Xiamen Travel Guide: Gulangyu Ferry, How Many Days, Getting There and Fujian Day Trips

Give Xiamen (厦门, Xiàmén) two to three days: one for Gulangyu island, one for the old town and the coast of Xiamen Island, and a spare half-day for weather or a slower pace. Make it four to five days if you add the Fujian tulou (the round earth buildings inland) and the old port city of Quanzhou. The one thing to sort out before you arrive is the Gulangyu ferry: tickets are real-name, go on sale 15 days ahead, and are sold only through the official Yujian Xiamen mini-program in WeChat or Alipay or at the pier ticket windows. Onward travel is quick: on the 12306 timetable for 5 November 2026, the fastest trains from Xiamen North take 26 minutes to Quanzhou Station, the stop for the old town, and 56 minutes to Fuzhou South.

How many days, and when to go

Two days is the minimum: Gulangyu on one day, Xiamen Island (Nanputuo Temple, the university area, Shapowei, Zhongshan Road) on the other. Three days lets you walk the coastal road, sit down for a long seafood dinner, and keep a buffer in case a typhoon stops the ferries. Four to five days is the right length if Xiamen is your base for Fujian: add one or two days for the tulou and one for Quanzhou, or leave north towards Fuzhou and Mount Wuyi.

Distances are short. Gulangyu sits about half a kilometre off the south-west corner of Xiamen Island, across a narrow strait. Quanzhou is about half an hour north by fast train, Fuzhou about one to one and a half hours, and the tulou are a 33-minute to one-hour train ride plus a drive into the hills (details in the onward section below).

Xiamen has a mild, humid coastal climate, and the city government describes it as having no real winter. Most rain falls from April to August. Seasonal averages on Xiamen Island run at roughly 14°C in winter (December to February), 22°C in October and November, and 28°C in July to September. Typhoons hit hardest in August, then July and September, but landfalls near Xiamen have been recorded as early as 17 May and as late as 3 December.

Our pick is October to December or March to April: comfortable walking weather and fewer storms. Summer is hot and sticky but still workable if you start early. Avoid the national holidays if you can — the October Golden Week, the early-May holiday and Chinese New Year fill the island and sell out the ferry.

Getting to Xiamen: airport, trains and visa-free transit

By air: Gaoqi airport (no metro)

Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (厦门高崎国际机场) is on Xiamen Island itself. Its official ground-transport page lists the Airport Express bus, city buses, BRT (bus rapid transit, boarded at Terminal 4), taxis and long-distance coaches — it does not list a metro. Airport Express ticket counters are in T3 arrivals opposite Gate 9 and in T4 arrivals at Gate 7 and opposite Gate 3, open 05:30–23:00. Check the routes and fares on the board at the counter. Taxis queue at the arrivals level; if you are heading straight to Quanzhou or Zhangzhou, local taxis for those cities wait at the West car park, about 120 metres west of T3 domestic arrivals.

240-hour visa-free transit through Fujian

Fujian has five entry points for China's 240-hour visa-free transit: Fuzhou Changle, Xiamen Gaoqi, Quanzhou Jinjiang and Wuyishan airports, plus Xiamen's passenger seaport. The permitted area covers the whole of Fujian, and you may travel across into the other provinces in the scheme. Who qualifies and what onward ticket you need are in our guide to 240-hour visa-free transit.

By high-speed train

Xiamen has two main stations. Xiamen North (厦门北, Xiàmén Běi) is on the mainland side and gets most fast trains. Xiamen Station (厦门站) is on the island, closer to the old town, but has fewer trains. The difference matters for the Gulangyu ferry: the Dongdu ferry terminal is 6.2 km from Xiamen Station (about 16 minutes by taxi) but 21.4 km from Xiamen North (about 26 minutes).

Train numbers and fares below come from the 12306 timetable (China Railway's booking system) for 5 November 2026; when the article mentions "that day's timetable", it means this date. Timetables change, so treat the figures as a guide to how many trains run, not a fixed schedule. G trains are the fastest high-speed services; D trains are also high-speed but usually stop more and take longer.

• From Shanghai Hongqiao: about 14 direct trains to Xiamen North are scheduled that day, but only two take about 5 hours; most are slower D trains of 7.5 to 8.5 hours, and the last direct train leaves at 14:04. Second class costs 470–566 yuan depending on the train. Flying is often the better choice from Shanghai.
• From Shenzhen North: the easiest rail approach, with about 47 trains to Xiamen North that day, the fastest in 2 hours 37 minutes and most in about 3 to 3.5 hours, second class 228–234 yuan.
• From Guangzhou: only 7 trains leave Guangzhou South for Xiamen North that day, the fastest in 3 hours 18 minutes, second class 302.5–306.5 yuan; Guangzhou East and Guangzhou Xintang each have about 10 more. Pick the Guangzhou station nearest your hotel.
• From Hong Kong West Kowloon: 4 direct trains that day, two to Xiamen North (about 4 hours) and two to Xiamen Station (about 4 to 4.5 hours); 12306 shows second class at 363–375 yuan. If you buy through MTR in Hong Kong dollars, check the price there, because it is converted from the yuan fare. With so few direct trains, changing at Shenzhen North is the fallback.

For how to buy tickets with a passport, see how to book China train tickets; for what to expect on board, see our high-speed train guide. Coming from Hong Kong, our Hong Kong and Macau guide covers the border at West Kowloon.

Xiamen–Kinmen ferry

Ferries from Xiamen to Kinmen leave from Wutong Ferry Terminal (五通客运码头) and take 20 to 30 minutes, and boarding counts as leaving mainland China, with exit border control at the pier — but it is not clear whether foreign passport holders can use this route in either direction, so check with the ferry operator before you plan around it.

The Gulangyu ferry: which pier, what it costs, how to book

Gulangyu (鼓浪屿, Gǔlàngyǔ) is reached only by ferry. Walking the island is free; you pay for the boat and for any sights you enter. There are five tourist routes, and which one you take depends on where you are staying and what time of day you go.

The five tourist routes

• Dongdu Passenger Terminal → Sanqiutian Pier. The main daytime route. Dongdu Passenger Terminal (东渡客运码头, Dōngdù Kèyùn Mǎtóu) is on the west shore of Xiamen Island; boats take about 20 minutes to Sanqiutian Pier (三丘田码头) on Gulangyu's north-east side, from 07:10 to 17:30 (18:30 in June to September), and tickets come in two fares, 35 and 80 yuan. Older guides and some map apps call this area the cruise terminal (邮轮中心, Yóulún Zhōngxīn); the official name of the pier is Dongdu Passenger Terminal.
• Dongdu Passenger Terminal → Neicuo'ao Pier. Same terminal, same 35 or 80 yuan fares and about 20 minutes, but it lands at Neicuo'ao Pier (内厝澳码头) on the quieter west side; it runs from 08:10 to 17:10 (18:10 in July and August). Good if you want to start at the far end of the island and walk back towards Sunlight Rock.
• Haicang Songyu → Neicuo'ao. Leaves Songyu Passenger Terminal (嵩屿) in Haicang, on the mainland side opposite the island; the crossing is about 8 minutes and costs 35 yuan. Only useful if you are staying in Haicang or driving.
• First Pier → Neicuo'ao. Leaves First Pier (第一码头), by the Bashi market near Zhongshan Road; the crossing is about 15 minutes, and this route sells only the 80-yuan fare. A residents-only service also leaves from the same pier — make sure you join the tourist queue.
• Evening route: Xiamen Ferry Terminal Hall 2 → Sanqiutian. In the evening, tourists can use the downtown Xiamen Ferry Terminal (厦门轮渡码头) on Lujiang Road, near Zhongshan Road. Boats leave from Hall 2, take about 7 minutes and cost 35 yuan, running from 17:50 (18:50 in June to September) until 23:45, with two early sailings at 06:00 and 06:30. Late-night return sailings leave from Gulangyu's Piano Pier (钢琴码头).

Hall 1 of the downtown terminal is a residents' line. Residents' routes are only for holders of a Xiamen ID card or Xiamen social-security card, so visitors, including foreign passport holders, cannot use them. This is why older guides say tourists cannot use the downtown pier: by day that is true, but in the evening the tourist route leaves from Hall 2 of the same building.

For a first visit, the Dongdu → Sanqiutian route in the morning is the simplest choice. If you stay near Zhongshan Road and only want an evening walk and dinner on the island, the Hall 2 evening boat is a short walk from your hotel.

How to book with a foreign passport

Tickets are real-name and go on sale up to 15 days ahead. The only official online channel is the Yujian Xiamen (屿见厦门, Yǔjiàn Xiàmén) mini-program, which runs inside WeChat or Alipay; the other option is the ticket windows at Xiamen Ferry's piers. The ferry company's online-ticketing terms list a valid passport among the accepted ID documents; if the mini-program rejects your passport, buy at a pier ticket window instead and check what is left for your day. Each ID can hold only one order per travel date.

Gulangyu admits at most 50,000 visitors a day, so the number of tickets is capped and they do sell out, especially on weekends and holidays; the mini-program has a waitlist if your sailing is full. Book as soon as your dates are fixed.

• The ticket covers the return. You pay only for the trip out; the trip back is free, and you can leave from any pier on any sailing. So the 35-yuan fare is a round-trip price.
• Refunds and changes (rules from 1 September 2026). You can cancel or change free of charge within 30 minutes of paying, as long as departure is more than 4 hours away, once per account per day. If you miss your boat, you can change it once until midnight that day: a change to another sailing the same day costs 20% of the fare, and a change to another day costs 30%. A ticket changed after departure cannot be refunded or changed again.
• No bikes or scooters. Bicycles, e-bikes and folding scooters are not allowed on the ferry, and neither are flammable items or knives. You explore the island on foot.
• Luggage. The island's visitor centres store luggage for free, both lockers and large items; the Sanqiutian and Shuzhuang centres are open 08:30–17:30 (until 18:00 in June to September) and the Neicuo'ao centre 08:30–17:30.

Sailings shift with the seasons and with demand. The Xiamen Ferry tourist route pages list each route, and the ticketing system shows the sailings actually on sale.

What to see on Gulangyu

Gulangyu was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 as "Kulangsu, a Historic International Settlement"; the listed area includes 931 historic buildings plus roads, gardens and landscape. After Xiamen opened as a treaty port in 1843, the island became an international community, and in 1903 a formal international settlement. That history is what you walk through: consulates, churches, merchant villas and Minnan family houses side by side. The island is only about 1.9 square kilometres, so you can cross it on foot in well under an hour and spend the rest of the day in the lanes.

Five core sights charge admission. The official prices are Sunlight Rock 50 yuan, Shuzhuang Garden 30 yuan, Haoyue Garden 10 yuan, the Organ Museum 15 yuan and the International Engraving Art Museum 5 yuan, or 90 yuan for a combo ticket covering all five. These are the official list prices, set by the Xiamen price authority in 2018.

• Sunlight Rock (日光岩, Rìguāngyán). The island's high point, with a view over the red roofs and back across the strait to Xiamen's skyline. It opens 08:30 and closes at 17:30 from October to May and 18:00 from June to September. That is the time staff clear the site, not the last entry, so arrive well before. Go first thing or late in the afternoon to avoid the midday crowd on the narrow steps.
• Shuzhuang Garden and Piano Museum (菽庄花园, Shūzhuāng Huāyuán). A seaside garden built over the rocks, with the Piano Museum inside; both keep the same 08:30–17:30 hours (to 18:00 in June to September).
• Organ Museum in the Bagua Building (八卦楼). The domed building you can see from the ferry houses the organ collection, with talks and demonstrations at 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30.
• Haoyue Garden (皓月园). The waterfront park with the large statue of Koxinga (郑成功, Zheng Chenggong).
• Koxinga Memorial Hall (郑成功纪念馆). Free, part of the Xiamen Museum, open 09:00–17:00 with last entry at 16:30, closed on Mondays except public holidays. It sits close to Sunlight Rock, so the two pair well.

Is the combo worth it? Sunlight Rock and Shuzhuang Garden alone come to 80 yuan at list price, and the 90-yuan combo adds the other three. If you only want the view and the garden, buy single tickets; if you like small museums, the combo saves you 20 yuan against buying all five separately. Official price details are on the Gulangyu administration's price notice.

Staying a night on the island is worth it if you want the lanes after the day visitors leave. You will carry your bags on foot from the pier, since there are no cars, so pack light or leave the big suitcase at your Xiamen hotel.

Xiamen Island: temple, university, old streets and the coast

Most of what you will want on Xiamen Island lies in a band along its south-west and south coast, from Zhongshan Road down past Nanputuo Temple and the university to the beach road. You can link it in one long day by taxi and on foot.

Nanputuo Temple and Xiamen University

Nanputuo Temple (南普陀寺, Nánpǔtuó Sì) is an active Buddhist temple at the foot of the hills next to Xiamen University, with halls climbing the slope and a trail behind them up to viewpoints over the campus. It is a place of worship, so dress modestly and keep your voice down in the halls. Check the temple's official account for opening hours and booking before you go.

Xiamen University (厦门大学) is famous for its campus by the sea, but you cannot simply walk in. Visits are booked through the university's visitor booking system on WeChat: you follow its official account, open the visit-booking page, pass real-name verification, accept the visitor rules, choose a date, entry time and companions, and complete a face check. Book several days ahead, check the booking page for passport options, and have a back-up plan for that half-day in case no slot opens. Slots are hardest to get on weekends and holidays.

Old town: Zhongshan Road and the Bashi market

Zhongshan Road (中山路) was built in 1925 and runs about 1.2 km down to the waterfront near the ferry terminal; its arcaded buildings, called qilou (骑楼, covered walkways under the upper floors), have European-style arched windows. It is busy and commercial, but it is the easiest place to try several local snacks in one walk, and the side lanes are quieter.

The Bashi market (八市, "Eighth Market") is next to First Pier, behind the post office, centred on Guying Road (古营路) and Yingping Road (营平路); it is one of Xiamen's oldest districts and has been known for seafood for about a century. Go in the morning to see the fish stalls at their busiest.

Shapowei, Zengcuo'an and the coastal road

Shapowei (沙坡尾) was once a small harbour of boatyards and is now a place for food and small shops. It is a short taxi ride from Nanputuo and the university, which makes it an easy late-afternoon stop.

Zengcuo'an (曾厝垵) is a former fishing village that has become a creative village popular with students and young visitors. Expect narrow lanes of guesthouses, cafés and snack stalls; it is lively in the evening and crowded on holidays.

Huandao Road (环岛路, "Round-the-Island Road") follows the south-east coast past Zengcuo'an, with a seafront path for walking or cycling. Baicheng Beach, near the university, is the closest sandy beach to the old town. These are city beaches rather than resort beaches — good for a walk and a sunset, and for swimming in the warm months if the water looks calm. Hulishan Fortress (胡里山炮台), an old coastal gun battery along the same stretch, charges admission; check the price and hours on the day.

Xiamen Museum

The main Xiamen Museum building, at the Culture and Arts Centre on Tiyu Road, is free; it opens 09:00–17:30 on weekdays (last entry 17:00) and 09:00–20:00 at weekends and on major holidays (last entry 19:30), and it closes on Mondays and on Chinese New Year's Eve. It is a good rainy-day option and a useful introduction to the region's history.

Minnan food: what to eat in Xiamen

Xiamen cooks in the Minnan (闽南, "southern Fujian") style: lots of seafood, small snacks and light sauces, with influences carried back from Southeast Asia. The city government's own list of local food includes ginger duck, oyster omelette, popiah, sweet peanut soup, tusun jelly, shacha noodles and the vegetarian dishes of Nanputuo Temple. Here is what each one is:

• Shacha noodles (沙茶面, shāchá miàn) — noodles in a rich, mildly spicy broth. The word shacha comes from Malay, and the sauce is made from sesame, garlic and shallot, peanut oil, shrimp paste and chilli. You choose your own toppings at the counter: seafood, pork, tofu, offal.
• Oyster omelette (海蛎煎, hǎilì jiān) — small oysters fried with egg and sweet-potato starch into a soft pancake with crisp edges.
• Tusun jelly (土笋冻, tǔsǔn dòng) — a cold, clear jelly made by boiling small sipunculid worms from the mudflats until they set. It is eaten with vinegar, garlic and chilli sauce, and tastes clean and briny. Try one piece first.
• Ginger duck (姜母鸭, jiāngmǔ yā) — duck cooked slowly with mature ginger and sesame oil; warming and best in the cooler months.
• Peanut soup (花生汤, huāshēng tāng) — a sweet soup of soft peanuts, usually eaten with fried dough sticks or other snacks; the best-known shop is Huang Zehe (黄则和) on Zhongshan Road.
• Popiah (薄饼, báobǐng) — a thin wheat wrapper rolled around stir-fried vegetables, seafood, crushed peanuts and seaweed.

Seafood restaurants. Xiamen is known for grouper, yellow croaker, red crab and squid, and at many restaurants you choose your seafood live from the tanks and the kitchen cooks it to order. Prices are usually given per jin (斤, half a kilogram). Before they start cooking, ask the price per jin, watch the weighing, and agree how it will be cooked — that avoids a surprise at the end.

Fujian also has its own Michelin Guide. The first edition, launched in Xiamen in December 2024, covered restaurants in Fuzhou, Xiamen and Quanzhou. It is a useful starting point if you want a sit-down Minnan meal.

Vegetarians do well at Nanputuo's vegetarian restaurant; see our vegetarian and vegan guide for how to order elsewhere. For where Minnan food sits among China's regional cooking, see our guide to Chinese cuisine by region.

Getting around Xiamen

Metro. Lines 1, 2 and 3 are in normal service and charge fares; newer Lines 4 and 6 have been in free trial operation since 16 September 2026, so check whether fares have started. The metro is most useful for longer trips across the city, for example between Xiamen North and the island. It does not reach Gaoqi airport, and it does not run to the Gulangyu piers by name, so check the nearest station in your map app.

How to pay. The Xiamen Transport Code (厦门交通码) has been available in Alipay with overseas payment since July 2024, and foreign nationals can apply for it; one code works on the metro, BRT, city buses and the residents' ferry routes. In practice: open Alipay, search for the Xiamen transport code, link your foreign card, and scan at the gate. The code does not cover the Gulangyu tourist ferries, which need their own ticket. Don't count on tapping a foreign bank card at the gates — use the Alipay transport code. Setting up Alipay before you travel is covered in how to use Alipay with foreign cards.

BRT and buses. The BRT runs on its own dedicated roadway, and several BRT lines stop at the airport's Terminal 4. It is cheap and quick once you know your stop, and the transport code works on it.

Taxis and DiDi. For trips to the ferry piers, the university and the coastal road, a taxi or DiDi is usually the easiest option. You can book DiDi through Alipay — see our DiDi guide.

Quanzhou, Fuzhou, the tulou or Mount Wuyi: where to go next

Fujian has five World Heritage sites: Mount Wuyi, the Fujian Tulou, Gulangyu, Taining (part of China Danxia), and Quanzhou. Three are easy trips from Xiamen; Mount Wuyi suits a route north via Fuzhou. If you add one trip, make it Quanzhou (close and easy) or the tulou (more effort, very different from anything on the coast).

Quanzhou: the closest trip

Quanzhou (泉州, Quánzhōu) was a major medieval trading port, and its listing as "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China" in 2021 covers 22 sites across the city and the surrounding area. On that day's timetable, about 78 trains are scheduled from Xiamen North to Quanzhou Station, the fastest in 26 minutes, and about 45 to Quanzhou South, mostly taking 17 to 19 minutes. For the old town, book Quanzhou Station: Quanzhou South is quicker by train, but it and Quanzhou East are far from the centre. A day trip works well; one night lets you see the temples in the evening. Our Quanzhou travel guide has the stations, the sights and a one- to two-day plan.

Fuzhou: the provincial capital

Fuzhou (福州, Fúzhōu) has the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys (三坊七巷, Sānfāng Qīxiàng) old quarter, the Fujian Museum, hot springs and its own cooking. On that day's timetable, about 94 trains are scheduled from Xiamen North to Fuzhou South, the fastest in 56 minutes and a typical trip about 1 hour 35 minutes, and about 70 to Fuzhou Station, the fastest in 1 hour 6 minutes. Fuzhou Station is on the north side of the city and Fuzhou South on the south side, so pick the one nearer your hotel. Fuzhou is also the gateway to Mount Wuyi. See our Fuzhou travel guide.

You can book these trains on 12306 with your passport, or through Trip.com, which has an English interface and takes foreign cards.

The Fujian tulou: earth buildings inland

The Fujian Tulou were listed in 2008: 46 large earthen buildings, most of them round or square, in Yongding (Longyan), Nanjing County and Hua'an counties. Note the name: the tulou county is Nanjing County (南靖, Nánjìng) in Fujian, not the city of Nanjing in Jiangsu. On that day's timetable, trains from Xiamen North take 33 to 48 minutes to Nanjing County station, and trains to Longyan, the rail gateway for the Yongding clusters, take from 1 hour. Neither station is at the tulou: you still need a drive into the hills. A day trip from Xiamen can cover one cluster, such as Tianluokeng (田螺坑) in Nanjing County; a night in a tulou guesthouse lets you see two areas without rushing. If you would rather not arrange cars yourself, tulou day tours from Xiamen are listed on Klook. Tickets, clusters and transport are in our Fujian tulou guide.

Mount Wuyi: tea hills and river rafts

Mount Wuyi (武夷山, Wǔyí Shān) in northern Fujian was listed in 1999 as a mixed World Heritage site, for both its nature and its culture, and it is seen as the cradle of Neo-Confucianism. It is also where Wuyi rock tea comes from — our Chinese tea guide explains the tea culture. Trains stop at Wuyishan North (武夷山北); older guides may say Wuyishan East, but on 12306 you book to Wuyishan North. The easy route is via Fuzhou: on that day's timetable, about 22 trains are scheduled from Fuzhou Station to Wuyishan North, the fastest in 1 hour 10 minutes, with second class at 119.5–128.5 yuan. For direct trains from Xiamen, check 12306 for your date. From Wuyishan North, take a taxi or ask your hotel about the bus to the resort area.

Entry to the main scenic area is free for the whole of 2026. Entry is with valid ID, so carry your passport and confirm at the visitor centre if any booking step asks for a Chinese ID. The sightseeing buses and the bamboo raft on the Nine-Bend River are charged separately: in 2024 the bus pass cost 70 yuan for one day, 85 for two and 95 for three, and the raft cost 130 yuan. The policy for 2027 has not been announced. Give Mount Wuyi two days, and treat it as a way out of Fujian (north towards Shanghai or Hangzhou) rather than a day trip from Xiamen.

Where to stay in Xiamen

• Zhongshan Road and the old town — the best first-time base. You can walk to the Bashi market, the evening ferry from Hall 2 and plenty of food, and Dongdu is a short taxi ride away.
• Zengcuo'an and Huandao Road — guesthouses near the sea and a holiday feel, but farther from the ferry and busy with crowds in the evening.
• On Gulangyu — quiet after the day visitors leave, mostly small guesthouses in old villas. You walk everything from the pier with your bags, and the free luggage storage at the visitor centres helps on arrival and departure days.

Compare places on Booking.com, and book Gulangyu guesthouses early for weekends. Every hotel will register your passport at check-in; see booking hotels and registration rules.

A 3–5 day plan

1. Day 1 — Xiamen Island. Nanputuo Temple in the morning (and Xiamen University if you got a slot), lunch near Shapowei, the coastal road and Zengcuo'an in the afternoon, Zhongshan Road for dinner.
2. Day 2 — Gulangyu. An early boat from Dongdu, Sunlight Rock before the crowds, then Shuzhuang Garden and the lanes. Come back on any sailing, or stay the night.
3. Day 3 — Fujian tulou. Train to Nanjing County or Longyan, then a car or tour to one cluster. Stay overnight in a tulou guesthouse if you want a second area the next morning.
4. Day 4 — Quanzhou. A short train to Quanzhou for the temples and old streets; return to Xiamen or stay one night.
5. Day 5 — Leave, or go north. Fly out, or take the train to Fuzhou and continue to Mount Wuyi on the way to Shanghai or Hangzhou.

With only three days, do days 1, 2 and either 3 or 4. Put Gulangyu early in your stay, not on your last day, so a full ferry or a typhoon does not cost you the island.

Typhoons, holidays and emergency numbers

Typhoons. When a typhoon approaches, Xiamen Ferry can stop all routes, including Gulangyu, as it did from 05:00 on 3 September 2026; same-day tickets can then be refunded or changed for free, and unused tickets bought on the official online platform are refunded automatically within 5 working days after service resumes. Flights and trains may also be delayed. During a typhoon warning, follow the ferry company's official accounts and keep your travel days flexible.

Holidays. During Golden Week in early October, the May holiday and Chinese New Year, book the ferry the day sales open and expect long queues at Sunlight Rock. See our Golden Week survival guide.

Emergencies. Dial 110 for police and 120 for an ambulance. Fujian falls under the consulates in Guangzhou for the United States, the United Kingdom and South Korea. Other countries are listed in our embassy contacts page, and our emergency numbers guide explains who speaks English.

Next steps: book your Gulangyu ferry as soon as your dates are set, choose between Xiamen North and Xiamen Station when you book your train, and decide whether your extra days go to Quanzhou, the tulou or Fuzhou.

Last updated: October 2026