Info needed on Xiamen Airlines (MF) LAX >> XMN >> ICN - lounges, technical stop Q?
 

Taking the family to Asia this month - just booked the tickets online thru Xiamen Airlines but have some questions for those that visited Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport.
This is the first time using a Chinese airline - normally we use AA, DL, JL.
Booked thru the XiamenAir website and Google search is a bit vague as I have these questions as a result:

1. What is a technical stop ? The itinerary shows a 2 hour stop in Quindao (TAO) between LAX and XMN - does that mean we are getting off and re-boarding or staying on the plane ???

2. How long does security and immigration take for both arriving and departing ? One one leg, we have a 20 hour layover in XMN where I assume the airline (MF) provides a hotel room and we want to know what we can see while in the city during this time.

3. Anyone visit the First Class Lounge (No. 7) at Terminal 3 ? Any other lounges worth visiting ? We have Priority Passes so it's listed as one of 4 lounges available....

4. How much cash (per person) should I convert from USD to RMB while there ? Do any businesses (tours, restaurants, hotels) accept foreign cards ?? I don't want to be stuck with Chinese currency when I transit back to Seoul & Tokyo....

1. Fuel refill, etc. Off and on.
2. Not too long. Based on my experience, 20 min max. Downtown Xiamen is not big. 20 hrs seem more than enough for a city tour. Gulangyu is okay, too commercialized though.
3. None worths visiting. Don't expect much.
4. Taking transportation, food, tickets into consideration, I assume 800 CNY per person should work. Some of them do accept foreign cards, some don't.

I am flying LAX-XMN-SYD at the end of April, so I cannot speak from experience (yet). I found this review helpful. It references First Class Lounge #6 though.

Review: Xiamen Air Business Class 787-9 Los Angeles To Xiamen - One Mile at a Time

That is a very brave assumption
Have the airline confirmed that they will provide a room for the 20hr layover?
What class are you travelling? Arrival & departure times?
Do not assume all airlines in the world operate the same as USA based airlines.

Glad you had me ask!

I emailed MF and their CSR in XMN replied that we do get a hotel voucher.

Family is flying economy on a Delta mileage program...

Seeing that you do have more than one stop, are you doing a TWOV? When buying tickets on China Eastern, I avoided a multi-stop itinerary as it mentioned a 24 hour transit limit: Important reminder about MU768(SFO-TAO-KMG),MU2856(LAX-NKG-CTU),MU216(YVR-NKG-KMG) | China Eastern Airlines I imagine this is the case even with a technical stop, though I can't say this to be 100% sure.

This is a great question!

On our way to ICN, we will stop at 2 Chinese cities but within 24 hours transit time.

The issue I have is on the way back, we have the same 2 Chinese stops, but one stop is 20 hours @ Xiamen plus flight time and another layover which puts it over the 24 hour mark.

Question: Will we qualify for a TWOV for Xiamen & Qingdao on our way back that spans over the 24 hour mark ?

TMOV or Visa ???
 

You will need a Chinese visa in this case. It is not a technical stop.

I believe 24 hour transit 'visa' (technically this is just a stamp in your passport, not really a visa) allows for connections, all sort of 72h/96h/118h TWOV's do not allow for any sort of domestic connections.

Is your TOTAL layover in China (arrival into TAO, departure from XMN) below 24 hours? If yes you will be good (expect Immigration folks to be surprised, show them the itinerary - it always helps; and do not worry - they are well trained and efficient), if not you need to apply for a proper visa.

EDIT: I just noticed that OP confirmed their layover in China exceeds 24 hours and a domestic connection is involved - a proper visa is then needed.

Post trip feedback with data points
 

Just returned from my 3 country Asian trip and have to say China was the toughest to pass immigrations 4 times!
Did not need a visa as were told by the airline that we are exercising the 24 hour TWOV privilege.

The transit flight & technical stop at Qingdao (TAO) China was shocking when 2 pax were pulled out the long line of transit passengers. Bunch of military dressed Chinese officers surrounded both passengers and the 2 pax were being detained because they forgot to register their past visit to China on a visa with local authorities. Luckily, a Chinese born, American naturalized citizen came in between them and got the authorities to not detain and deport which is what would have happened had the Chinese translator not stepped in. They were allowed to transit thru TAO but were told NOT to return back thru China. The 2 pax were in tears but the expensive part was that they had to scramble and arrange a different flight that avoided China on their return leg. Very costly to say the least... The Chinese translator was thanked with a bottle of wine by the MF airline staff for stepping in and helping out the 2 pax....

The flight home from XMN transiting to TAO also had issues - our 20 hour layover in XMN plus the flight delay to get to TAO made the 24 hour TWOV an issue with the TAO Chinese immigration officials. They insisted we all have a copy of our itinerary in hand to prove that we did not deliberately exceed the 24 hour privilege. Instead of holding up over 120 pax, they decided after much delay to allow us to pass. The MF airline was very apologetic and said that TAO has been an issue in the past on many occasions.

Compared to Japan and Korea immigrations which was a breeze - China is definitely full of drama!
Being my first time thru China, I have to say it was tough and not a very friendly place to visit....
Something about the folks in TAO that tells me they are sticklers for people who do not belong in the country.
By creating huge lines and slow moving people, I think Chinese people do not like non Chinese folks visiting their country???

No they just don't like the people who sneak into the county illegally which is a huge problem on the muti-city transit, this makes it harder on those following the law. (america has a lot to learn from this). Its fine if you are visiting but transiting is a different story. Besides Global Entry, the 10 year Chinese visa was the best investment I ever made.

You were very lucky that the Chinese let your obvious transgression slide. Btw, in reality there is nothing "technical" about the Tao stop.

Well that explains a lot about how Chinese immigration feels about transit pax...

Based on the overnight hotel stay at XMN, I am not likely to return to China as I was shocked at how bad the pollution, crazy traffic, and inedible food.
The food was so different and I could not handle it - normally I am quite a multi-ethnic diner but China turned my stomach....
Ended up eating at McDonalds only....

You went there and broke the law, for goodness sakes! How would you expect them to feel?