Xiamen Island is predominantly a university town with the university its most popular tourist attraction. It also attracts many visitors to its coastal areas. We stayed in a relatively busy district with plenty of bars, restaurants and shops.
Our full day in Xiamen started with a bus trip. I can pinpoint on a map where we went but I'm not entirely sure of the name of the area. We first visited a snack street which had a ton of vendors and also a lot of shops selling pearls. There was every kind of food imaginable for sale including, bubble waffles, tofu, seafood, sticks of meat and huge fruits. After emerging from the busy street which was in a loop, we then found a more peaceful temple. I found with the temples in China, the rooves were very elaborately decorated and you could stare at the details forever. The inside of the temple was also very colourful and had murals painted in many different bright colours. It seemed like a happy temple and there were also offerings in the form of different fruits as well as the usual incense burning away.
Next stop was the beach for a little sunbathing. When I got home and told people I had been to the beach in China they were shocked! It was also very hot this day and I did get sunburnt! After a couple of hours, I got bored with sunbathing and decided to go and find something to do. I headed towards the botanical garden with the intention of having a look around. However when I was buying the ticket they told me it was an hours walk from the entrance to the main garden and then an hour walk back so unfortunately I didn't have enough time as I was to meet back with the rest of the group. I caught the bus back to our hotel and there happened to be a few other people from the group on the bus so we met and decided to take a trip to the supermarket. The supermarket was on another scale from the ones we have here. They have everything you could possible need. There was about 3 aisles just for stationary, the clothing department was the size of a normal clothes shop in the UK and they had a huge amount of fresh fish, pastries and meat. We all got some lunch, most of us had pizza, and we sat and ate it in the sun.
Back at the hotel and the rest of the group were there for our afternoon sightseeing. Our guide led us to the bus stop where we had a short, sweaty and cramped ride to the University.
As the most popular attraction on the island the queues to get it were rather long. I found it quite unusual that a University is such a large attraction. In the UK of course we have Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews etc but to actually walk around a campus is not normal? I don't think so anyway, correct me if I'm wrong! Can you look around campus's in the US as a tourist? The University is so famous as it is one of the top rated in the whole of China and just generally has a beautiful campus. One of the main features is the lake in the middle complete with swans, and generous seating for the students to relax in the setting. There is also an auditorium, two sports stadiums, restaurants, a pool, gym and plenty of housing among the school buildings.
After a nice stroll around the campus we sat by the lake enjoying the sun. There were a lot of students around doing drama, reading, studying and some even conducting interviews for their magazine. It almost made me want to go to university! (Almost).
Our full day in Xiamen started with a bus trip. I can pinpoint on a map where we went but I'm not entirely sure of the name of the area. We first visited a snack street which had a ton of vendors and also a lot of shops selling pearls. There was every kind of food imaginable for sale including, bubble waffles, tofu, seafood, sticks of meat and huge fruits. After emerging from the busy street which was in a loop, we then found a more peaceful temple. I found with the temples in China, the rooves were very elaborately decorated and you could stare at the details forever. The inside of the temple was also very colourful and had murals painted in many different bright colours. It seemed like a happy temple and there were also offerings in the form of different fruits as well as the usual incense burning away.Next stop was the beach for a little sunbathing. When I got home and told people I had been to the beach in China they were shocked! It was also very hot this day and I did get sunburnt! After a couple of hours, I got bored with sunbathing and decided to go and find something to do. I headed towards the botanical garden with the intention of having a look around. However when I was buying the ticket they told me it was an hours walk from the entrance to the main garden and then an hour walk back so unfortunately I didn't have enough time as I was to meet back with the rest of the group. I caught the bus back to our hotel and there happened to be a few other people from the group on the bus so we met and decided to take a trip to the supermarket. The supermarket was on another scale from the ones we have here. They have everything you could possible need. There was about 3 aisles just for stationary, the clothing department was the size of a normal clothes shop in the UK and they had a huge amount of fresh fish, pastries and meat. We all got some lunch, most of us had pizza, and we sat and ate it in the sun.
Back at the hotel and the rest of the group were there for our afternoon sightseeing. Our guide led us to the bus stop where we had a short, sweaty and cramped ride to the University.
As the most popular attraction on the island the queues to get it were rather long. I found it quite unusual that a University is such a large attraction. In the UK of course we have Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews etc but to actually walk around a campus is not normal? I don't think so anyway, correct me if I'm wrong! Can you look around campus's in the US as a tourist? The University is so famous as it is one of the top rated in the whole of China and just generally has a beautiful campus. One of the main features is the lake in the middle complete with swans, and generous seating for the students to relax in the setting. There is also an auditorium, two sports stadiums, restaurants, a pool, gym and plenty of housing among the school buildings.
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Stadium & Student Housing
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After a nice stroll around the campus we sat by the lake enjoying the sun. There were a lot of students around doing drama, reading, studying and some even conducting interviews for their magazine. It almost made me want to go to university! (Almost).
After leaving the campus we went to the nearby South Putuo temple, another aesthetic, colourful complex. Again, I was drawn to the stunning roof detail as well as the huge statues and lanterns.
We then made our way back to the hotel where we had some free time to pack and shower before heading our for tea. Half of us went for Chinese food and half went to Pizza Hut. Apparently those who went to Pizza Hut said it wasn't that good but then again in my opinion its not even good in the UK. We went to a really nice Chinese restaurant with some of the best food we ate in China. Our table was in a private room which made us feel like VIPs! Rice, sweet & sour pork, spicy chicken and plenty of fried vegetables were had for dinner. Before going back to my room I went to the shop for some supplies and then went to bed.
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