Join this four-day tour to discover the essence of Xiamen, a city that seamlessly blends culture and history with modernism and innovation. Take a ferry to visit Gulangyu Island and admire the tuneful atmosphere of the Piano Museum and its remarkable piano collection. Take a walk through the Historic International Settlement and Longtou Road to see the architectural gems and taste typical foodies at the Fish Market and Zhongshan Road. This tour offers you the flexibility you need to spend some free time wandering the streets of vibrant Xiamen by yourself or choosing from a range of optional tours.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Gulangyu Island: one of the most scenic areas in Fujian Province
Piano Museum: the world’s largest and most impressive collection of pianos at Gulangyu Island, some in shapes and sizes you’ve probably never seen before
Xiamen: the most remarkable spot of Fujian Province, praised as the 'Garden on the Sea.' It owns fabulous places such as Gulangyu Island, Yongding Hakkas House, Xiamen University, and beautiful beaches
Hi Heaven: the largest old villas on Gulangyu Island, the most fashionable and exquisite cultural attraction on the island, famous for traditional puppet shows
Day 1: ARRIVAL XIAMEN
Arrive at Xiamen Airport or Railway station. Upon arrival, a representative will be waiting to greet you at the airport/railway station and accompany you on the transfer to the city. The 30-minute-private-transfer will take you directly to your hotel in Xiamen. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure in the city. Take the opportunity to rest and recover after the flight or head out into the city for your first glimpse of life in one of China’s sprawling city.
Overnight in Xiamen.
Day 2: XIAMEN
After breakfast at the hotel, we will pick you up at about 9:00 at hotel´s lobby to visit Gulangyu Island. After a 1-hour-long ride, we’ll take a ferry to Gulangyu Island we´ll visit The Piano Museum that sits above the beautiful Shu Zhuang Garden and conceal the world’s largest and most impressive collection of pianos, some in shapes and sizes you’ve probably never seen before. Afterwards, we´ll continue to visit Sunlight Rock and Zheng Chenggong Memorial Hall that locally known as Huang Rock that lies on the top of Longtou Mountain in south-central Gulangyu Island. We´ll stop for lunch at the local restaurant at midday (incl.), and after we´ll continue with 2-hour-visit of Historic International Settlement and Longtou Road, the peerless mixture of different architectural styles including Traditional Southern Fujian Style, Western Classical Revival Style and Veranda Colonial Style. To sum up our visit we´ll watch the south Fujian dialects puppet show in Hi Heaven, the most fashionable and exquisite cultural attraction on the island. At 16:00 we´ll take a ferry back to Xiamen, and on the way back to the hotel we´ll stop at traditional Fish Market and Zhongshan Road to buy some souvenirs and taste local foodies. You’ll be dropped off at around 18:30 for dinner (not included).
Overnight in Xiamen.
Day 3: XIAMEN
Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel and get ready to enjoy a full day at leisure in the city of Xiamen. You can both set out to visit the sites most interesting to you or simply relax at the hotel and enjoy the available services. Alternately, you can choose from a variety of optional tours.
Optional tour A: Quanzhou, full-day excursion
Visit Quanzhou, the coastal city of Fujian Province, and get know its rich history and culture in this full-day excursion. Early pick-up from the hotel is followed by the visit of Kaiyuan Temple, the largest in Fujian Province, later walk in the Old Town and visit the Golden Fish Lane, Confucius Temple and Tianhou Temple. After the lunch at the local restaurant, continue to Qingjing Mosque, situated in the Muslim hub of Arabic culture in Quanzhou. You´ll be back at the hotel in the late afternoon, approx. at 19:00.
Optional tour B: Yongding, full-day excursion
Take this full-day trip to Yongding and discover the beauty of Yongding County. Starting early at the morning at 8:30, you´ll visit Yongding Tulou cluster, the most extraordinary type of Chinese rural dwellings, and you take a walk in Chuxi Tulou, the largest and oldest round tulou that is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy the lunch at one of the local restaurants and get a deeper insight into the Chinese gastronomy. In the late afternoon, at about 18:30, you will be back at the hotel.
Optional tour C: Xiamen Botanical Garden, half-day excursion
Take this 4 hour trip to Xiamen Botanical Garden in the morning and get know the Chinese ancient garden architecture that boasts more than 1.8 million trees and over 4,000 types of flora, covering an area of 4.93 square kilometres. Continue to visit South Putuo Temple, a Buddhist temple founded in the Tang dynasty. You´ll be dropped back at the hotel in the midday.
Overnight in Xiamen.
Day 4: DEPARTURE XIAMEN
After breakfast at the hotel, prepare to check out of your room at the scheduled time and transfer to the airport/railway station for your onward or return flight/train.
Comfortable and light clothing is best suited to travel in the warm months and warm clothing in the colder months in China. Visitors should not wear sleeveless shirts, shorts, short skirts or sparse clothing when visiting temples, religious or official buildings. Sun protection, sunglasses and a hat can be very useful during your stay.
