Travelogue by Mom of Three

Huandao Road a.k.a Island Ring Road (环岛路), Nanputuo Temple (南普陀寺) and Xiamen University (厦大) are among the top must do attractions in Xiamen.   Needless to say that means these places are crowded with tourists as well, just like Gulangyu  (read our visit to Gulangyu here ).  The view from Huandao Road, overlooking the graceful mountains. These 3 places are near each other, with Nanputuo Temple being adjacent to Xiamen University.  So we started our day with a relaxing stroll along the beautiful seashores of Huandao Road.   Huandao Road is a 10km ring road, so most people will rent either a tandem bike or triple bike to move around.  It was quite a beautiful sight seeing couples or friends cycling together.   Same as Gulangyu, the Huandao Road is also a popular spot for pre-wedding photo shoot.   Thank God that it's 10km long, hence tourists were not gathered at the same spot, which we were able to enjoy the cool breeze air, accompanied by the slightly cloudy sky, blue water

The highest peak of Gulangyu. A visit to Xiamen would not complete without setting foot into Gulangyu ( 鼓浪屿).  Gulangyu is an island in Xiamen, about 10 minutes by ferry from downtown or if you are more adventurous, try the speedboat at a slightly higher fee, which would take less than 2 minutes.  From Swiss International Hotel, the speedboat terminal, is just across the road, life jackets are provided.  The old ferry terminal used to be within 10 minutes walking distance from the Swiss International Hotel as advertised in the hotel's website, but the terminal had ceased its operation since months ago, so you would need to hire a cab to get to the terminal.  The concierge will write you the address of the port to pass to the taxi driver.   The sisters were hugging each other to keep warm.  It was very windy at the ferry terminal.  One of the ferry terminals.  There are 2 ferry terminals which transfer tourists to and fro Xiamen downtown and Gulangyu.   Gulangyu

Xiamen (厦门) is a coastal city in Fujian province in China.  It has been an important port for centuries and became one of China's earliest Special Economic Zones in the 1980s.   It's known as one of the safest, cleanest and greenest city in China, in fact it got an international award in a contest for most liveable cities in 2002.   That's the reason Papa Bear had chosen Xiamen as our travel base for this trip, instead of Guangzhou, which Papa Bear personally thought that it's too crowded.    The view of the very popular Gulangyu from Swiss International Hotel.  Picture was taken on a cloudy day. We stayed at Swiss International Hotel this time, partly because we believed that it's voted as Xiamen's number 1 hotel by the Trip Advisor reviewers for a good reason.  We didn't have much time to do research for this trip.  So based on the reviews on TA, off we booked.  The hotel did not disappoint us.  The room, to be honest, was a bit tired and aged.  But