The Musical, Well-marked Island of Xiamen

A few weeks ago, Tiffany and I, along with our friend Meredith, flew down to the city of Xiamen for a weekend getaway.








Xiamen is located on the southeast coast of China and is one of its oldest ports. It was also one of the first cities forced open by the British following the Opium War, and as a result it still maintains a beautiful mix of European architecture.








We stayed on a small island off its coast, called Gulangyu, which is reachable only by a free ferry service. The hilly island is the main attraction, and with no cars or bikes allowed, we spent the weekend walking around, exploring the maze of small, winding roads covering the island. The residents of the island are also known for their musicality, and in fact, there was a piano instructor across the street from our bed and breakfast. So every morning we ate breakfast outside on the balcony overlooking the island, and listened to the graceful (and sometimes not so graceful) tones floating up for us to enjoy. Above are Tiffany and Meredith on the breakfast patio.
Per the usual China modus operandi, bright, colorful lights appeared to be attached to every fixed surface that could support them. We discovered this on our first night there, when a switch was flipped, and the island was seemingly transformed into a giant miniature golf course look-alike.




Four or five giant spotlights criss-crossed the night sky as well for added effect.







I also noticed some interesting signage during the weekend. Like chicken, 3.5 yuan (50 cents) for two chicken wings, or one chicken leg. Or 5 yuan (65 cents) for a leg/thigh combo. So naturally I tried paying 1.5 yuan for just the thigh, my favorite part of the chicken, but to no avail...





We were also forced to obey the wheel-barrow operating hours, and respectfully did not run around with our wheel-barrow after hours.








I was alerted by this sign to some sort of falling danger. As I walked over to examine it, I looked up and was promptly splattered by the well-known egrets, native to the island and unsympathetic toward non-Chinese speaking Chinese.






It was also my birthday weekend, and Tiffany surprised me by calling ahead to the B&B to arrange a cake.










Lots of lush greenery covered the island, and the air was so clean and filled with the sweet scent of spring time flowers that I ended up sneezing for a good part of the weekend, as my Shanghai, pollution hardened lungs were shocked by the sudden exposure to fresh environs.






Around every corner we found beautiful old homes under restoration.










Among the highlights of the weekend entertainment was this giant St. Bernard that Tiffany immediately bonded with.








And this happy musical duo, whom Tiffany did not bond with.





There was a nice little beachfront, where we were reminded of the Asian vanity for pale skin. Never do Chinese put on more clothes, and pull out more umbrellas, than when visiting the beach. Ack! Sun!

From far away, looking like the all-time whitest Asian, Tiffany was quite the envy of the crowd...

All in all it was a quiet, relaxing weekend, and perfect preparation for our big trip the following week to Thailand.