Wanderlustful

The biggest event currently taking over the city I live in is one you’ve never even heard of, the 2010 Asian Games. But because of it, we had a school closing last Friday for the opening ceremonies. Taking advantage of the long weekend, we flew to Xiamen.

Xiamen is an island that’s part of Fujian province and just a bit north of here. It’s near Taiwan. We flew in on a Thursday night and went straight to the hotel. The next morning, we booked a tu lou tour for Saturday. Tu lou are circular earthen-made buildings. There are many floors and hundreds of residences in each one. It’s amazing to visit and really a throwback to a different way of living.

We spent Friday walking along Xiamen’s walking street, Zhongsan Lu. There are a number of shops, coffee stands and street vendors. From there, we went to the Gulangyu Ferry Terminal. Gulangyu is a small, pedestrian only island that is part of Xiamen city. Gulangyu used to be a foreign settlement and still retains some of the colonial architecture. It’s a great place to spend your afternoon, sip coffee or tea, read, and people watch.

On Saturday, we spent all day with the tu lou tour. A few hours there by bus, lunch, visits to the many tu lou. There were round, square, large and small buildings. I will post my photos to Flickr.

On Sunday, we just walked around some more and basically got ready to fly home. It was a perfect, short visit to Xiamen. It is a small city, in comparison to the many Chinese cities I’ve added to my “visited” list. It’s easily navigated by bus, and there is no underground system. The people are friendly and helpful.

I give a huge thumbs up to our accommodations on this weekend getaway. Staff were extremely helpful, the rooms was large and comfortable, good internet connection and a big vegetarian breakfast buffet. Good value for the money and I would stay there again. Below are the details:

Xiamen Ru Shi Hotel
35 Wenping Road
Siming, Xiamen, Fujian, China
0592-5831888

厦门如是酒店
福建省厦门市思明区文屏路35号

Zhuhai is a charming respite from the crowds of Guangzhou. We took a bus from Tianhe Coach Terminal, which was 75 RMB for the VIP bus. You can also get frequent buses from the China Hotel, the Garden Hotel, the airport, and near the Guangzhou East Railway Station. The ride was about 2.5 hours.

Once there, take a peaceful walk along Lover’s Road, which will take you to the Fisher Girl statue, the symbol of Zhuhai. The new Yuangmingyuan is an imitation of the Yuanming Palace in Beijing and covers an area of 1.39 square km. Jintai Buddhist Temple was built at the end of the Song Dynasty, over 1,000 years old and worth a visit if you are in the Doumen area. You can also play golf or indulge in the hot springs. If that’s not enough, at the Gongbei port, you can literally walk to Macau.

Hotels are plentiful, from budget to luxury. Check http://www.ctrip.com for deals.