Our visit to Xiamen, Fujian, China

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On Nov 28, 2006, we left Yong Ding and took the bus to Xiamen. The bus trip took 4 hours, and a lot of Chinese smoked on the bus.

Note: Some Chinese long distances buses do not allow smoking, especially the ones departing/arriving to Shenzhen.

After we arrived in Xiamen, we were dropped off at the ChungPak bus station, which is quite a way away from the tourist area.

We approached a travel agent to see if we can arrange a guesthouse. They will only referred us to a guesthouse if we joined their tour, which we declined. Another tout approached us and offered us the same tour, but throw in a free night stay, plus free transport to the guesthouse. So, we accepted.

We were driven in a minivan to the guesthouse, near Chung San road, very near the ferry landing to GulongYu island. The guesthouse is clean, with a bathroom inside, plus hotwater.

After we unpacked, we quickly went to grab a bite to eat. We found out the Chung San road is blocked off to traffic from 8 am to midnight, and there are many stores and eateries. It is a nice walk along this commercial street.

The second day, early in the morning, our tour guide came to pick us up. We visited a temple (South Pu Tor Zhi), near Xiamen university. Then we attended a "tea sampling session", which is a sales session. We found that the same tea, if offered to Hong Kong, will have prices quoted at 2.5 times. Since this tour is for Chinese nationals, they offered slightly more reasonable prices.

Then the tour guide offered an "extra activity" of a "round the island ferry ride", which we declined. The tour guide, in a polite and round about way, told to do the tour on our own for the rest of the day. We do not mind.

We took the ferry to Gulongyu Island and walked around the island (about 8.5 KM). We like the island very much, it is comparatively flat and has nice views. We stayed on the island until 7:30 pm and watched Xiamen's skyline from the island.

On the third day, we took the local buses and toured Xiamen. We went to the Xiamen Conference center, which is beautifully built, along the seashore. We also got to view the shore line, as the bus used the 'round the island" road.

In the late afternoon, we took the local bus to the airport.

At around 9:30 pm, our flight (air asia) flew to Bangkok. For those who are not familiar with Air Asia, it is an extremely cheapo flight, with no seat assignments. However, the plane has beautiful (non-reclinable) leather seats, and good looking stewardess.

We find Xiamen a pretty nice city, with comparatively clean air and clean streets. It is pretty vibrant, with lots of construction.

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Photos

Chung San Road
Chung San Road, very clean, lots to eat and shop.

night view of GuLongYu
at the end of Chung San Road is the shoreline overseeing GuLongYu. The island is all lighted up to showoff its nightview across the harbour.

GuLongYu
The "round the island" road is built lavishly, attracted visitors local and afar

skyline of Xiamen
The Nightline of Xiamen is just as beautiful as seen from GuLongYu Island.

Conference Center
Coference center of Xiamen

Round the Island road
Xiamen itself is much bigger island than GuLongYu. Its own "round the island" road is also quite impressive.

time to go
Time to leave, walking to the bus terminal through Chung San Road

Comments

[Lloyd Gay]

Sounds like a nice time.
Half the fun of traveling is discovering new things. Seems that your life has turned into one adventure after another. Have a great time, and enjoy what life offers. Especially the great food.

[Camila]

a treat
It's always a treat to hear about your travels. Thank you for including me in your current adventure stories. Happy travels!! Camila