You will remember Xiamen for its delicious seafood, the natural beauty of Gulangyu island and a cluster of UNESCO world heritage sites of Yongding Hakka Tulou.
Xiamen is located in the southeastern province Fujian and it’s a nice weekend getaway. Whether you are a Shanghai expats or just traveling in China, Xiamen will not disappoint.
Let’s have a look at the 2 must visit places in Xiamen and at the end of this post you can find a summary with how to get there and where to stay.
Round earth fort like building
The best way to know what Yongding Hakka Tulou is all about is to figure out what each word means. Yongding is a district in the Fuijan province. Hakka are Han Chinese people. And Tulou means earthen building. It all starts to makes sense now.
The earth buildings are an interesting sight and even part of the UNESCO world heritage list. After reading some info panels it seems like old Hakka villages were transformed into these fort like community buildings after they had some issues with their neighbors who wanted to steal their land.
While we enjoy the fabulous views from the top, the locals invite us to try different types of tea. are fabulous. And we are welcomed by the locals and try the different types of tea.
Take your time to walk down and explore all the massive community buildings. Once you enter you will meet some friendly locals offering some snacks and drinks for sale but they are not pushy at all, I like that!
Inside the earthen buildings you imagine what the community life was like. Some of the buildings are giant with different rings hosting up to 400 rooms!
We have lunch at a very local place. Interestingly they often wrap & seal plates and cups in plastic. It does not mean they are clean though, I am still trying to understand why they do this. If you know, please drop it in the comments!
Our guide drives us to the next stop with more earthen buildings in different shapes. We also pass by a small village with a temple where some fire crackers are still popping. It never gets boring here!
Yongding Hakka Tulou is quite a drive from Xiamen city so it’s a good idea to talk to your hotel or a local travel agency to arrange a driver. You can also take a bus but it’s at least 3.5 hours and it’s harder to travel between the different areas of Tulou.
Finally here is a Tulou map from China Highlights if you want to get an idea of the size of this scenic spot.
Time to unwind on drum wave Island
Is your life quite hectic, busy to say the least? An escape to Gulangyu next to Xiamen city is what you have been looking for!
Who would think you could find a historical European buildings, winding lanes, pristine beaches and palm trees just a short boat trip away? Once you set foot on this beautiful island you feel zen.
The name Gulangyu means drum wave, referring to the sound the waves make when they crash onto the shore. Nowadays people also have another musical name: piano island. No surprise if you know that there is a piano museum with over a 100 different pianos. Even if you are not a music fan this collection is quite impressive!
The narrow lanes that wind up the hills, surrounded by lush greenery is all you really need to unwind! Left and right you will spot a mix of European and Chinese historical buildings.
In between all the hiking you can enjoy some delicious seafood at one of the many restaurants, just download dianping to find the best one around you. Food reviews are no joke in China. if you cannot read Chinese just look for places with a 4 or 5 star rating and you will be fine.
Enjoy the rest of the afternoon strolling through the narrow streets. Try some yummie pineapple cake or octopus leg. There is tasty snack for everyone here! It might surprise you how modern and creative this neighborhood is, it almost feels like a hipster playground.
The mix of so many different elements in a relaxing setting makes an excursion to Gulangyu really worth it! And there is even a little surprise on your trip back to Xiamen: a live piano performance on the boat. It’s hard to picture a better way to say goodbye to this musical Island.
How to get to Yongding Hakka Tulou and Gulangyu Island in Xiamen
Xiamen is less than a 2 hour flight from Shanghai and there are about 21 flights a day. If you want to check flights from other destinations you have to look up Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN).
The earth buildings of Yongding Hakka Tulou are 2 to 3 hours from Xiamen city and the most convenient way to visit them is by private car. You can talk to your hotel to arrange one. For all other options you can check this travel china guide.
The Gulangyu Island can be reached from Xiamen by ferry. in 20 minutes. All timetables can be found here. Make sure to bring your passport!
Where to stay in Xiamen? + discount
There are plenty of options for all budgets in Xiamen. You can go for Shangri-la, westin, hilton etc or a more unique option like Hitel which offers a refreshing minimal cozy luxury hotel.
I have a link with booking.com discount for you. Enjoy and you support my blog at the same time 🙂
If you enjoyed this post or have some feedback, leave a comment below 🙂
Hi! Long time no see! Interesting post! For the sealed cups and plates, do the restaurant charge you for extra fee? Some restaurants start offer these since 2002 SARS. Public opinion says SARS were out of control because Chinese people don’t have separate dinning habit. The restaurant offer sealed plates to attract customers. Most of the time they charge extra money. But the restaurants don’t seal these themselves, they have a vender to do it. If they would like to save money on this cost, their vender will jump the disinfect step and just seal it. Well, that’s my understanding for this. Whoa, I am so chatty that I left such a long comment. Haha.