Parks and the outdoors in Xiamen/Gulangyu

Parks and the outdoors in Xiamen/Gulangyu

1. See

   Bright Moon Garden

   皓月园

   Bright Moon Garden (Haoyueyuan) is on the Covering Rock (Fudingyan) on the east (Xiamen side) coast of Gulangyu. It covers an area of 3 hectares (30,000 square meters, about 7.5 acres) spreading along the shore with a sandy beach, rocks, trees and pavilions. Its name is from two lines of a poem about a King of Yanping. In the park stands a bronze sculpture of Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) and some of his soldiers, 13.7 meters long and 4.7 meters high (about 45 by 15 feet).

   07:30-20:30 (winter), 07:30-21:00 (summer)·¥15

2. See

   Gulangyu International Calligraphic Carving Art Gallery

   鼓浪屿国际刻字艺术馆

   A small gallery of carved calligraphy from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean artists. Entrance near the main gate of Shuzhuang Garden.

   08:15-17:45 (winter), 08:15-18:15 (summer)·Admission normally ¥10

3. See

   Gulangyu Organ Museum

   鼓浪屿风琴博物馆

   The organ museum is in the Trigram House (八卦楼 Bagualou) in northwestern Gulangyu; it is the only and the largest organ museum in the world. Matched with the piano museum in southeastern Shuzhuang Garden, it attracts a lot of music lovers from around the world. There are many styles of organ collected in this museum.

   08:15-17:45 (winter), 08:15-18:15 (summer)·¥20

4. See

   Gulangyu Piano Museum

   鼓浪屿钢琴博物馆

   A museum of pianos, including rare specimens from the 1700s. The entry fee to Shuzhuang Garden (normally ¥30) includes entrance to the museum. Guided tours several times a day include performances on a few of the instruments.

   08:15-17:45 (winter), 08:15-18:15 (summer)

5. See

   Shell Dream World

   贝壳梦幻世界

   Part theme park, part museum. The museum is said to contain over 6800 varieties of seashells from over 60 different countries.

   08:30-18:00 (summer), 08:30-17:20 (winter)·¥78 (standard adult entry fee), ¥40 (persons aged between 60 and 69 as well as children between 1.2 and 1.5 metres in height). Children under 1.2 metres in height and persons over 70 years old are admitted for free. Tickets are cheaper if purchased online

6. See

   Shuzhuang Garden

   菽庄花园

   Named after the original owner Lin Erjia (aka ShuZhuang), a wealthy Taiwanese businessman who fled here when Japan took Taiwan in the 1890s. Highlights include the 44 bridge, the Piano Museum (see below) and the rockery with hidden sculptures of all 12 zodiac animals. There is also a small private art museum to the right of the main entrance.

   07:30-20:30 (winter), 07:30-21:00 (summer)·¥30

7. See

   Statue of Koxinga

   郑成功石雕像

   A 24-metre-high statue of Koxinga stands on a cliff looking toward Xiamen Island.

   07:30-20:30 (winter), 07:30-21:00 (summer)·¥15 (Bright Moon Garden entry fee)

8. Drink Not mapped

   Black Cat Coffee

   Black Cat Cafe

   You can come just for the coffee (~¥30-35) and a look at the restored home and gardens, but definitely consider their food menu. They offer à la carte options for seafood and mixed grill items for ¥100-140, and 4-course set menus for ¥160-190. The "Italian consulate menu" is good. It consists of a crisp roast duck caesar salad, a sweet and creamy pumpkin soup, choice of prime rib or salmon, and dessert. The front porch tables enjoy sun after 13:00, and American oldies play on speakers throughout the cafe.

   ¥30-200

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Xiamen/Gulangyu (CC BY-SA 4.0).