7-Day Quanzhou and Xiamen Tour, Spending Time in the Sunshine

DAY 1 Jinjiang Close to the airport, start the trip from Jinjiang. Ride an electric bike to enjoy satay noodles, earthworm jelly, and stone flower jelly, then take a taxi to Wulin Village to see the red brick ancient houses. Afterward, a fifty-minute ride to Luojia Temple, only catching a glimpse of the sunset’s red glow. Walked by the seaside, then went to Shishi to eat at a restaurant, full and rested. DAY 2 Jinjiang - Quanzhou Before 9 AM at Wudian Market, the shops were still closed, very quiet. Like Wulin, it has red brick ancient houses but with more convenient transportation. After shopping, ate rice noodle soup and peanut soup, warm and sweet, loved it. In the afternoon, visited the Min-Taiwan Relations Museum and Quanzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, (the City Museum and Maritime Museum are both under renovation). After finishing, went out at 5:30 PM to eat and then strolled through the alleys and West Street. Riding a bike in the ancient city is very economical, with city government bike-sharing stations near various attractions, free parking within 1 hour, and you can lock the bike anytime. DAY 3 Quanzhou A wonderful day starts with a hearty meal. De Wen shrimp noodles and Hou A Po’s braised meat rice dumplings are both very close to Xuanmiao Temple, [Xuanmiao Temple - Chengtian Temple - Confucian Temple] is one route. Rode a bike to Tianhou Temple, spent 2 yuan to draw a fortune slip, and experienced the cup divination ritual. Biked back to Guandi Temple, where incense offerings were very lively; not far from there is Qingjing Mosque. Goldfish Alley, Flower Alley, and Chengtian Alley extend from Zhongshan Road, hiding small shops and churches. Couldn’t get tickets for the puppet theater, so went to Su Tingyu’s former residence for an experience. DAY 4 Quanzhou - Xiamen In the morning, visited Kaiyuan Temple, had beef on West Street at noon, satisfied, then took the train. Quanzhou Station to Xiamen Station is quite convenient. Visited Zengcuoan, Shanhai Trail, and even biked to Huangcuo Beach. After eating, returned to the accommodation by 7 PM, then went out for another round of strolling, took a taxi to Yanwu Bridge, walked along the seaside at Shapowei, Shapowei has many small shops, not as colorful as during the day, but the night view is also nice. DAY 5 Xiamen - Gulangyu Island Early morning ate satay noodles, then went to Dongdu Pier to take a ferry to Gulangyu Island, clean streets and beautiful buildings, a day for walking only. Not far from the pier is the Organ Art Center and Museum, with performances at half and full hours. Followed the route Longtou Road - Haoyue Garden - Photography Exhibition Hall - Yuyuan - Shuzhuang Garden - Sunlight Rock, completing the combined ticket check-in, just in time to see the sunset on Sunlight Rock. The return ferry docks near Zhongshan Road and Bashi, perfect for filling your stomach. DAY 6 Zhangzhou - Tulou Joined a large tour group to the Tulou, the guide occasionally promoted local specialties, and I impulsively bought ginger candy. People still live inside the Tulou, with relic shrines, gun holes, and clothes drying along the inner circle of the buildings coexisting. Between the Tulou is a village called Yunshuiyao, home to many century-old banyan trees, the shade reflects on the river, tinting the water green, can’t imagine how many people in Sichuan would be drinking tea and playing mahjong by the river. DAY 7 Xiamen The Botanical Garden is free before 6:30 AM, the elevator at the south gate for sea views was closed, so relied on walking the whole way. Climbing the steps and looking back, you can see the sunrise. The ginger family plant area feels very Southeast Asian, the flower garden had nothing much, the tropical rainforest, desert area, and vine area are connected. Not far from the Botanical Garden’s west gate is the Bell and Drum Cableway, a loop ride to see mountains, city, and sea, a unique Xiamen experience. The sunshine was great, the sea surface looked like colorful candy wrappers, the dragon boat pond shimmered with ripples, many small shops near Dasha, Jiageng Park is a bit out of the way for sunset viewing. Rode the seaside bike path in the night, ending the holiday.