Xiamen praised as “Garden on the Sea” with pleasant weather, fresh air and stunning coastal city view is quite popular for a leisure vacation! This 2 Days Xiamen Essence Tour is your best selection to discover the top bests of this beautiful Garden City. You’ll enjoy a pleasant cultural stroll on Xiamen No.1 - Gulangyu Island for a rich marvel at the over 100-year-old precious historical international architectures recorded as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and also visit the peaceful and lovely Nanputuo Temple for soul purification and Xiamen City panorama catching. What’s more, this trip takes you to Nanjing County to savor the famous Fujian Tulou that are also a World Cultural Heritage and have a personal look at not-missing Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster, Yuchang Building, and more big and small Hakka earthen buildings! Choose this trip to start your Xiamen discovery in leisure!
Day 1 Xiamen
Nanputuo Temple, Hulishan Fortress, Gulangyu Island
Good morning! On this day, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel or the airport/train station in the morning. Today, you’ll head to the southern tip of Xiamen Island and have a classic discovery of the refreshing Xiamen City.
First, 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, visit Hulishan Fortress which was built in 1891 to defense the invasion of foreign enemies. Have a look at the remained historical cannons including the Krupp Cannon listed as the oldest and largest ocean cannon during 19th century by the World Guinness Record and learn the important history of how Xiamen City succeeded during the war era.
Next, 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!
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!
Nanputuo Temple Panorama
Xiamen University View from Wulao Peak
Sightseeing from Sunlight Rock
Shuzhuang Garden
Day 2 Xiamen - Nanjing Tulou - Xiamen Departure (B, L)
Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster, Yuchang Building, Taxia Village
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. Nanjing Tulou is a key part of Fujian Tulou that 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.
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 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!
Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster
Yuchanglou (Zigzag Building)
Taxia Village
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, 2022.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1= RMB 6.65. 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.
Hi Lyn,
Sorry for the slow reply. The cruise was really good; considering how few foreign passengers were on board the staff really went out of their way to look after us.
Thanks Leo for organising this trip. We had good time;
Huangshan: we loved the place but felt sad that this was not the right season for it.. So while booking you can just inform us on the same.. I had checked the weather before going, I knew it was raining but I thought it like shenyang rain.. Light.. Not that heavy.. So if possible just give an info on that to people..
Driver and vehicle: good
Guide: very good
Hangzhou: good place.
Driver: very rude. Not even accommodating a small requirement of stopping at a supermarket.
Guide:Very good.
Shanghai and around: good
Driver: Kind and helpful.
Guide: very friendly, helpful and good.. Appreciate that she helped us for booking food online..
Guides were supportive at all places.. Thank you!! But again a feedback for your company: Try being little flexible when you are doing a customized trip. Customized trip is not just booking hotels or car. Clients need more flexibility in terms of everything when we know we are paying more than just for the trip expense
Hi Rosalyn,
The tour was wonderful and Shirley a great guide. We enjoyed it a lot.
Thanks a lot for the organization.
Hi Wonder, back to Shanghai, it was an amazing trip, and the driver is just a great guy who really help us from the beginning to the end. Thank you for everything.
Here is my review about the trip to Guilin, it’s just our point of view so there is nothing bad about what I will say.
At first we had an amazing driver, friendly and always helping us for everything, and very good and safe drive.
Day one was great, not really a lot of things to see or do in Huangluo Yao village, but it’s ok, by the way the restaurant the driver bring us there was very great, best Chinese food we had in China. Ping’an Village is just wonderful, walking in the middle of the rice terrace with an amazing view was perfect. The hotel was nice too (sorry to disturb you this day, but after I realize the woman playing with a kid on the terrace was working for the hotel, at the beginning I thought she was a client), by the way, it was great, she really took care of us, and again excellent food, the view from the room is great too.
Day two was great too, thousand layer terraces is a place to see, and the cable car is very useful, Ping An is better cause we really are in the middle of the rice terrace with all the farmer around, it’s really local, 1000 terrace is more for the view and we really enjoyed it.
Visit of the Tea farmer was interesting.
Then back in Guilin, we went to the city to the pedestrian street near a lake with two beautiful towers, and also went to a park near a hill. Guilin is a nice city but it stays a city, the hotel was great too, but all was a little bit too much “metropole”. I think it should be better to stay in a more local place like small village close from Mopanshan. Nothing bad about this Wonder, but we come from Shanghai who is a big city, and when we go out from a city it’s nice to be in the country side. The hotel was perfect too, but it’s the kind of hotel I go during some business trips, by the way we know Guilin now.
Day 3 was very very very great, the cruise is amazing, the bamboo boat very great too and the country side of Yangshuo is just wow, so beautiful, we have rented a motorbike from the hotel and wend around in the afternoon, just beautiful, we really enjoyed. The hotel was perfect too, all the staff speak English and are very friendly. In the restaurant, Chinese and Western food was nice too, in the evening we went to see a show in Yangshuo, they knew we should come back late and they manage everything so serve us after 10pm. Very great hotel with a so beautiful view. This is the point, at the hotel at Ping An village or Yangshuo, in the evening we can enjoy the view from outside on the balcony of the room, drinking a glass and smoke a cigarette, it’s just empty out mind and we really enjoy this moment, thing we cannot do in Guilin for example.
Day 4, back to Guilin and go to Elephant Hill, it’s just a park like the 100 parks we have in Shanghai, nothing special to see, especially after seeing the rice terraces around Ping An and the beautiful landscape from Li River and Yangshuo. Reed Flute cave was just wow too, so so beautiful, that was the first time in my life I saw a so beautiful cave, really love it.
This trip was the best one we did in China, we both love it, just wish to have one more day in Yangshuo. If I need to give a note I will give 9/10, Thank for your great work.
Thanks for all your help Jack, we really enjoyed our trip! Would definitely recommend to friends in the future, our driver was excellent.
"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!
Nanputuo Temple Panorama
Xiamen University View from Wulao Peak
Sightseeing from Sunlight Rock
Shuzhuang Garden
Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster
Yuchanglou (Zigzag Building)
Taxia Village
Our private Xiamen tour package ensures the highest standards for our guests with greater flexibility, better comfort and personalized service so you can experience Xiamen the way you have always dreamt of it to be. You can decide how your time should be spent and the pace in which your tour is conducted, while we can help maximize every minute of your journey to let you enjoy your Xiamen vacation to the absolute fullest. Before the tour, you will enjoy an efficient one-on-one travel consulting service provided one of our knowledgeable Xiamen experts who will give reliable suggestions and propose ideal tour package for you. During the tour, you will have your very own personal guide, with a private vehicle and chauffeur, exclusively serving for your party - nobody else. So please do not hesitate to explore Xiamen with our private tour now!
Xiamen applies to the 144-Hour Transit Visa Exemption. Visitor from 53 foreign countries who hold valid travel document & connecting flights to a third country/region can enter Xiamen from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, Xiamen Wutong Ferry Terminal, and Xiamen International Cruise Center, and stay in Xiamen up to 144 hours (6 days) without a Chinese Visa. However, since this policy does not apply to visiting to Fujian Tulou, Mount Wuyi and Xiapu near Xiamen, we advise you to apply for a China Tourist Visa (L Visa) before coming to China so that you can travel in a more secure and flexible way. China Discovery can provide you the invitation letter so that you can obtain the visa with bigger chance while least time.
Xiamen belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate zone with mild and pleasant weather all year around. With an annual average temperature around 21, Xiamen is suitable to visit any time of a year, especially spring and autumn. Winter is also a popular season to spend a warm holiday in Xiamen. However, typhoon usually occur in summer from July to September.
What to wear in spring? Light sweater, long sleeves and pants; What to wear in summer? Shorts, shirts, skirts and hats; What to wear in autumn? T-shirts, thin sweaters, long pants and light jackets or coats; What to wear in winter? Warm sweaters, jeans and thin overcoats. Sunblock and rain gear are recommended anytime.
Xiamen has some international flights from Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Amsterdam, Bangkok, etc. and frequent daily flights with major domestic cities such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Kunming, Lijiang, etc. Besides, it serves bullet trains with Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huangshan, Fuzhou, etc. Within 6 hours.
Xiamen offers plenty of accommodations from luxury 5-star hotels to budget inns and boutique hotels. Siming District is most popular for travelers. Xiamen Lundu Port and the surrounding is best to take Gulangyu ferries and travel around Zhongshan Road; Zengcuoao and Huandao Road is good to find boutique hotels and enjoy sea landscape; Yundang Lake area is the best place for abundant luxury hotel choices including many international brands; Xiamen University surrounding is best to stay closer to top attractions on Xiamen Island.
Xiamen city area including Gulangyu Island is suitable to explore in brief 1-2 days, while there are lots of surrounding places worthy to discover, such as Fujian Tulou, Mount Wuyi, etc. If time allows, you can enrich your trip with extensions to the above places, with each place needing about 2 days to explore. Besides, Fuzhou and Quanzhou near Xiamen are also popular to seek Fujian culture and history. You can tell us to customize a tour to visit all places to want to go!
Xiamen / Nanjing Tulou / Yongding Tulou / Xiamen / Wuyishan
Xiamen / Nanjing Tulou / Yongding Tulou / Xiamen
Xiamen / Nanjing Tulou / Yongding Tulou / Xiamen
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