The architecture is the historic sight: a treaty-port island of villas. It is not a beach day, though there is water around it.
Commercial lanes near the ferry are the loud part. Walk ten minutes and the island changes.
Getting there
Ferry from the pier on your ticket, a short crossing. On the island, walk. The official buggy is for tired legs, not for seeing the lanes. There is no metro and no taxi.
Staying nearby
One night on the island if you want it empty at dawn. Otherwise sleep on the main island and ferry over. Rooms on Gulangyu vary from careful villas to tired guesthouses. Read the location: a hill is a hill when you have luggage.