My host family surprised me on my birthday with a trip to XIAMEN located in the southeast of Fujian province, simply in the southern part of China. China falls into a cold winter except the south and some places in southwest where conditions might be warm and sunny. We enjoyed a long weekend trip with plentiful sunshine, light ocean breezes and good sea food.
After our 1.5 hours flight we arrived in the late evening, rent a car and drove to our hotel. The next morning we woke up with a stunning view. Welcome to China's Miami.
view from our hotel room
The following day we visited some of the famous fortified and enclosed circular buildings called «TULOU» unique to the Hakka in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian. These buildings display an unique architectural style and are on average 500 years old (the oldest dates back over 900 years).
Since sightseeing at the Tulous has become more popular you will find inside the cluster itself little shops selling local goods. Each of the other floors serve distinct purposes such as the bathroom or living quarters. For about 5 Yuan, you can go up to the other floors and look around.
beautiful and interesting scenery on the country side
The other day we spent it roaming around the city, visiting the XIAMEN UNIVERSITY and we enjoyed the sunny weather at the BEACH so that I even got a sun burn.
ZHONGSHAN ROAD is the most well known street of Xiamen. It is lined by a lot of shops and restaurants ranging from Western brands to local Chinese boutiques. The buildings are beautiful and resemble architecture you might find in Western countries such as Paris. Cars are not allowed. (Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures when I was strolling around Zhongshan Road.)
The last night of our trip we spent at the GULANYU ISLAND . The island can be reached by a 5-minutes ferry ride from downtown Xiamen. There are no cars, and you can hike up the hill, bask on the beach, walk along the esplanade, admire colonial buildings and visit museums. There are plenty of beautiful spots to explore and you can take it at your own pace.
Thanks for checking out my new blog post. My 1-month winter vacation has finally started and as I have lots of time, I'll be preparing some more blog posts sharing my exchange experience with you.
Let me know what you're interested to here about here.
xx, Daniela
