4-day
Hakka Earth Building, Mountain Tea Picking & Yushuiyao Old Town
xiamen World Heritage Roadtrip
Exploration. Inspiration. Connection.
Four days to help you find what makes coastal and the greater Xiamen a place unique in this world.
Feel the city. Explore the island city inside and out with a local.
Find a different way of being. Discover the grand ‘round rouses’ of the Chinese Hakka clan, pick and roast tea, stay the night in the villlage ethnic communal dwelling. Experience Yushuiyao Old Town, a world heritage village, famous for its atmosphere, character, and heritage sites.
Meet up in xiamen city.
start to explore.
DAY
Xiamen meetup. Start to explore.
Meet up in Xiamen on Day 1.
Make your way to the island of Egrets –Xiamen. Check in at Huajun Hotel.
Start to explore the character of this island: Xiamen University and Zhongshan Street are ideal starting points.
Enjoy a drink and the sunset ocean breeze by the university at White Castle Beach.
Breakfast. Xiamen round-island Seaside Boulevard Cycling. Picnic at Wuyuanwan Wetland Park. Local-guided Bashi Market town-feel exploration. Dinner at Zhongshan Road.
DAY
Breakfast. Xiamen round-island Seaside Boulevard Cycling.
Eat breakfast.
[09:00] Depart the hotel for cycling on the [Round-island Gold Coast Road].
Arrive waterside at Xiamen Uni by the beach, then start on the ocean breeze track. Ride by the music concourse and Hungcuo Beach. Hop on, hop off. Trace the coastline until the Wuyuanwan Wetland Park.
Picnic at Wuyuanwan Wetland Park.
Dismount and leave the bikes behind to find a nice nook in the park to set down for a picnic. Enjoy lunch in a beautiful outdoor setting.
Local-guided Bashi Market town-feel exploration. Dinner at Zhongshan Road.
Picnic done, board transport bound for the lively local ‘Bashi’ market streets. Arrive. Meet with your local guide, then dive into an afternoon of exploration. Hidden antique bookstores. Old-timey theatres. Taiwan-style street stalls. Your guide is your key - discover what makes Xiamen Xiamen.
Return to the bright and modern Zhongshan road in the evening to seek out a meal.
Depart Xiamen city. Hekeng ‘Tulou’ settlement. Lunch. Guided village wander. Hands-on earth-ramming. Tea picking and roasting. Longchang Tulou Night.
DAY
Breakfast. Leave Xiamen city.
[08:00] Eat breakfast, check out and depart.
[11:30] Arrive at the [Hekeng ‘Tulou’ settlement].
Hekeng ‘Tulou’ settlement. Lunch. Guided village wander. Hands-on earth-ramming.
The ‘Tulou’ - communal dwellings made of wood and rammed earth. There are many groupings of Earth Structures in the greater Xiamen region, but commercialization and modernization has left few “alive” as Hekeng is.
Eat lunch. Meet the guide. Wander the mountain valley “Feng Shui” of the settlement, then join in a hands-on earth-ramming construction experience. Learn an ancient building technique. (Tip: a transferrable skill – the ultimate sandcastle building technique!)
Tea picking and roasting. Stay the night in Longchang Tulou.
Next – a comprehensive tea experience. Walk to the hillside tea fields, meet with a local tea farmer, learn to pick and roast green tea, and take what you make home as a souvenir.
In the evening, check in at the Longchang Tulou for a night’s stay.
Yunshuiyao World Heritage Village. Hegui Lou Tulou. Huaiyuan Lou Tulou. Village snack hunt. Train station send-off.
DAY
Yunshuiyao World Heritage Village.
Finish breakfast. Set out. Arrive at Yunshuiyao World Heritage Village.
Walk cobblestone paths that weave between thousand-year giant Banyan trees, that grow from mossy stacked stone walls and the town stream banks. Chill by the water wheel.
Marshlands. Hegui Lou Tulou. Huaiyuan Lou Tulou.
Follow a road to the marshlands. Explore the [Hegui Lou] Tulou. Ask your guide how the Hakka people managed to build a rammed earth structure in the middle of marshland.
Village snack hunt. Train station send-off.
Wander into another world at the mystifying [Huaiyuan Lou] Tulou. Afterwards, go snack hunting on the village streets.
Head to the station. Exchange wishes and goodbyes. End this tour.
See you next tour!