Xiamen Travel Recs
Tags : property, business, travel, technology, nightlife, events, food, food
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Kiwi
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Joined: May 07, 2003
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 Posted:
Apr 01, 2005 - 05:49 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Xiamen Travel Recs |
Just spent a few days in Xiamen and enjoyed it so thought I'd post a few recommendations.
It is an interesting and very pleasant city. Main tourist attractions are around the harbor area and include:
1 - Gulangyu, a small island with lots of historical architecture, no motorvehicles, and not too many crowds. Very worthwhile and relaxing place to wander around. A small area but you could spend more than a day exploring if you wanted. Good opportunities for photos. The food on the island isn't so hot, but not bad either. Currently the ferry across costs only 3 kuai, but I heard rumors they are going to introduce a 'tourists price' of 80 kuai. Given that you pay again to get into various sites while on the island that seems a bit steep and I hope they don't go through with it (sites on the island include various gardens, a piano museum, small temples etc). A charge like that is also going to have the effect of further depressing restaurant quality on the island as tourists will be less likely to pop over just for a meal.
2 - Boat trip out to Mazu, the Taiwanese controlled island of the Fujian coast. Only cost 90RMB or something and pretty worthwhile I thought. You just bob around in the sea off the island and take photographs of a sign saying 'Unite China Under the Three Principles of the Peopole', but interesting.
3 - Beaches. Not great but acceptable.
4 - Nanputuo Temple. Big sprawling temple on a hillside by the university. Full of genuine worshippers so pretty interesting. Shrines to the Goddess of Mercy etc. You can hike up the hill behind the temple and drink tea at a little shop halfway to the summit. From the top you can wander down into the botanical gardens on the other side of the mountain. Nice relaxing afternoon (bit hard on the legs though given that I had done the Xiamen 1/2 marathon the previous day). Overall a much better temple experience than anything in Shanghai.
5 - Overseas Chinese museum. Closed by the time I got there, but I think it would be interesting given that many overseas Chinese come from this area.
6 - Hakka roundhouses near Xiamen. Also didn't make the trip, but I may come back and do it.
7 - Fantastic Taiwanese style wet market located in the backstreets north of Zhongshan road. Really interesting to wander around and look at the stuff being sold. Some good snacks on offer too, including oyster noodles.
8 - Big old cannon and fort south of the Uni is also worth a look.
Food is great:
1 - Restaurant on the harbour just south of the ferry terminal. It says something like 'Seafood and Beer' in English. A place with outside seating on the roof, a little garden outside, located under an overhanging rock, and lit up with lots of colored lights at night time. You will see it just south of the Pizza Hut and Mc Ds signs at the bottom of Zhongshan Road. Very decent and reasonably priced food in a nice environment for having a quiet beer. Had ginger duck (bit tough but very tasty), 3 cups squid, oyster omletes (not really Taiwan style but still OK), hakka stirfry, kongxin cai, Taiwan sausage etc. Only came to RMB100+ including several beers.
2 - Seafood restaurants in the street behind the big old hotel at the bottom of Zhongshan Road. Chose the largest one there, on the 'hotel' side of the street. Good and reasonably priced seafood. Had fantastic shellfish fritters (with razor clams or something in them), steamed fish, vegetables, clam and ginger soup, plus some other stuff and plenty of beers. Again only RMB100+ and the food was top notch.
3 - A place called 'Lin Duck Restaurant' or similar located along Siming S Road close to the gate of Xiamen Uni. Great Fujian style roast duck rice. Oyster noodles. A tasty wheat beer from Huiqian Brewery. Was very impressed by that beer.
4 - Good little soup restaurant in a sidestreet south of Zhongshan Road, again close to the water. Well made herbal soups and sticky rice variations. Only 50RMB or so for two.
5 - Good quality fresh fruit on offer all over the place, including wax apples, love apples, mangosteens, etc. Really cheap.
Nightlife is a bit dead. Checked out the Londoner. Friendly crowd and cheap beers, but the place is a small.
Got a good massage at a place located beside Coffee Club on Yejian Road (by the lake on the NW corner). Nice shop and they certainly knew what they were doing. 80RMB for 1 hour. The staff were very helpful in pointing me towards the pub afterwards.
I stayed at a guesthouse in the uni. Only 170 RMB/night for decent clean room with seaview. Very nice campus outside. Great place to stay.
There is a fantastic Chinese desert shop on the west side of Siming South Road, located a short walk north of the temple (Nanputuo). I go to alot of these places and this shop was far above average. The boss was also very hospitable.
And for buying tea I would recommend speaking to Lin Ying at the teashop at No 1 Dazhong Road (located just of Zhongshan road and not too far from the waterfront). She doesn't speak English but you should try and get your tea here anyway since she really couldn't be more helpful. She spent over an hour discussing tea with me and letting me sample different types. |
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jamiejah
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Joined: Mar 21, 2004
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Apr 01, 2005 - 07:09 PM |
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thats great kiwi,thanks for that
the wife said not this time in China,but its cheap enough to fly from Japan,thanks again |
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DeeLphiC
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Joined: Mar 11, 2005
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Apr 01, 2005 - 08:50 PM |
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yes Xiamen is cool. cool breeze. cool people. cool architectures. cool history. so far one of my favourite among those I have traveled to.
I used to stay in the hostel in Xiamen Uni, which is just next to the South Putuo Temple. and facing the food street. also there are lots of book stores of course with lots of college students around. Time can be really very easily killed with an afternoon staring at the fishes in glittering pools, or a morning sitting next to one of those owners of the book stores reading.
I liked to go to Jimei by bus. The bus starts from the Xiamen Uni and the last stop is Jimei. I forgot the bus number. Definitely a much better experience than the bus in Shanghai - not very crowded such much more quiet. no disgusting smell of mixed cheap perfume and sweat ... no body stabs you with either knee or elbow from back ... relaxing enough to enjoy your people watching along the route as it goes through the downtown along Zhongshan Road. I recalled once there were in total three passengers and during the last couple of stops I was the only one besides the driver - kinda VIP treatment and the driver has been chatting with me being my part time tourist guide.
The city's built along slope of sorta hill - unlike shanghai with highrises all up from same sea level. it makes the whole city looks more vivid and lively and interesting.
The city was built by mainly Chinese returnees ... thus a kinda combination of both western and estern. It is a different combination - very different from Shanghai. Shanghai is a city mixed with architectures and households of different styles, while in Xiamen, every architecture and single household is a combination of both western and eastern factors. A typical Xiamen architecture is of both western arch window/door frame with colonnades of Romanish style, and traditional Chinese roofing design and sculptures such as dragon etc.
I especially like the architectures along those main commercial streets like Zhongshan Road. It is kinda special as the pavements are made part of and covered by the household along the road - the pavement is like the first floor of those household but totally open to the outside with no doors no islations. I was told it is because Xiamen being a city in South sunlight could be rather strong and day could be rather long while those tropical plants and trees dont have enough big crowns to block extra heat and sunlight. It's called "Qi2 Lou2".
There are quite a lot historic sites about Chinese ancestor patriots. It used to be and still is a main port city of China along the coast, thus easily became an accomodating place after those Chinese overseas returnees and enjoyed quite much civilization and the reputation therefrom. They made some of those historic household some museums displaying the family's ancestors that largely contributed to those battles and campainges defending and building the whole city and country.
The beach along the city facing Taiwai in the south is a real nice ... peaceful ... and quiet. Is it called "Liu4 Li3" or something I can remember. there are residential complex built upon the slope just facing the beach and strait - I always thought it must be really expensiv, as it is awesome if one could fall asleep in those gentle whisper of the ocean ... well not those scary nights in stroms and thunders.
Jimen town is impressively clean and neat. I was amazed a school in early 1900s already got swimming pool, esp. in China. What a gang of lucky little bastards those students here were! I calling them bastards'purely and entirely out of jealousy, nothing else.
I miss those days sitting in an open bar along the beach facing the Gulangyu ... chatting laughing drinking and enjoying the cool breeze mixed with slightly saulty ocean smell. However, manner is always an issue with most Chinese people, Xiameners'no exceptional either.
I found this little shop somewhere on the way from airport to the Holiday inn crown plaza downtown. It sells hand-made cloth shoes. it is especially good for those sweating feet but can be barely found in Shanghai. I was in a fierce cheers when I saw it and almost shouted "stop" to the driver and bought five pairs for family.
AND those gorgeous but dirt cheap seafood ... !!!
I can feel that wanderlust is hitting back on me ONCE AGAIN ... grrrrrrrrr ...
D |
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Billyisafob
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Joined: Mar 08, 2005
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Apr 02, 2005 - 08:23 AM |
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When in Xiamen, you must try eating at some of the da pai dang places, especially cheap dirty street food is your thing. One good place I often visit is called "Doh Xi Da Pai Dang" locaed on Doh Xi Lu and outside of the Zhong Shan park west entrance.
The Bai Lu Zhou area is awesome for casual walks at night. I think there's a bunch of bars on one side of the river that is pretty good for bar-hopping.
If you want to try some local dishes, I would recommend the "Satay Mi", a bowl of spicy and nutty bowl of noodle soup. This is the stuff I live on when its 1AM and I hungry. If you're a little adventurous you can try the "Toh Tsun Dang" ... man this is hard trying to make sounds of the Fujian dialect with English. Anyways its basically what I call "Sea-worm jelly". It's like a clear jello with sea-worms inside. Sounds pretty disgusting but people usually like it. I don't remember ever having to acquire the taste for this dish but that's probably because I started eating it since I was born.
If you want to learn more about Xiamen there are 2 great sites that I would recommend.
1) www.amoymagic.com
2) www.whatsonxiamen.com
Both are AWESOME sites with plenty of information for visitors and also people living in Xiamen. |
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DeeLphiC
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Joined: Mar 11, 2005
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Apr 02, 2005 - 02:50 PM |
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Cool site ... thanks BIF ...
Xiamen, CN
21 'C
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... mmmd
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Billyisafob
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Joined: Mar 08, 2005
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Apr 02, 2005 - 10:02 PM |
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Ludicrous! They want to jack up the price for the ferry to Gulangyu island from 3 yuan to 80 yuan just because it will give the impression that this island is high quality. That is disgusting that they're turning such a peaceful little island into a pure tourist attraction. They already opened a McDonald's on the island, why can't they just leave the place alone?
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/22/content_427062.htm |
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DeeLphiC
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Joined: Mar 11, 2005
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Apr 02, 2005 - 10:58 PM |
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seriously they already opened a McDonald's on Gulangyu??? Fvvcck that!! Well ... shiaate happens here all the time ... mmmmd ... Are they going to build it into a DisneyisLand soon, too?!!
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Billyisafob
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Joined: Mar 08, 2005
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Apr 02, 2005 - 11:07 PM |
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I have a feeling they're going to turn it into a little theme park island. They already have these little electric golf carts that take people around the island to see different sites. You just pay a fee upfront and you can hop on any cart that happens to be making it's round.
I also heard that they won't allow any more new residents onto the island. That's a shame because the people that live there and the small houses with unique architecture is whats so charming about the island. I feel that island just has a unique charm that is about to be lost in the near future. |
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