By the Sea - Xiamen, China

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A long narrow alley on Gulangyu at night, lit by warm lamplight fading into darkness.

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Landed in Xiamen and took the ferry to Gulangyu straight away. The old shophouses, the food, the pace of the island reminded me of Taiwan.

A large banyan tree dramatically lit from below at night on Gulangyu Island, a full moon visible above it.
A wooden glass cabinet with red Chinese calligraphy and blue-and-white porcelain bowls inside a Gulangyu restaurant.
A long narrow alley on Gulangyu at night, lit by warm lamplight fading into darkness.

The food was the highlight. Fish ball soup, oyster omelette, and taro dessert to finish, all of it genuinely good.

A paper cup of fish ball soup with spring onions, held in hand on the streets of Gulangyu.
A bowl of oyster omelette with egg and spring onions, held in hand at a Gulangyu street stall.
A white bowl of taro dessert with longan and jelly served on a wooden tray at a Gulangyu café.

Next morning I left from Gulangyu harbour back to the mainland side and joined a boat tour out into the strait toward Kinmen. It’s a strange thing to actually see it from the water, just a few kilometres away, with the slogans still painted on the hillside. The sunset on the way back was one of the best of the whole trip.

The Xiamen skyline viewed from Gulangyu harbour, a sleek curved skyscraper dominating the waterfront.
Kinmen Island seen from the boat, a rocky coastline with large Chinese propaganda slogans painted on the hillside.
A warm orange sunset over the Xiamen Strait, the sun sinking behind distant hills reflected on calm water.

Then that was it. Caught the HSR out the next morning, watching the coast disappear out the window.

The view from an HSR train window leaving Xiamen, terracotta-roofed buildings and the sea visible in the distance.

-- Zhun Hao

Published: Dec 26 2025
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