Xiamen launches music-themed sightseeing bus

Xiamen launches a music-themed sightseeing bus service on Aug 19. The exterior of the double-decker is decorated with musical scores. [Photo/fj.people.cn]

Xiamen hopes to get delegates at the upcoming BRICS Summit singing the city's praises as it launches a new sightseeing bus service that will integrate famous songs about the coastal metropolis into the tour.

The six double-decker buses emblazoned with multicolored musical scores will depart from Xiamen tourist service center and stop at 19 of the city's most famous landmarks, including the No 1 Dock, Shapowei, Baicheng Beach and Xiamen international conference and exhibition center.

A launch ceremony for the tuneful new addition to the city's tourism industry was held at Huandao Road on Aug 19.

The start of the new service has been timed to coincide with the 9th BRICS Summit, a high-level forum for leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which will be held in Xiamen from Sept 3 to 5.

The musical bus tour is the brainchild of Yeung Muk, a musician from Taiwan who has lived in Xiamen since 2013.

Yeung selected 30 songs he had written about Xiamen and invited local residents to record voiceovers in Chinese, English and Minnan, a dialect spoken in southern Fujian province.

Passengers on the buses can listen to the songs as they admire the scenery along coastal Huandao Road by scanning a QR code printed on the back of each seat.