沙茶面
Sha-cha noodles
Wheat or rice noodles in a savory, slightly sweet broth built on sha-cha paste. Seafood and peanut both appear. Ask, then decide.
厦门 · 3 days
Xiamen
Xiamen is the sea, a university town, and Gulangyu across a short ferry. The island of villas is the sight. The temple and the fortress are the historic stops on the main island. Stay where you can walk to dinner on Zhongshan Road, and take the ferry in the morning.
The sky
Today and the next few days
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Stay near
Zhongshan Road, or a quiet lane on Gulangyu
Give it
Three days
Book first
The Gulangyu ferry on a weekend
Watch for
Calling the ferry a cruise
Book the Gulangyu ferry for a morning sailing and walk the island before the lanes jam. Nanputuo sits under the south hill and is an easy temple hour. Hulishan is the old fortress on the east shore. Zhongshan Road is dinner. The botanical garden is the green half day.
The airport is on the same island, northeast, a taxi or the bus. The rail station connects to the rest of Fujian. Kulangyu has no cars and no metro. The ferry is the commute.
Peanut soup, sha-cha noodles, and seafood are the local plates. Sha-cha is a savory paste, not tea. It often contains seafood and sometimes peanut. Ask.
Getting around
How you actually move.
The main island has taxis, buses, and a metro. Ferries to Gulangyu leave from the Dongdu and other posted piers. The pier on your ticket is the only pier that counts. On Gulangyu you walk, or take the official electric buggy. There are no private cars.
Nanputuo, the university, and the south beach are a cluster. Hulishan is east. Do not plan to walk between them in the afternoon heat.
Where to sleep
A neighborhood, not a booking ad.
Zhongshan Road or the old town around it is the useful base: food, the ferry, and a night market.
A night on Gulangyu is quiet after the day-trippers leave, and inconvenient for everything except the morning lanes. Do it for one night if the villas are the trip. Do not do it with a dawn flight.
Eat this, not a poster of it
What Xiamen actually tastes like
花生汤
Peanut soup
A sweet snack, not a meal. Skip it entirely if peanut is a medical problem. It is in the name.
海蛎煎
Oysters
Oyster omelette is the street version. Shellfish, egg, and a starch. A stall with a queue near the water is the one to trust.
The sights
Where to go, and whether you can just show up.
Ferry reservation
Gulangyu
Historic sites 历史古迹
The car-free island of old villas. The ferry is the ticket across.
Temple entry
Nanputuo Temple
Historic sites 历史古迹
The Buddhist temple under the south hill, next to the university.
Fortress ticket
Hulishan Fortress
Historic sites 历史古迹
A late-Qing coastal fort with old guns, on the east shore.
Free, just walk
Zhongshan Road
Cultural landscapes 人文风光
The arcade street for food and the evening. No ticket.
Garden ticket
Xiamen Botanical Garden
Natural scenery 自然风景
A large garden on the hill, rainforest sections and a view of the city.