Xiamen is a beautiful place, on an island overlooking Yundang Bay that has a sizeable nearby island occupied by Taiwanese. Xiamen is hip, modern, and touristy – but devoid of westerners. There are plenty of trendy malls and shopping areas, but they cater for Chinese tourists. It is hot and humid, but a nice breeze continually drifts in off the bay. Xiamen has an interesting history as a British-run treaty port between 1842 to 1912 – formerly under the name Amoy.
In the evening we took a long walk on a footpath along the coast until we reached Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street, which was closed to all but foot traffic and full of restaurants and trendy shops. Dining can always be challenging because it can be difficult to read the menu and you are never 100% sure what you are eating. Nevertheless, I managed to get some tasty chicken dish with mushrooms and greens on rice. It was good but had a few too many bones to navigate.
