Xiamen Dongdu Footpath
A landmark landscape project unites mountain, city, and sea
Nature unfolds for residents and visitors in the Dongdu District on Xiamen Island, where Dissing+Weitling is creating new connections, viewpoints, and elevated walkways at the edge of the metropolis.
- Location
- Xiamen, China
- Category
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridges
- Year
- 2026 - In Progress
- Client
- Xiamen Port High-Quality Development Headquarters
- Collaborators
- Xiamen Municipal / Landscaping Bureau, Xiamen Territorial Planning / Transportation Research Center
- 1St Prize Competition
From industrial zone to recreational trail network
Shuangshi Mountain holds significant landscape qualities, but also dramatic changes in elevation and areas that are difficult to access. Likewise, the existing coastal trails remain fragmented and disconnected from one another.
Here, we are creating a coherent large-scale trail system that links the three landscapes of mountain, city, and sea.
Together with the nearby Yunhai Health Trail, the project forms part of Xiamen’s broader coastal planning strategy and supports the city’s ambitions to promote movement, recreation, and social life.
Path as place
The trail system is conceived as a spatial sequence in which movement through the landscape itself generates places for pause, encounter, and experience.
A winding S-shaped alignment links existing and new connections into one continuous route, where each curve becomes an opportunity to create spaces for staying and gathering. We call it path as place — an understanding of the trail as a generator of urban life rather than merely a means of passage.
The route’s arch bridge spans Shuangshi South Road, connecting the northern and southern parts of the area. Destinations for stay and view
Five distinctive nodes form the architectural and functional backbone of the project. Visitors moving through the area will experience a sequence of viewpoints and places to stay, crossing roads and changing elevations through spiral ramps, elevators, and curved bridge structures that create spatial variation while making the terrain accessible to all.
A maximum gradient of 1:12 (approx. 8.2%) ensures that wheelchair users can move comfortably throughout the entire route. The result is an inclusive sequence of places designed for both movement and pause.
A resin-bound surface ensures slip resistance and durability, while the blue colouring references the nearby harbour environment. A flexible and site-specific design
The flexible cross-sectional principle can be adapted to a variety of landscape conditions. With a standard width of 2.8 metres and a steel mesh railing, the structure appears both robust and visually lightweight.
Integration with existing infrastructure
The project connects seamlessly with the city’s existing structures: the trail links to the metro at the cruise terminal to the south, existing coastal trails to the north, and residential neighbourhoods to the east. Access is provided through elevators, stairways, and ramps from multiple urban levels.
The area is also home to two other projects by Dissing+Weitling: Xiamen Bicycle Skyway and Xiamen Mountains-to-Sea Trail, both of which have already redefined how residents and visitors engage with the city.