Xiamen Travel Guide

Kulangsu is located in the southwest corner of Xiamen, Fujian Province, facing Xiamen Island across the Lujiang Strait. The island covers an area of about 1.88 km² and is a "garden on the sea, island of pianos, and exhibition of architecture from around the world" that blends nature with culture. In 2017, it was inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List as "Kulangsu, a Historic International Settlement." The island is a bedrock island with a winding coastline and many natural harbors and reefs; its terrain is mainly hilly, with the highest peak, Sunlight Rock, at 92.7 m above sea level. It has a subtropical maritime monsoon climate, warm and humid, with spring-like weather all year round, making it suitable for visiting throughout the year. Motor vehicles are prohibited on the island, so there is no noise of traffic—only birdsong, flowers, waves, and piano music.

Hundreds of historic buildings from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century still stand, spanning Gothic, Victorian, Baroque, Nanyang arcade, and traditional Minnan courtyard styles, and are acclaimed as a "World Architecture Expo" and a living specimen of a modern East Asian international community.

Representative buildings include the Bagua Mansion (Organ Museum), Shuzhuang Garden, Haoyue Garden, the former site of the HSBC Mansion, Trinity Church, and the former residence of Lin Yutang.

The island has a profound musical cultural heritage. Since the late Qing Dynasty, Western music was introduced through missionary schools. The density of pianos on the island has long ranked among the highest in the country, and musical masters such as Yin Chengzong and Xu Feiping were born here, earning it the reputation of "Island of Pianos" and "Island of Music." The Piano Museum houses century-old antique pianos, and the Organ Museum holds a giant pipe organ. Piano music is often heard among the streets and alleys, and the tradition of family concerts continues to this day.

The core attractions on the island each have their own distinctive features. Sunlight Rock is the highest point on the island; from the summit, visitors can enjoy a 360° panoramic view of the entire island, Xiamen main island, and the Taiwan Strait, and there is a saying that "you haven't truly visited Xiamen until you've climbed Sunlight Rock." Shuzhuang Garden was the private residence of the wealthy Taiwanese merchant Lin Erjia, designed to "hide the sea within the garden and embrace the mountains as scenery," blending Jiangnan garden aesthetics with mountain and sea views; the garden's Piano Museum houses nearly a hundred antique pianos. Haoyue Garden features a 15.7 m tall granite statue of Zheng Chenggong facing the sea, built to commemorate the national hero who recovered Taiwan. Bagua Tower is a landmark building on the island, blending Chinese and Western architectural aesthetics, and houses hundreds of antique organs. Yuyuan Garden, Gulang Stone, Yanwei Mountain Ecological Park, and other cultural and natural attractions are scattered across the island, linking together a century of charm and the poetry of mountains and sea.

Tour tips

• Island access: You need to take a ferry from the ferry terminal on Xiamen Island to get there. There is no general admission ticket; core attractions require separate tickets or a combo ticket.
• Mode of travel: Walking tours across the island; paid sightseeing electric carts are available; motor vehicles are prohibited.
• Recommended season: suitable all year round; spring and fall (April-May, October-November) offer comfortable weather and blooming bougainvillea, making the scenery especially beautiful.

Xiamen Botanical Garden is located in Wanshi Mountain and built around the Wanshi Rock Reservoir (now Wanshi Lake). The lake and mountain scenery within the garden complement the lush vegetation, forming the famous Xiamen attraction "Wanshi Hancui." The botanical garden features multiple specialized exhibition areas organized by plant category, among which the rainforest world and the succulent plant area are particularly outstanding. The rainforest world, while preserving the original natural vegetation, has introduced a large number of tropical rainforest plants, displaying rainforest characteristics such as strangler figs, cauliflory, and buttress roots. In addition, a misting system fills the forest with water vapor, making visitors feel as if they are walking through a fairyland. The succulent plant area includes three indoor exhibition halls—the cactus exhibition hall, the succulent plant exhibition hall, and the forest-dwelling succulent plant exhibition hall—as well as an outdoor exhibition area simulating a desert environment. It has collected thousands of succulent species, and its variety of cacti ranks among the top of similar domestic exhibition halls, with the tall Wulun columns and golden barrel cactus clusters being quite spectacular. The gymnosperm area gathers rare tree species such as golden larch, cedar, Norfolk Island pine, and the so-called living fossils metasequoia and ginkgo.

In addition to the botanical scenery, the garden is also dotted with numerous cultural relics. "Taiping Stone Laugh," naturally formed by four huge boulders into the shape of an "open-mouthed laugh," is one of the twenty famous attractions of Xiamen; the walls of the Changxiao Cave on the hill behind Tianjie Temple are inscribed with poems by Ming dynasty generals who campaigned against Japanese pirates, and the site is a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit; historical remains such as Wanshi Lian Temple, the New Stele Forest, and the ancient Qiaoxi Bridge each have their own charm. Not far from the main entrance at the West Gate is the Norfolk Island pine lawn, from which visitors can conveniently reach the major scenic areas.

The Zhonggu Cableway is an elevated sightseeing cable car spanning the Wanshi mountains in Xiamen. Its lower station is located near the west gate of Xiamen botanical garden and the Zhonggu Mountain tunnel entrance. The route passes the botanical garden, Huxi Rock, and Hongshan area, extending all the way to the Wulao Peak behind Nanputuo temple, covering over 1,000 m in total. The cable car features semi-open two-person gondolas without window panes, offering unobstructed views where mountain breezes brush past your face. Once seated, you'll be suspended above layers of greenery and city rooftops.

The round-trip itinerary takes approx. 40 mins. Upon reaching the terminal station, the train returns along the same route without requiring transfers. From this elevated vantage point, you can take in Xiamen's mountains, sea, and cityscape all at once: below lies the lush forest and rugged rocks of the botanical garden, while a turn of the head reveals the temple eaves of Nanputuo temple. In the distance, Gulangyu island, the twin towers, and the open sea unfold in sequence—on clear days, you can even spot the islands toward Kinmen. Along the way, the train passes original wartime tunnels and wind-eroded boulders, adding a touch of historical ambiance to this aerial journey.

For a more enjoyable experience, you may choose the departure time slot around sunset when the sea and city skyline under the evening glow make for particularly stunning photos. This time slot is often in high demand. The cable car baskets are open on all sides, so travelers who are sensitive to wind should pick a clear and less windy day. The cable car may suspend operations in case of strong winds, thunderstorms, or other adverse weather conditions. It is advisable to check the day's situation before departure.

The Xiamen Science & Technology Museum is hailed as the "Disneyland of science", featuring five themed venues with over 400 interactive exhibits, attracting over a million visitors annually. The exploratory marine exhibition zone offers an immersive journey through the wonders of the ocean floor. Discover the mysteries of human and animal life on a fascinating biological adventure. The dazzling light and shadow playground provides dreamy interactive experiences. Witness robots showcasing their unique skills and marvel at the endless transformations of electromagnetic phenomena, not to mention the spectacular robot dance competition... Every interaction delivers hardcore science, allowing you to fully immerse in the magic and fun of technology.

Xiamen University was founded in 1921 by Mr. Tan Kah Kee, a renowned patriotic overseas Chinese leader, marking the first university established by overseas Chinese in modern Chinese educational history. For a century, the university has upheld its founder's vision, cultivating a distinguished ethos of "patriotism, revolution, self-improvement, and science." With its distinctive educational approach, it has nurtured generations of outstanding talents, making significant contributions to national prosperity, public welfare, and the global dissemination of Chinese culture.

The Siming campus is the main campus of Xiamen University, located in Siming District, Xiamen, at the southern tip of Xiamen Island. Nestled between mountains and sea, it is renowned as the "garden university by the sea." The campus features numerous landmark buildings and comprehensive teaching and living facilities, with the Jiageng Building Complex (also known as the Songen Building Complex) standing as its iconic cross-century architectural masterpiece. Completed in 2001 to commemorate the university's 80th anniversary, this complex consists of five buildings: Songen Tower (the main building), Baoxin Liying Building, Chengfeng Building, Zuying Building, and Zhongmingxuan Building. Designed with a symmetrical "one-main-four-auxiliary" layout, the 21-story Songen Tower serves primarily as the administrative center, while the other four six-story buildings are dedicated to public teaching and research. The architectural style inherits and evolves the distinctive "Jiageng Style," featuring red-tiled sloping roofs that harmonize with the campus's historic structures. This fusion of Chinese and Western elements creates a modern complex with contemporary character, forming the landmark core that dominates the campus landscape.

Nanputuo Temple is adjacent to Xiamen University and backed by Wulao Peak. As a millennium-old monastery with thriving incense in southern Fujian, many travelers arrange to visit both sites on the same day. The temple was first built in the late Tang Dynasty, underwent several rises and declines, and was rebuilt by Marquis Jinghai Shi Lang during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. It enshrines Guanyin Bodhisattva and is located south of Mount Putuo in Zhejiang, hence the name "Nanputuo Temple." On one side of the temple stands the Southern Fujian Buddhist College, founded in 1925, which is one of China's modern Buddhist institutions with a long educational history.

The temple's east and west mountain gates stand close to each other. Entering through them, visitors first encounter the liberation pond and lotus pond, where turtles bask on rocks and stone pagodas stand by the water. The main halls ascend along the central axis with the mountain's slope, arranged in sequence as the heavenly king hall, main hall of the great hero, great compassion hall, and scripture repository: the heavenly king hall enshrines a perpetually smiling Maitreya at its center, with Skanda standing behind holding his vajra staff; the main hall of the great hero houses the buddhas of the three periods, while the three western saints stand behind it; the great compassion hall, built on a high stone platform, is an octagonal wooden pavilion with triple flying eaves, containing four guanyin statues facing cardinal directions—three being 48-armed guanyin exquisitely crafted; the scripture repository safeguards Buddhist artifacts including the blood-written Lotus Sutra from the Wanli era and a white porcelain guanyin by renowned Ming dynasty ceramic artist He Chaozong. Bell and drum towers flank the courtyard, while the arhat hall displays eighteen arhats arranged on either side.

The temple grounds preserve numerous cliff inscriptions by notable figures, with the massive carved "Buddha" character by monk Zhenhui from the Qing dynasty on the rear cliff being particularly striking—often drawing travelers to pause for photos. For mountain hiking, ascend the stone steps behind the temple to Wulao Peak, where "Five elders piercing the clouds" ranks among Xiamen's eight great views as designated in the Qing dynasty, offering summit vistas over Xiamen University and seascapes. Alternatively, touring the temple's main halls requires little time if skipping the climb.

For vegetarian meals, you can visit the temple's vegetarian restaurant. Haihui Lou and Puzhao Lou are both garden-style dining buildings. Nanputuo vegetarian cuisine is highly renowned in Xiamen. One signature dish, "Half-moon sinking in the river," features mushrooms and gluten in a soup with a "half-moon" submerged in the broth. It earned this elegant name in the 1960s after being tasted by Guo Moruo. Before leaving, consider taking some Nanputuo vegetarian cakes, available in both sweet and savory flavors. Fillings like mung bean, coconut, and pumpkin are particularly popular, making them famous souvenirs from Xiamen.

Amoy Sea Trip is a long-established cruise brand along the Lujiang River, operating a fleet of over 20 diverse cruise models. It offers several themed routes including the Xiamen-Gulangyu island loop, Xiamen sea tour, Gulangyu night cruise, Lujiang night cruise, and Lujiang serenade. The ships themselves are attractions: the antique Chenggong series, the Republic-era styled Lujiang Star, the Minnan-featured Taigu No. 3, and the European-classical Poseidon No. 6 each have distinct styles. The fleet has also incorporated new pure-electric models, with old and new vessels moored together, forming a scenic view along the Lujiang River.

The cruise departs from the Peace Pier, built in the 1930s and formerly known as the Taikoo Pier. While waiting to board, take note of the old mooring bollards from the Taikoo Trading Company era along the shore—a remnant of Xiamen's port-opening days. The daytime route glides past the Zheng Chenggong statue, Gulangyu's architectural clusters and Sunlight Rock, then turns along the Yanwu Bridge and the skyline of the Shimao Twin Towers, with views extending to Xiamen University and the coastal line of Hulishan Fort. The Kinmen-Xiamen route heads deeper into Xiamen Bay, offering distant views of the Kinmen islands across the sea. At night, when both sides of the Lujiang River light up, the Yanwu Bridge's LED strips, the Twin Towers' silhouette, and Gulangyu's outline reflect on the water. On night departure time slots like "Lujiang Serenade," live bands often perform on the deck, where sea breezes, lights, and music combine to add a touch of romance to the nighttime cruise.

Choose your route based on interest: pick the Jinxia direction if you want to gaze at the Kinmen Islands during the day, or opt for the nightlife cruise to see the city lights. Sea voyages may be affected by weather conditions such as wind waves or heavy fog, with possible cancellations or adjustments on certain days. It is advisable to check the day's sailing schedule before departure. For the best photos, head to the open deck—the scenery along Lujiang Road and Gulangyu Island will pass by in sequence, with both sides worth stopping by for a while.