The last time I visited Xiamen was a year and a half ago, right in the middle of summer when it was unbearably hot.
Now it’s already quite cold, and we’ve entered the off-season for tourism in Xiamen.
After checking into the hotel, I originally planned to take a stroll around Xiamen University, but they wouldn’t let visitors in, which was very disappointing.
The security guards at the gate, in particular, had terrible attitudes. For an educational institution,
employing people with such poor conduct really says something about the caliber of this university~~~
When I searched for Xiamen University online later, all that came up were sex scandals; I can only laugh awkwardly~~
Then I walked back and wandered around Zhongshan Road. Naturally, there wasn’t much of interest on Zhongshan Road itself,
but quite a few upscale and impressive shops have opened in the surrounding area~~~
Turning the corner, I arrived at the Lujiang Hotel and went straight to the 7th floor for dinner. All the window seats were reserved,
but that didn’t matter since I could already see Gulangyu Island from my hotel room—no need to pitifully compete with others for a seat here~~
I ordered dim sum again, and the food here has noticeably improved compared to my last visit….
The next day, after breakfast, I headed straight to Gulangyu Island. Since it was the off-season, there were only just over ten thousand people on the island,
a stark contrast to the sea of people during my previous visit to Xiamen, and not a single shop required waiting in line~~~
Since the Gulangyu ferry terminal was under renovation, all boats docked at the nearby Sanqiutian Terminal instead.
Passing through Longshan Cave, I spent the morning exploring this less-crowded side of Gulangyu, passing various family-run guesthouses and bars along the road.
There are many massive banyan trees on the island, and I even walked through a cemetery…
Then I visited Shuzhuang Garden and the Piano Museum. Unfortunately, photography wasn’t allowed inside the museum..
So I just took some photos of the sea nearby~~~
Encountered a very cute dog along the way
By noon, I reached the bustling commercial district, so it was time to start eating: Zhang San Feng milk tea, curry fish balls, takoyaki,
and Xiao Ma Ge cheese potatoes—I ate until I was full~~~
In the afternoon, I enjoyed afternoon tea at the Starbucks next to Indigo~~~ A four-story Starbucks, with an outdoor terrace on the fourth floor~~~
Starbucks
Then I had dinner at Lulu Town downstairs. The ambiance was great, but the food was lacking..
The dishes were incredibly salty, a far cry from those in Shanghai..
Lulu Town Three-Cup Chicken
Photos in this post taken with SONY NEX-5R + 16-50 f3.5-5.6, post-processed in Lightroom.
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