban development.