China Photography Tour with Tulou

After arrival, you will meet your guide. And then you will be sent to your hotel. Welcome to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a beautiful city in China. It is also the third-largest financial center in the world. The total population of Hong Kong is approximately 7.52 million, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong International Airport is one of the world's top ten busiest airports. It usually provides more than 1,100 flights a day, so many people choose to enter China from Hong Kong. The city of Hong Kong is dominated by modern buildings, with more than 3,000 buildings over 90 meters in height. Of the world's 100 tallest residential buildings, at least half are located in Hong Kong.

This morning, we will take you to visit Victoria Peak. Riding the Peak Tram to the top of the mountain is a good choice of most tourists. The Peak Tram has a history of more than 100 years and is the earliest cable car system in Asia. You can also enjoy the scenery below the mountain when you take the Peak Tram. After reaching the top of the mountain, you can go to Peak Tower. It is a comprehensive building. You can visit, shop, and eat there. You can also stand there and overlook Hong Kong. After that, you will visit the Aberdeen Fishing Village. Aberdeen Fishing Village is an ancient fishing village in Hong Kong. As the earliest developed place in Hong Kong, there are still many fishermen living here. You can taste fresh seafood here, or take a sampan tour and take pictures of some unique scenery. And then we will go back to the city center and you will visit the Stanley Market. Stanley Market is a famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong and a famous shopping street in Hong Kong. There are many buildings that mix Chinese and Western architectural styles. There are also many shops selling souvenirs, silks, oil paintings, and other items. Here you can enjoy a leisurely afternoon.

Option One: Lan Kwai Fong is a famous bar street in Hong Kong. There are kinds of bars as well as various restaurants. It is suitable for people of kinds of consumption levels. Many office workers in Hong Kong will spend a "happy time" here after getting off work. Happy hour refers to the period of time between white-collar workers' get off work and dinner. They will drink two glasses of beer with their colleagues and talk to each other about their work and life. If you want to experience Hong Kong's bar culture at night, you can come here.

Option Two: Hong Kong has the reputation of the "World Food Expo". From street food stalls to the world's top restaurants, Hong Kong has a wide variety of restaurants. Just in Hong Kong, food lovers can enjoy authentic food from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, Europe, and the United States. Hong Kong has truly become a paradise for foodies. Sweet and sour pork is a well-known dish in Hong Kong. This dish uses fresh pork, cut into small pieces, seasoned and coated with starch, fried into crunchy meatballs, and then served with sweet and sour sauce. People like to eat canned pineapple with sweet and sour pork, which is very delicious. Do not miss it if you come to Hong Kong.

Victoria Peak

Lan Kwai Fong

This morning, we will visit Lantau Island. You will take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car to the top of the mountain. This is the largest cable car system in the world. You can view the scenery of Lantau Island at 360 degrees. This is also the origin of the name of the cable car. After arriving at Lantau Island, you can visit Polin Monastery. Although the Polin Monastery is small and the decoration style is simple, it is a famous monastery in Hong Kong. Moreover, the relics of Sakyamuni are also enshrined here. And then you will visit the Bronze Buddha. It is the largest open-air bronze seated statue in the world. The Buddha statue is 23 meters tall, welded from 202 pieces of bronze, and weighs 250 tons. This Buddha looks kind and benevolent. After that, you will visit the Tai O Fishing Village. Tai O Fishing Village is known as the Venice of Hong Kong. It retains the original style of Hong Kong fishing village. The fishermen here are mostly Hakka people. Many of them still live by fishing. There are also many temples here, such as Guanyin Temple and Guandi Temple, which are both worth visiting.

Option: Board a night cruise on Aqua Luna and enjoy the night view of Hong Kong in a symphony-like lighting experience. You will feel the charm of this vibrant city. You can choose to take a night cruise at Tsim Sha Tsui Public Pier No. 2 (departure time 7:30 pm) or Central Pier 9 (departure time 7:45 pm). The entire cruise takes about 45 minutes, and you can see the nightly music show (A Symphony of Lights) at 8 o'clock in the evening.

A Symphony of Lights in Victoria Harbour at Night: It is a famous laser light and music show in Hong Kong. Through interactive lighting and music effects, it shows the dynamic and colorful side of Victoria Harbour. It was named "the world's largest permanent light and sound show" by the Guinness Book of Records.

Polin Monastery

Tai O Fishing Village

In the morning, we will take the ferry to Macau. When you arrive in Macau, you will first visit the Macau Tower. Macau Tower is a large-scale leisure and entertainment facility in Macau, a new symbol of Macau, and one of the top ten sightseeing towers in the world. Visitors may have a chance to experience Sky Walks, bungee jumping, and other activities here. There is a 360-degree view restaurant at the top of the tower. You can overlook the whole Macau if you get lunch here. And then we will visit the Ruins of Saint Paul Church. More than 400 years ago, the Portuguese came to Macau and brought Catholicism to Macau. They built this church. This was the largest Catholic church in the East at that time. However, the church was later destroyed, and only the existing front wall remained. From the ruins, we can still see that the church is beautifully decorated. The chrysanthemums and peony flowers that represent Eastern culture are still clearly visible. This is currently one of the top eight scenic spots in Macau. And then we will visit the A-Ma Temple. This A-Ma Temple is one of the three major Buddhist temples in Macau. This temple is mainly built for Mazu, the sea god. According to legend, A Fujian merchant was in danger at sea. Mazu saved him. And then he built this Temple for Mazu. There are still many tourists here today. Especially when it comes to March 3rd of the Chinese lunar calendar, this day is considered Mazu’s birthday. So more people will come.

Option One: The Venetian Macao is the largest hotel in Macau and one of the top ten most popular hotels in China. The hotel is based on the theme of Venice Water Village. You will see arch bridges, small canals, and stone roads in the hotel. It is also a comprehensive building integrating hotels, shopping malls, performances, and conferences. At the same time, there are also facilities such as a golf course and a fitness center.

Option Two: Pork chop bun is one of the "civilian delicacies" in Macau. It can also be said to be a Chinese burger. The toasted bread is covered with butter, and a piece of fried pork chop is sandwiched in the middle. Office workers in Macau like this food very much.

Jook-sing noodles, also called bamboo pole noodles, is also a favorite food of Macau people. Its production method is quite special. The chef sits on a bamboo pole and uses the principle of leverage to move the pole up and down and press the dough repeatedly for 2 hours. The noodles made in this way are thin and chewy.

Macau Tower

Ruins of Saint Paul Church

In the morning, you will take the ferry back to Hong Kong. And then you will take an estimated train G3002 14:33/18:23 to Xiamen. Your guide will wait for you at the train station and then you will be transferred to the hotel. 

Xiamen is a beautiful island, and it is also a garden city in China. It has been selected as one of the best holiday destinations in China. Xiamen has a pleasant climate all year round. The average annual temperature is 21 degrees. There is no severe cold in winter and it is not too hot in summer. It is very suitable for traveling. 

Today, you will enjoy one day on Gulangyu Island. It is a famous tourist attraction in Xiamen. The green area coverage rate of Gulangyu Island is over 40%, and the plant population is rich. Because of its beautiful scenery and suitable temperature, it is the first choice for many people on their honeymoon or travel. You will first visit the Shuzhuang Garden here. Shuzhuang Garden was built in 1913 and is located in the south of Gulangyu Island. It turned out to be a private villa and opened as a park in 1955. The Shuzhuang garden is ingeniously laid out and the decoration in the park is exquisite. After that, you will visit the Piano Museum. The piano museum is divided into two floors. The pianos displayed here are from the collection of the patriotic overseas Chinese Mr. Hu. There are many varieties of pianos here. There are four-corner pianos with the loudest sound in the world, as well as the clavichord with upside-down black and white keys made by piano maker Shu Nan in 1906. Many pianos have a history of one hundred years, and some have even experienced wars. So for tourists, visiting the Piano Museum is equivalent to browsing the history of piano development in the world. Sunlight Rock is the highest point on Gulangyu Island. Standing here, you can see the entire scenery of Gulangyu Island. There are many stone carvings here, which were left by the people of the past generations when they visited. The Sunlight Rock Temple here has a history of more than 400 years. It used to be a natural cave with huge boulders as the top. Later, people built this temple according to the topography. After lunch, you will visit the South Putuo Temple. It was built in the Tang Dynasty and is one of the holy places of Buddhism in southern Fujian. It is built on the mountain and facing the sea, with a grand scale and grandeur. Many Buddha statues are enshrined here, and there are precious Buddhist scriptures treasured in the hall. A statue of Guanyin is enshrined in the Great mercy Hall of the temple. The front is two-handed Guanyin, and the remaining three sides are 48-armed Guanyin. There are also Buddhist events held here from time to time, and many believers come to participate. 

Option: Fish balls are a delicacy in Xiamen. The locals choose fresh fish, peeled the skin, remove the fish bones, and then repeatedly beat the fish with various seasonings. And then they will make the fish into round balls and boil it in the soup. The soup is specially boiled, which looks like milk and tastes very delicious. 

Fried sea oysters is another traditional delicacy in Xiamen. Choose fresh sea oysters, wash them, and marinate them with seasonings. Mix starch, water, and eggs into a batter. Pour the oil in the pan, then pour the seasoned sea oysters, fry them until golden brown, and pour into the batter. Then the sea oysters are ready for eating.

Gulangyu Island

Shuzhuang Garden

Tulou is a house where the Hakka people live. They were built with rammed earth. Most tulou is round or semi-circular. There are also square or other shapes. Before China's Tulou was known to the world, some foreigners accidentally took pictures of the Tulou and regarded it as a residence for aliens. Hakka Tulou is collective buildings, and its biggest feature is the large scale. The ordinary round Tulou has a diameter of about 50 meters and a height of three or four floors. There are more than 100 houses in total, which can live in 30 or 40 families.

After breakfast, we will drive about 2.5 hours (200 KM) to Yongding. And then we will visit the Chuxi Tulou Cluster. The Chuxi Tulou Cluster is the living place of the Hakka people. The architectural style of Chuxi Tulou Cluster reflects high aesthetics, art, and historical value. They stand by the mountains and have a reasonable layout, which embodies the integration of humans and nature and has strong Hakka residential architecture characteristics. Chuxi Tulou Cluster consists of five round buildings and dozens of square buildings. Among them, the oldest Jiqing Building is 600 years old, while the youngest Shanqing Building is only 30 years old. And then we will visit the Chengqilou which is known as the king of Tulou. The scale of Chengqilou is huge, covering an area of 5376.17 square meters. It is a circular Tulou, and the overall building consists of three circular buildings from the inside to the outside. According to legend, because the Chenqilou is too large, many people live in the same tulou, but they don’t know each other.

Tulou

Chengqilou

In the morning, we will visit the Tianluokeng Tulou. The construction of Tianluokeng Tulou followed China's Five Elements Theory- metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. There is a square Tulou in the middle, and around the square Tulou, there are four circular Tulou. With this layout, the Tulou looks like a plum blossom on the mountain. The square Tulou in the middle is named Buyunlou. It is the first Tulou among them. Buyunlou in Chinese means that the people living here are all going well and have a bright future. After lunch, we will visit the Taxia Village. Taxia Village is a traditional ethnic village in Fujian. The overall layout here is the same as China's Tai Chi diagram. The location of Taxia Village fully reflects the wisdom of the ancient Chinese. It has four major characteristics, hidden, water, mountain, and field. Hidden means that Taxia Village is surrounded by mountains and has good concealment. This way it can avoid enemies. Mountain refers to the mountains around Taxia Village, which can provide the villagers with materials for building houses. Water refers to the abundant annual rainfall here, and there are streams running through the village. This will ensure the villagers' water for daily life and farmland irrigation. Field refers to the flatlands, where farmland can be cultivated to make a living. You will see many traditional buildings with ethnic characteristics here.

Option: Yongding puppet show is China's intangible cultural heritage. The puppet show originated in the Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,000 years. The original puppet show was performed by 3 people. Two people pulled the string puppets to perform, and the other sang and played and narrated the content of the performance. Later, puppet shows became more and more popular. The number of performers gradually increased, and the content of the performances gradually became richer. If you want to get close to this intangible cultural heritage, we can arrange a puppet show for you. You will also have a chance to lift the puppet yourself.

Tianluokeng Tulou

Taxia Village

After breakfast, we will drive about 2.5 hours back to Xiamen. After breakfast, you will visit Zhongshan Road Shopping Street. This is a famous shopping street in Xiamen. The buildings on Zhongshan Road Shopping Street are all arcades. The arcade is an architectural form that combines European architecture and Southeast Asian regional characteristics. Pink and cream are the main colors, and it looks very historical. You can taste local food or get some souvenirs for your friends. There is a restaurant called Huang Zehe Peanut Soup Restaurant, which is the favorite restaurant of the locals. The peanut soup sold here is sweet but not greasy, so it's worth a try.

Option: Island Ring Boulevard is one of the main tourist roads around the sea in Xiamen. Adhering to the concept of leaving the most beautiful sea to people, this roundabout road fully embodies the beach and seaside scenery of Xiamen. Among them, a section of coast from Xiamen University to Qianpu, about 9 kilometers long, is called the golden coastline and is a seaside green promenade that integrates tourism, sightseeing, leisure, and entertainment. You can ride a bicycle here and enjoy the beach and coastal scenery.

Zhongshan Road Shopping Street

Zhongshan Road Shopping Street

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport and then fly back to your sweet home. 

Our service will end here.

Editor: Betsy He