Don't miss Xiamen's Gulangyu Island

Xiamen is a popular Chinese tourist destination. However, outside of China it is not well known. The most popular time to visit is during China's "Golden Week". This is due to most Chinese not having to work during the holiday and unlike the Spring Festival there isn't any pressure to visit the extended family. Therefore, the people are free to travel.

This was also the time that I chose to visit. I must admit that I was apprehensive. I was picturing throngs of people everywhere. The Chinese even have a saying for this, "people sea, people mountain". I felt slightly claustrophobic just thinking about trip. The massive crowds turned out to be over-hyped. They weren't that bad and the weather made up for it. It was sunny and hot but not too hot as Golden Week takes places during the beginning of October.

There are at least three areas that one should visit while travelling in Xiamen: Gulangyu Island circled with blue; Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street circled with red; and the water park area circled with purple.

Xiamen's biggest attraction is Gulangyu Island and that is what I am going to focus on in this post. Gulangyu Island was first built up by western nations that sought to use the island as a home base. These nations built residences, embassies, and other administrative buildings on the island. At some point, the foreigners were kicked out and the locals took over the island. The island is now entirely a tourist destination thanks in large part to the interesting buildings that remain. It has narrow hilly roads in which only pedestrians are allowed. It is full of small boutique hotels, restaurants, and other small shops.

In order to reach the island, you must take a very short fairy ride.

Due to the holiday, there was a ton of people trying to reach the island by ferry. This made purchasing a ticket and lining up for disembarkation more cumbersome than usual. It was the only time on my trip where I said, "people sea, people mountain". Luckily, most people were well behaved. There were a few people rushing and shoving as if their life depended on getting on the ferry first but they were outliers.

Once on the island, you join the rest of the ferry goers on a march to your hotel. Now, being that motor vehicles are not allowed on the island this means you must carry your bags to your destination.

Luckily, my hotel came with a relaxing rooftop garden. The island is a peaceful retreat away from the hustle and noise of the city.

When not relaxing at the hotel the island is a great place to explore. There are many interesting buildings dispersed throughout the island. A few of which you can enter to look around.

There are also a few tunnels connecting different parts of the islands. The tunnels add a little novelty to the islands as well as a cool place to get a break from the sun.

Interesting shops can be found scattered around island. Here I found a rose tea shop offering free tasters.

The beach surrounding the island is picturesque which makes for a nice walk.

All in all, I found Gulangyu Island a great place to relax and walk around. The island itself is a good size and takes more than a day to see everything. The food and drinks are varied throughout the island when you eat out. There isn't really a proper grocery store so you will have to bring your own food if you don't want to spend money at a restaurant. If you don't like walking, then the island is definitely not for you. However, if you are looking for an interesting place to stroll around and relax don't be afraid of the crowds at the ferry terminal. The island makes the journey worth it.