Standing at the entrance is the owner’s huge collection of old road signs and a vintage barber’s chair.
The space is highlighted by old-fashioned goods, from an abacus to a door plate, a lamp to a suitcase, a cosmetic mirror to a wardrobe and a sewing machine to a pastry mold.
For art lovers, there is the Gallery of Chinese Profiles, known as the gallery closest to the sea in China. It used to be a local fishery wharf building.
The harbor occasionally holds day and night markets on various themes, where local designers and craftsmen exhibit and sell their works.
Goodone
Address: No. 116-126, Bldg A3, Huamei Kongjian, Huachang Rd
Tel: 157-1065-7827
Huazhuan Museum
Address: 4/F, 116 Kaiyuan Rd
Tel: (0592) 2027116
Buchuo Old Stuff Shop
Address: 120 Minzu Rd
Tel: 158-0592-5126
If you go
How to get there
You can either take a direct flight to Xiamen from Shanghai, which takes about one and a half hours, or spend eight hours on a high-speed train.
Where to stay and what to eat
If you want to experience authentic local culture and lifestyle and aren’t particular about a luxury hotel service, then bed and breakfast is ideal, and most of them are at Gulangyu.
For those wanting a higher standard service, with English-speaking staff, an international hotel chain is a safer choice.
The newly opened Shangri-La Hotel, Xiamen is recommended. It is located in Guanyin Shan, the city’s CBD area, near the shopping malls and exhibition center. It is a 20-minute drive from the airport.
More importantly, the hotel is at the seaside, with more than half of its spacious rooms embracing ocean views. The hotel has designed for guests a 20-minute morning run route along the beach.
The hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Fu Gong, serves Fujian cuisine highlighted by kezaijian (a local oyster omelet); shacha noodle (noodle soup with shrimp, sesame paste, chili, garlic and herbs) which tastes spicy, rich and aromatic; and the famous stewed soup fotiaoqiang (Buddha jumps over the wall), in which various seafood, ham and pork tendons create a distinctive appealing rich and umami flavor. The dish’s name is an allusion to its flavor, which once upon a time enticed vegetarian monks to try meat-based food.
Guests preferring casual dining can move to hotel’s lobby, where its outside balcony serves shaojiupei (baijiu pairing with food) in the evening, a local distinctive supper style. The chef prepares various small dishes, dominated by grilled seafood, which goes well with baijiu (distilled spirit).
Address: 168 Taidong Rd, Guanyinshan International Business Center
