Back in Xiamen, we made a scheduled trip by ferry to visit Gulangyu Island, a small pedestrian-only UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site (as Kulangsu, a Historic International Settlement), an island in the middle of the estuary of the Chiu-lung River. We caught a taxi to the special tourist ferry terminal for 20 yuan, and could not find a return taxi for less than 50 yuan. Taxis seem to have the upper hand on negotiations here for some reason – definitely a seller’s market.
The island was great and I could have spent a lot more time there. It would have been fun to spend at least a night in one of the many historic accommodation options there. The island was full of endless laneways going off in all directions with plenty to eat and many scenic and historic locations to check out. We went to the famed Organ Museum and hoped it was meant to be the piano museum, housed in a beautiful old mansion up on a hill overlooking the harbour.
The island was once home to many Europeans and Japanese between 1842 to 1912 but is now occupied by around 20,000 people – who entertain 10 million visitors each year – making it one of China’s most visited tourist attractions.
