Xiamen I


The main thing to see in Xiamen is the island of Gulangyu Island which was where the foreigners hung out back when this was the only part of China opened to foreigners in 1842.

The ocean-side view from the top of the 'rock

Lots of water sports, with boats, Jet-Skis, and other vendors waiting to take tourists for rides

Another beach near the university, much less crowded

Well, not so un-crowded, as lots of people wandering the beaches

Further down are concrete objects on the beach - they look like computer mice to me !

There are still scores of old buildings from the 19th century - some are being renovated, while others are in serious disrepair

Pretty church

Great looking lantern

One building had old Cultural Revolution slogans still painted on it - don't see much of this any more

Not all fun and games - these guys seem to be working pretty hard

And a gardener in a sea of green

An interesting teahouse

One of the island's major features is a central rock and tower, from which you can see Taiwanese islands on a clear day.
Here is the rock from near the beach

One smaller part of the rock

Looking down from the top (at zoom) of interesting buildings

And looking towards the beach - you can barely see the mainland Xiamen tall buildings in the haze

Cool sculpture of  people playing

Yinan with big rock in the background

Yinan with more rocks

And a temple building