Often China & Japan Related.
While in Xiamen, we took a ferry across the way to Gulangyu. It cost 3 yuan per person to go to the island and the ferry ride took a surprisingly long time. I figured it’d go straight across and take about two minutes or less because as you can see , it is incredibly close. However, the ferry boat goes half way around the island, which gives you quite a pleasant view of the old buildings on the shore, the large statue of Koxinga and the amazing shoreline. I was a bit worried when it took over two minutes because ferries have the ability to make me seasick within less than that time. However, the ocean was fairly calm and I stood on the edge the whole time with the wind in my face. It was amazingly pleasant.
Our interest in going to the island was twofold. One, it is a teeny island off of another island and it has old Western style buildings on it that light up at night. And secondly, no vehicles are permitted on the island. There is not a single car or truck. Is there anywhere else like this in the world, except for nature reserves? And even then, they still allow people through on tours. A ferry takes people and goods back and forth, all day and night, and little motorized golfcarts drive you around the island. I didn’t even see that many bicycles to be honest. To make a complete circle around the island you can buy a ticket, get off and on four times and it costs 40 yuan per person. This is quite steep considering you could walk the island in a few hours if it was not 100F and ridiculously humid, but also makes sense considering they charge the insanely low ferry fees to get there. In China that is how prices seem to work, very cheap to lure you in then obscenely high prices follow. It’s a trap. Luckily this trap is fairly worth it, as it is filled with lots of beautiful foliage, old buildings, a sanitarium, abandoned churches and a great view of Xiamen. We spent most of our time hiding in the shade and riding around on the golfcart. It has a very nostalgic old South feel to it, with those swampy moss trees and old buildings.
Overall, our trip to Xiamen was extremely pleasant. We were not bothered by hawkers, peddlers or salesman. I didn’t feel like I was burning alive like I did in Sanya, although it was extremely hot and I received about 50 bites from random bugs, I think mostly gnats at the Botanical Gardens. And there were not a ridiculous number of tourists there (yet), which is always a huge plus in my book.