Xiamen Marathon

The Xiamen Marathon is one of the big three Chinese races. The others being the Beijing Marathon and the Shanghai Marathon.

It is run in the coastal city of Xiamen along a scenic coastal route that is quite the opposite of the course offered in Beijing.

The race holds a World Athletics Gold Label and attracts a large number of runners each year. In 2020 there were over 28,000 finishers.

Xiamen flickr photo by redyamflan shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC) license

The name Xiamen means "door to the house". Xiamen was historically the gateway to China and has been an extremely important port for the country for centuries.

It offers incredibly beautiful scenery - hills, lakes, an abundance of greenery, and beaches have made Xiamen an ever more popular tourist destination, and earned it the title of China's 'capital of cool'.