3-Day Gulangyu and Tulou Discovery

Welcome to Xiamen! Your local guide will await you at the airport holding a board with your name on it. Be met and transferred to your hotel for check-in.

After a short break, start your journey with Gulangyu, a car-free island across the sea from Xiamen (arrive by a 10-minute ferry boat). Boasting the reputation of "A Garden in the Sea", "Architecture Museum", and "Island of Piano", this small island will greet you with stunning scenery, various European-style buildings, and many different kinds of pianos. Don't miss the sites of Shuzhuang Garden, the Piano Museum, and the bustling Longtou Road Commercial Street while on the island.

Tulou is a unique form of mountain dwellings for Hakka who lived in rural mountainous areas in the southeast of Fujian. It is evaluated as "exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization harmonious relationship with their environment" by UNESCO. Today you will take about 3 hours' drive to Nanjing County for a depth exploration of Tulou groups.

The first stop will be Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster, a typical representative of Tulou groups. Consisting of four round buildings with a square building in the middle, it seems like "four dishes one soup" when overlooking from a viewing platform.

Continue to Yuchang Building, one of the oldest extant Tulou in Fujian province with a history of more than 700 years. When standing in the middle of the building, you will notice an interesting fact: the building remains intact although the pillars on the third and fourth floors have a left slant and the pillars on the fifth floor have a right slant.

Conclude the tour with a visit to Taxia Village, listed in the 15 Chinese Landscape Villages. Tulou groups and stilted buildings built along the stream, a stone bridge across the stream, and cobbled paths surround the buildings, all will give you a sense of the typical Hakka village's charm.

Today pay a visit to the famous Yunshuiyao Ancient Town in Nanjing County. It is a pretty little village with hundred-year-old banyan trees, long cobbled paths leading to the heart of the village, and various well-preserved Tulou groups. Walking along the path to feel its tranquil and peaceful ambiance and then step into some buildings to learn about the inner structure of these Hakka buildings. Hegui Building will tell you a story about how the smart Hakka people built the building on the swamp more than 200 years ago. Huaiyuan Building will show you a special two-ring structure with exquisite craftsmanship. Nearby Huaiyuan Building is Tulou Light, a small museum that is suitable for the ones who love the history of Yunshuiyao.

After the tour, return to Xiamen for your departure flight.