Xiamen is the most desirable destination for foreign teachers in China – so it’s full of Americans, who have the employment market pretty well sown up. It also has more McDonalds and KFCs than anywhere else I’ve ever seen (even in America), usually next door to each other and never more than 100-200 yards apart from the next outlet. In fact, it was hard to find a Chinese restaurant in the centre of the city, unless you count the innumerable seafood stalls. Twice I had to make do with a Japanese chain noodle shop (Ajisen Ramen by name, also a big chain in the USA – surprise!) before I found a – very – small place hidden down a back street near my hotel. Needless to say, it was always packed with locals, who were astonished to see me. There is a widespread assumption in China, and it’s easy to see why in Xiamen, that “foreigner” = “American”. Having said that, Xiamen is really a very decent place, with the best weather in China; it is the ‘city of eternal Spring’, say the Chinese.
I was there in January 2013, and it was sunny every day and about 20 degrees Centigrade, while, back in QHD, it was closer to minus 20 with a few more (or is it less?) degrees of wind-chill. So, if you like seafood (especially grilled baby octopus/squid) and American fast-food (and Americans), this is about as close to heaven as you’re likely to get. I wasn’t quite so enamoured of the place, having a slight aversion to those same things, but it was still well worth the trip to go there.
Xiamen was, and probably still is, more famous under its old name of Amoy (which is also the name of the local dialect), when every imperialist state worthy of the name had an embassy there – on Gulangyu Island (more of which further down).
I flew in from Chengdu (which was pretty much the opposite kind of place, with amazingly good food everywhere, and terrible weather; fog, mist, and rain every day) and took a taxi in from the airport, since my flight had been delayed and I was in a hurry to check in to the hotel. The hotel … – basic is a nice word for it. The room was a bit odd, with a washbasin and kettle in the middle of the room, which was just big enough and no more.
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On the first night, I just had time to look locally for somewhere to eat, but didn’t fancy grilled baby octopus/squid in any of the eateries between the hotel and the beach, and couldn’t find an ordinary restaurant, so I wound up in the aforementioned Japanese chain noodle place in a shopping centre, which was OK, but not inspiring. I hoped for better luck the next day, and had an early night, having been ground down by the extra three hours spent doing nothing at Chengdu Airport. (Why were my internal flights in China always delayed by three hours? I shouldn’t really complain, as there was always a free meal provided for the waiting (checked-in) passengers.)
In the morning of my first full day, I headed for the botanic gardens, passing the war memorial along the way.
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The Botanic Gardens are quite unexpectedly big, and a bit like Kew but, given the weather, with the indoor parts outdoors and spaced out more. Early morning in “the city of eternal Springtime” is very pleasant, and not too busy, so it turned out to be a very good idea to go precisely there at that time.
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Gulangyu
In the afternoon, I walked down to the port and found the ferry to Gulangyu Island. Since it wasn’t very busy at the time, I caught it, and was in that quiet place within ten minutes. Interestingly, from the far side of the island, on a clear day, you can see Taiwan (well, at least one of the Taiwanese islands).
Gulangyu is a major domestic tourist destination, with more than 10 million visitors each year, making it one of China’s most visited tourist attractions. About 20,000 people live on the island.
The difference in the noise level from the main part of the city was striking. No traffic. Well, only human-powered carts at first, though there were a few small (not to say miniature) electric lorries used by the maintenance workers (and I did see one motorbike further in from the dock – I suppose it must also have been battery-powered, because motor vehicles are banned).
As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
Gulangyu is a very pleasant place to walk around – there is quite a lot to see. At least, when it’s not busy – basically, in the morning. It gradually fills up with tourists as the day goes on, and it can get very crowded in the tourist season. Actually, that’s true of Xiamen in general. I was there in January, so not yet the Spring Holiday (Chinese New Year) season, and it was far from deserted, though still tolerable. I spent most of two days there, and walked around the whole island. The restaurants were full each day, so I returned to the city in the evenings. I don’t want to overload this site with photographs, so I’lll try to be selective.
As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
I bumped into a couple of students, who were on holiday (I can’t remember from where), and we walked around together for a bit, until I decided it would be worth the entrance fee for the piano museum and subtropical garden, and they decided that was too expensive. I have no pictures of museum or garden, unfortunately, but then it was on to the Forty-Four bridge.
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As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
Possibly the most famous person from Xiamen (though he wasn’t born there, and is probably even more famous in Taiwan) is Koxinga (Coxinga, Zheng Chenggong). His is a fascinating story – of a mentally unstable (possibly syphilitic), half-Japanese son of a pirate, who is celebrated as a national hero in mainland China and Japan, and worshipped as a god in Taiwan and by many overseas Chinese. He is celebrated with a giant statue (facing Taiwan) and a museum (among other things) on the island.
As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
As usual, click on any of the thumbnails to open the photo gallery.
To return to the ferry, I had to walk through the ‘old town’, which is actually the former international settlement, with its European-style architecture and narrow winding lanes. This was certainly interesting, but a bit claustrophobic once the crowds built up.
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Then it was back to the city.
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I’m sure if I’d been staying in Xiamen for any length of time, I would have found the more interesting bars, although I might have shied away a bit from the predominantly US clientele (though there may have been some Canadians). In the event, I found my small local restaurant (mentioned above) and a Taiwanese place on a food street for meals, and a local shop selling a not-too-bad selection of beers.
Near the hotel was Zhongshan Park, from where I could get a bus to Xiamen University.
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Just outside the main entrance to the University was Nan Putuo Temple, named after the Buddhist holy site Mount Putuo of Zhejiang Province, which is considered the abode of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy (who, among other things, has a tea named after her – Tieguanyin – which means “iron goddess of mercy”). Click on the link to find out why.
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There is a hill within and behind the temple, but I didn’t have the energy to climb it. Instead, I went for a walk around the University – around, because I wasn’t allowed into the grounds. I didn’t go very far, since it was feeding time. The restaurant within the temple was a bit expensive, required a booking, and was already full on the day. I would come back the next day to walk down to the beach by the same route, and stop in at a vegetarian restaurant which I spotted from the bus on the way back into town.
In front of the temple and the University entrance was a pond, with terrapins.
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The vegetarian restaurant was a bit of a disappointment after those I had visited in Chengdu. One dish with mushrooms was particularly chewy. The beach I walked along was called Hulishan beach, after an old fortress (Hulishan fortress 胡里山炮台) just about visible from the beach (it was screened by trees), a concrete defensive outpost on the southern coast of Xiamen, just across the water from the historically contentious Kinmen Islands. It was closed to the public on the day of my visit.
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Interesting things along the beach: various stone ornaments, piles of sand (about to replace sand which had been lost to the sea, and which were very attractive to local children), the inevitable groups taking wedding photographs, and the main road, which reminded me very much of the Costa del Sol.
In a public loo, there was a sign, which may be the local motto of Xiamen:
Personal homesite 