5 Days Xiamen & Hakka Tulou Leisure & Luxury Tour with Tulou Retreat
Worry-free Leisure Xiamen & Tulou Trip with Superior Tulou Retreat
Worry-free Leisure Xiamen & Tulou Trip with Superior Tulou Retreat
How to spend a leisure and luxury holiday in Xiamen? Why not get away to the refreshing sunny coastal Gulangyu Island and idyllic Tulou villages? World Cultural Heritage Site - Gulangyu is quite favored for a laid-back releasing. While Fujian Tulou 3 hours’ driving away from Xiamen downtown is particularly popular for international visitors to admire the amazing round and square earthen buildings with interesting Hakka people’s history and culture.
This 5 day Xiamen and Fujian Tulou tour combines the best highlights in Xiamen including Gulangyu together with the top best Tulou clusters such as Tianluokeng, Zhenchenglou, etc. in Yongding and Nanjing in a comfortable slow pace. What’s more, it specially covers 2 nights staying at high-end boutique Tulou resort hotel which is refurbished from 5 authentic Tulou of over 100 years old, with prize-winning design, exquisite luxurious rooms, delicate food and beverages, fun Hakka activities, etc.
Day 1 Xiamen Arrival
Airport / railway station pick up
Welcome to Xiamen, the Garden City on the Sea! Your local guide and driver will meet you at the arrival hall of Xiamen airport or railway stations and then escort you to your hotel at Xiamen downtown and help you with the check-in. The rest of today is on your own to explore this beautiful city.
Arrival Ideals: Xiamen has frequent daily flights from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Xian, Kunming, etc. Besides, you can take a bullet train from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Guilin, Fuzhou, Huangshan, and so on.
Evening Idea: take a leisure walk at Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street where you’ll appreciate lots of beautiful old arcade buildings in Chinese, Western and South Asian styles and also some local popular food for a good try!
Welcome to Xiamen
Day 2 Xiamen (B, L)
Huandao Road, Nanputuo Temple, Gulangyu Island
Good morning! Your guide and driver will meet you at your hotels and then take you to have a classic discovery of the refreshing Xiamen City.
First, head to Huandao Road, which is the main track of Xiamen International Marathon belting Xiamen Island. This beautiful “golden coastal line” built along the sea is praised as “Five Colors Road’ with the blue sea, golden beaches, green grassland, red track and gray highway! Take a relaxing scenic walk on the wooden plank paths to savor the pleasant seascape and palm grove, walk by various interesting sculptures, enjoy sunshine at a quiet soft beach, inhale the little salty sea breeze and feel the strong ideal island charm of Xiamen City. (Optional Activity: If you want to bike along Huangdao Road to discover more beautiful places scattered along, please tell your guide, which needs extra charge.)<
Next, go to visit Nanputuo Temple (South Putuo Temple) of more than 1,000 years old. Enter the temple to admire a grand cluster of Buddhist halls with flying eaves and yellow tiles standing layer by layer under century-old trees and against the emerald mountain and pray in front of the holy Buddhas. Meanwhile, immerse into the peaceful atmosphere with locals taking a break around the large lotus pond, traditional Chinese pavilions, corridors, etc.. Later, walk about 20 minutes up to Wulao Peak to have a terrific bird’s eye view of the beautiful Xiamen University, Xiamen Port and the nearby islets on the blue sea!
Then, take a 20-minutes’ ferry to Gulangyu Island from Xiamen downtown. It is the No.1 attraction in Xiamen and also a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage with dozens of precious historical architectures built by people from the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, etc. during the Second Opium War, thus, this little island of 1.88 s.q.m wide is regarded as “International Architecture Museum” with relic sites of 13 embassies from 18th-19th centuries. Roam along the old alleys to appreciate those left sites of churches, mansions, villas, banks and museums telling the historical stories of Gulangyu. Walk up to the most famous Sunlight Rock and catch the wonderful panorama of the large group of red and pink Western styled architectures with dotted emerald trees. Then, go to discover the must-see Shuzhuang Garden that is the classic model of traditional Chinese garden on the sea. Take a leisure stroll amongst the twisty corridors, ancient halls with flying eaves and blue tiles, delicate pavilions, poetic gardens and ponds, etc. facing the shimmering sea and feel its traditional Chinese literal beauty contrasting to the western charm surrounding. Step into the outstanding Piano Museum which boasts an awesome collection of nearly 100 precious old pianos from all over the world for your worthy musical inspiration. Enjoy your architectural savory and then take the ferry back to Xiamen downtown.
After the visiting, Your guide and driver will escort you to your hotel in Xiamen. Have a good rest!
Day 3 Xiamen - Nanjing Tulou (B, L, D)
Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster, Yuchang Building, Taxia Village, Hakka Activity at Local High-end Boutique Hotel
After breakfast, your guide and driver will meet at your hotels and then escort you to see the earthen buildings (Tulou) in Nanjing County with a 3-hour scenic drive. Fujian Tulou are the traditional dwelling houses of Chinese Hakka people with round, square or rectangular appearance for living in family groups and have been listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2008. And Nanjing Tulou is a key part of Fujian Tulou heritage site and keeps the famous and more primitive earthen building to discovery.
First, walk up to the viewing platform to have a bird’s eye view of the must-see Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster from the best angle, which is the most famous earthen building cluster known as “Four Dishes and a Soup” with 3 round, 1 oval and 1 rectangular well preserved earthen building looking really like a set of meal on the natural tablecloth of the lush mountain an graceful rice terraces surrounding.
Next, go to discover Yuchang Building that was built during 1308-1338. It is the present oldest Tulou and the largest and highest round Tulou with highest floor height in Nanjing region. Also, it is famous as “Zigzag Building” because it looks about to totter with a maximum inclination of 15 degrees due to weather beats and earthquakes, however, it stands quite still till nowadays. Walk into this Tulou and closely look at the zigzag wooden pillars which have well supported such huge building for over 600 years.
Then, visit Taxia Village. With an “S” shaped stream floating across the entire village, two earthen buildings located just right on the two curves, and multiple big and small Tulou built along the banks, this village is reputed as a “Water Town of Taichi” with rich Tulou flavor. You will not miss Yude Building known as “Apron Building”, Deyuan Hall with outstanding sculptures of birds, beasts and flowers and also the 24 Hakka stone flagpoles beside the semilunar pond.
After that, walk to the high-end luxury boutique resort hotel to enjoy featured Hakka activity arranged according to the hotel's schedule. (Usually there are cooking class, Tulou model painting, Hakka orange tea making, glutinous rice cake making, bamboo weaving, colored drawing on ceramics, etc. in the afternoon, which lasts for about 1.5-3 hours based on the different activities.) Learn some Hakka culture during the fun time there!
Enjoy your dinner and accommodate at the resort hotel. It is a luxury boutique hotel refurbished from century-old Tulous and joined as a member of the international Design Hotels alliance. This retreat has tens of bedroom suites and is finely designed in classic Chinese antique charm and modern luxury. All rooms with cozy linens and advanced equipment give you the best holiday mood at the real Tulou village. Also, public courtyard, yoga hall, abundant well displayed artworks, etc. are all nice for vacation releasing and aesthetic pleasure. (The hotel rate is covered in the price of this tour package and differs by room types and date. Please let us know which type of room you'd like to stay so that we can book in advance as the rooms sell out very quickly especially during peak season)
Day 4 Nanjing Tulou (B, L, D)
Hegui Building, Huaiyuan Building, Hekeng Tulou Cluster
After breakfast today, your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel and then drive about 0.5 hour to visit Hegui Building and Huaiyuan Building at Yunshuiyao Scenic Area, both outstanding Tulou have been recorded into UNESCO’s World Heritage List!
Hegui Building built from 1732 and with 5 floors is the tallest square earthen building listed by UNESCO. It is also praised as a “Noah’s Ark on Marshland”, since it was constructed on a 3,000 meters wide marshland, however, stands still after over 200 years. Do not forget to stamp the cobblestone patio to feel its interesting vibration!
Huaiyuan Building is the best preserved and most delicate round earthen building with one circle within another. Marvel at its most conspicuous hall where to see three classrooms for the cultural education of descendants, antique carvings and designs with scholar vibes and a hanging plaque with three characters of “Si Shi Shi (斯是室)” indicating the owner’s pursuit of contributing to the country through learning!
Then, drive to Hekeng Tulou Cluster to walk up to the peak of Lion Hill and catch the amazing panorama of Hekeng Tulou Cluster. With the unique layout, the 14 circular and square earthen buildings look like two “Big Dipper” lying at the special galaxy of surrounding emerald mountains, hovering mists, pieces of farming fields and clear floating stream, which is really a wonderful miracle of nature and human efforts.
After the visiting, you will be escorted back to the resort hotel in Taxia Village. Enjoy your dinner and have a good rest!
Day 5 Nanjing Tulou - Yongding Tulou - Xiamen Departure (B, L)
Hongkeng Tulou Cluster, Chuxi Tulou Cluster, Flights or Trains off Xiamen
After breakfast today, you will be escorted to Hongkeng Tulou Cluster and visit Zhencheng Building from 1912 that is praised as “Prince of Tulou” and famous for its splendid design and exquisite interiors according to China’s traditional culture of Bagua. Have a close look at its most conspicuous hall, which is two floors high and has 4 circular granite columns in western features, making the Tulou with Chinese Hakka exterior and special western interior decoration. And walk to see Kuiju Building from 1834. This special palatial square Tulou constructed for 5 years is unique among all Fujian Tulou and looks like the style of Potala Palace from afar. Walk around to appreciate its diverse fancy carvings, paintings, sculptures and more awesome artistic colorful decoration on every corner.<
Then, drive to Chuxi Tulou Cluster that is reputed as “most beautiful Tulou cluster in China” an also the most concentrate, ancient, complete and famous Tulou cluster. Walk by the stream to visit Jiqing Building. Constructed in 1419, this Tulou is the oldest and most special circular construction in Yongding, with 72 stairs separating the building into 72 independent units. Walk upstairs to the museum to look at those old object for living and entertainment for Hakka people in the past and displays of their history, culture and art. Then, take a short hike on the north mountain and have a full view of Chuxi Tulou Cluster. Immerse into the fabulous traditional Hakka rural landscape with the most eye-catching three circular and one square Tulou, the youngest Tulou with distinct white wall and other tens of various round, square, rectangular, oval, octagonal shaped Tulou scattered on the lush rice terraces slop mountain. (Optional experience: in Autumn season, you can choose to catch the rare chance to pick up local fruits and even try the primitive farm work.)
After the tour, transfer back to Xiamen. And your guide and driver will escort you to the airport/railway station to catch the flight or train to your next destination. Tour ends!
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotel and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 7.00. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.
Dear Rita,
I am very satisfied with tour arrangements. I have recommended your company to many friends/relatives.
Overall, we are very happy with the trip. Our driver Ms Liu was a very pleasant & careful driver. I highly recommend her.
Mona
Hi Rita,
As my trip is coming to an end tomorrow, I would like to express my appreciations to the following individuals who had made my trip possible and memorable.
1) Ms Rita Jiang for helping me to plan my itinerary from scratch and in my budgeting.
2) Mr Wine Wang for being a friendly driver-cum-tour guide in Kunming.
3) Mr Andy Wang for his untiring driving from Dali to Lijiang and Shangri-La for sightseeings.
Both Wine and Wang speak good English and are knowledgeable about sightseeing attractions and local authentic food outlets. I would definitely recommend them to any of my friends and travel buddies from around the world who speak only English.
Last but not least, thanks to the Government of China for granting 15-days visa free entry to China for tourists who hold Australian passports, among many other countries. It’s timely to open up China to the world to see for themselves a modern China blended in with history-rich ancient cities, towns and villages in multi-minority communities of Yunnan Province from a tourist perspective.
Once again, thanks to Rita and her team.
Best regards,
Ping
Dear Rita,
My husband and I were on the 13-Day Beijing/Xian/Guilin/Zhangjiajie/Shanghai Tour with China Discovery from 15-27 May 2024.
Overall, we had a wonderful time on our trip.
Organisation
Everything went very smoothly, just like clockwork.
Guides
In each city, on our arrival we were met by our guide who took very good care of us.
Our guides were: Beijing- Andy; Xian - Grace; Guilin - Peter; Zhangjiajie - Nina; Shanghai - Jeff.
All the guides we had were knowledgeable about their city, its history, and culture. They were also friendly, and flexible in accommodating our requests and also showed their professionalism by always being on time in the morning and during our time with them, they were always helpful, patient and understanding.
I would like to mention that 2 of our guides (Andy in Beijing and Peter in Guilin) were excellent. Their English was fluent. It was also obvious that both took great pride in their work.
Peter was very earnest, and very clear and systematic in his explanation of what we would see and do in the places we visited and he was also extremely helpful.
Andy was the best guide we have ever had. In addition to the qualities mentioned above, we found him very energetic, enthusiastic, lively and with an amazing sense of humour. He was very flexible and really went out of his way to accommodate our requests, for example, to visit a place which was not on our itinerary, but which both of us wanted to see - a Catholic Church associated with Matteo Ricci. He knew interesting little areas and eating places to which he took us for local food and snacks. He even got us some snacks when he thought we might need some sustenance. We had interesting conversations with him and it seemed more like we were spending time with a friend rather than with a guide we had just met.
Nina, our guide in Zhangjiajie, was very sweet. Her English was not as fluent, but she was very caring, helpful, very patient and kind especially when we had to negotiate all the steps up and downhill in the mountains. She was always very concerned about how we were faring, even in the type of food we enjoyed when we told her we just wanted to try the local food.
Transportation
The cars we travelled in were very nice, clean and comfortable. All the drivers, besides being very helpful, especially with our luggage, were also skilful drivers who conveyed us safely through, often, very heavy traffic.
The express speed train from Beijing to Xian was an enjoyable experience. The train was very comfortable, and the toilets were very clean.
But the 7-hour journey on the high speed train which stopped at all the stations between Guilin and Zhnagjiajie was less comfortable.
The train itself was fine although the journey was long.
For one thing, there was a man just behind me who talked very loudly for hours on his mobile phone. I could not change seats because the train was quite full.
Then, there were 2 people quarrelling at the entrance of our compartment when we were trying to board the train. They blocked the entrance and refused to move until someone in charge of the compartment screamed (right next to my ear) for the security guard. We had to literally bulldoze our way into the train which was about to leave.
Hotels
The hotels, besides being grand, were clean, comfortable and had all the amenities we needed. The one in Guilin had a fantastic view.
In general the breakfasts provided by the hotels were also excellent.
Sights
We think China is a very beautiful country with so much history, culture and nature to enjoy. Being on a guided tour, we had less contact with the ordinary people than we would normally have when we do a free-and-easy trip. But, all in all, we had a great trip and we would like to visit China again.
So we are thinking of going to the following places sometime in October 2024, after the Chinese National Holiday in early October.
Thank you.
Loh
Hello Rita,
Some of the most incredible sights I have ever seen are on Day1 & Day2.
Nothing was too much trouble for Bree. She took us to quiet places when we needed a rest from the noise.
We only ever waited a few minutes for our driver. He was good.
Jones
Hi Rita,
So sorry for the long delay, I am still travelling and haven’t been on the laptop so much.
Very good tour, very happy with all arrangements. I am willing to recommend your service to my friends who also have an interest to visit China.
Thanks
George
We are one of the few China travel agencies who have kept active and received lots of feedbacks and reviews during pandemic years
"Highest Standards of Quality and Honesty" is the core value of each specialized team at China Discovery.
Eveyone in our company is working hard for only one goal, which is to ensure the highest level of service, luxury, and attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you return home.
Our travel consultants are professional, experienced and responsible, helping you from the very beginning to the end of your China trip!
After sending us an inquiry, one of our travel consultants will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hrs. In the next few days, he/she will be working closely with you to formulate a customized tour plan, as well as providing professional suggestions based on your travel interests, time, and budget.
Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.
We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.
Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.
Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.
Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!
Using our private transfer service makes you comfortable, relaxed and worry free all the way!
Our private service includes licensed drivers with many years’ driving experience and air-conditioned, non-smoking, clean and well-maintained cars/vans. Drivers are local, polite, friendly and helpful, taking you to your tourist sites, hotels, airport/train stations in safety. All kinds of vehicle are offered, and yours depends on the size of your group. Usually, we offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV) and different types of buses, all with extra space for your luggage.
Our private transfer service guarantees you the highest comfort!
In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!
The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.
If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.
Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.
We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.
The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.
There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.
All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!
Welcome to Xiamen
Huandao Road
Nanputuo Temple Panorama
Xiamen University View from Wulao Peak
Gulangyu Island
Sightseeing from Sunlight Rock
Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster
Yuchanglou (Zigzag Building)
Taxia Village
The Antique Courtyard
Cosy Advanced Room
Making Hakka Orange Tea
Heguilou Built on Marshland
Huaiyuanlou
Hekeng Tulou Cluster Full View
Zhenchenglou (Prince of Tulou)
Chuxi Tulou Cluster
Jiqinglou Interior
Xiamen / Nanjing Tulou / Yongding Tulou / Xiamen / Wuyishan
Xiamen / Nanjing Tulou / Yongding Tulou / Xiamen
Xiamen / Nanjing Tulou / Yongding Tulou / Xiamen
“Very good experience”
“WONDERFUL 25 DAYS IN CHINA - PRIVATE TOUR”
“Awesome China tour from northeast to southwest”
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