Two of these days are on foot and one is on a bicycle, and none of them needs to start early. Gulangyu deserves a full day rather than the three hours most people give it, and the island empties in the late afternoon when the day trips leave — which is the argument for staying a night on it if you can.
At a glance
- Day 1Ferry to Gulangyu → the villa lanes → Sunlight Rock
- Day 2Nanputuo Temple → Xiamen University → Shapowei
- Day 3Island Ring Road → Zengcuo'an → Zhongshan Road
Day 1
The island with no cars on it
Ferry to Gulangyu → the villa lanes → Sunlight Rock
Gulangyu was the foreign concession and is now a UNESCO listing: a thousand villas in a dozen styles on an island with no vehicles at all. Book the ferry ahead — the visitor boat leaves from a different pier than the residents' one — and turn down the guides working the queue, for reasons set out below. Then abandon the map, because the lanes are the point and every one of them arrives somewhere. The Bagua Building is worth the ticket for the pipe organ inside it, whatever anyone at the door tells you. Sunlight Rock is the high point and the view back over the strait. Stay until the day boats have gone if you possibly can.
Day 2
A temple, a campus, and the old harbour quarter
Nanputuo Temple → Xiamen University → Shapowei
Nanputuo sits at the foot of a hill with a lotus pond in front of it, and the path up behind the halls is a short climb to a view over the whole of the southern island. Xiamen University is next door and genuinely one of the handsomest campuses in the country; visitor numbers are capped and you may need to register. Shapowei in the afternoon is the old fishing harbour turned into cafés and studios, with the boats still tied up in the middle of it.
Day 3
The coast road, at bicycle speed
Island Ring Road → Zengcuo'an → Zhongshan Road
The Island Ring Road runs along the southern shore with a separate cycle path the whole way, palms on one side and the strait on the other, and the bikes are unlocked from your phone for a few yuan. Zengcuo'an is the old fishing village along it, now guesthouses and snack streets. Finish on Zhongshan Road, the arcaded shopping street back in town, and eat: oyster omelette, satay noodles, popiah rolls, and the small flaky pies the city sends everyone home with.
Eat like you mean it
- Oyster omeletteSmall oysters, egg and sweet-potato starch, fried until the edges crisp.
- Satay noodlesThe Southeast Asian trade route on a plate: peanut, curry and prawn.
- Spring rolls (popiah)Thin skin rolled round vegetables and peanut, unfried and eaten cold.
- Worm jellySet sandworm broth, sliced and dressed. Better than the name and a local point of pride.
- Fresh seafoodPicked from a tank and priced by weight. Confirm the price before it is cooked.
- Pie & café cultureMung-bean pies and a coffee scene that predates the mainland fashion for it.
Where to stay
- Zhongshan Road and LunduThe old town and the ferry pier, best for a short stay.
- Xiamen University and ShapoweiThe nicest streets and the cafés, walking distance to the temple.
- Zengcuo'an and the Island Ring RoadGuesthouses on the coast, for the bicycle day.
- Gulangyu itselfThe island after the day boats leave. Bring a small bag — there are no cars.
Before you go
- Turn down the guides touting at the Gulangyu ferry queue. They are paid on commission, which is why they walk you past the ticketed sights, into pearl and tea shops, and into restaurants at roughly double the price two lanes away.
- Book the Gulangyu ferry online in advance, and check which pier your ticket leaves from — visitors and residents use different ones.
- Give Gulangyu a whole day, not a morning. It empties in the late afternoon and that is when it is worth being there.
- Xiamen University caps visitor numbers and may require registration. Check on the day rather than turning up at the gate.
- Confirm the price of tank seafood by weight before it goes to the kitchen. This is the one place in the city where bills surprise people.
- Typhoon season runs July to September. October to December is the reason people rate this city.
One honest thing — Book the Gulangyu ferry in advance and check the pier — visitors and residents use different ones. Turn down the guides working the queue; they are paid by the shops they walk you into.
