Fujian: Xiamen, the tulou roundhouses and the Wuyi Mountains

Xiamen is a seaside city with the car-free island of Gulangyu, all colonial villas and piano music, off its shore. Two hours inland, the Hakka tulou are fortified earthen roundhouses, some four storeys high and housing a whole clan, scattered through tea and tobacco valleys. North, in the Wuyi Mountains, bamboo rafts drift down the Nine-Bend Stream between red cliffs, and the rock-grown oolong tea is the most famous in China. The high-speed line joins Xiamen and Wuyishan in about three hours.

Day by day

Laid out by the atlas's trip planner from the stops below, with the trains and flights in its tables; open it on the map to change the days, the order or the stops.

1. Day 1 · Xiamen

   • Gulangyu Island

2. Day 2 · Xiamen

   • Fujian Tulou

3. Day 3 · Wuyishan

   • Fujian Tulou continued
   • High-speed train Xiamen North → Wuyishan North, 2 h 41 min (G3028, 17 a day); about 3 hours door to door, ¥255. Compare ways

4. Day 4 · Wuyishan

   • Wuyi Mountains

5. Day 5 · Wuyishan

   • Wuyi Mountains continued

Why this order

Xiamen is the gateway and the tulou a trip from it; Wuyishan is the far end with its own station and airport, so the trip ends there rather than coming back.

When to go

October to December and March to May; the summer is hot and humid with typhoons on the coast, and the Wuyi tea harvest is in late April.

Good to know

• Gulangyu ferries for visitors leave from the cruise terminal, not the old downtown pier; buy a timed ticket.
• Among the tulou, stay a night in one of the clusters rather than seeing them from a coach.
• The bamboo rafts at Wuyishan run in the morning; book the raft and the Tianyou Peak climb for different days.

Before you go

• Visas and visa-free entry Can I visit China without a visa?
• Paying for things How do I pay for things in China without a Chinese bank account?
• Internet and apps Will Google and my other apps work in China?
• Trains and 12306 How do I book train tickets in China with a foreign passport?
• Book popular sights early Which sights in China need booking in advance, and how?
• When to go When is the best time to visit China?

On the map

The map opens with these 3 stops in a trip; "Plan my days" lays out the same days and lets you move stops, change the days each gets, or choose where you arrive and leave.

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