Impression of Xiamen

Remember how I waxed lyrical about my recent trips to China? about the charm of X'ian? the cultural depth of Chengdu? Well, my rosy view of Chinese cities was abruptly and rudely changed with my visit to Xiamen.

The city has the feel of a rough border town. It has embraced the worst of two sets of value systems where communist efficiency is used to feed capitalist avarice.

Highrise and highways dominate the city. Buildings are architecturally void of aesthetics - a fact further emphasised by garish neon-lit signs when night falls.

Entertainment takes the form of hard boozing and hard whoring in custom built KTVs that boast hundreds of private rooms and thousands of hostesses.

For the tourist looking for nostalgia and natural scenic beauty in Xiamen, the time has past. For the tourist looking for modern gentility that accompanies economic success, the time has not yet come.

Eating in Xiamen

In order that we maintain our balanced diet even when on holiday, we ate everything in sight :-)

Seafood - the usual and the exotic

Hong Kong style dimsum - always a favourite

BBQ - Japanese style

On the Isle of Gulangyu

Gulangyu is a small 2 sq km island that lies 500 km off the southwest end of Xiamen - a 5-minute ferry ride from the city.

A once thriving community of rich foreigners and consulates in the early 1900s, most homes today are sadly derelict. The island is a pedestrian-only tourist favourite for visitors wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of Xiamen.

Cobble footpaths snake along the hillsides.Grand and elegant mansions are shielded from inquisitive eyes by high walls.

Motorised vehicles are prohibited on Gulangyu. Raw manpower hauls everything, including construction material, up the hilly island.

On the Streets of Xiamen

On a sunny afternoon in Xiamen, I spied

1. Hokkien ah peks all in a row
2. Scarlet O'hara
3. baby Ronaldo
4. the leader of the lau Hokkiens
5. a hopeful couple