Xiamen’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was formally put into operation on August 31, 2008, and is considered China’s first elevated BRT network.

Due to its success, the city has won honors as the China’s top transportation city for six years running with more than 30% of trips taken by public transport.

The 82.5 km-long system uses some dedicated elevated roadways as well as dedicated lanes on bridges which allow buses to reach speeds of 60km/h (though the average speed is under 15 kph). While elevated roadways allow these higher speeds, they have come under some criticism for blighting the surrounding landscape and entailing the installation of a lot of stairs, especially when a lot of the transportation demand is situated at street level.