Gulangyu Island

 

Facts of Gulangyu Island

Chinese Name: 鼓浪屿 Pronunciation: gǔ làng yǔ

Recommended Time for Visit: 1 Day

Opening Hours: 24 Hours

Tourist Area: 1.91 square kilometers

Address: Siming District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China.

 

Entrance Fee

Tickets	Price
Entry	Free
Sunlight Rock Scenic	50 yuan
Shuzhuang Garden (including Piano Museum)	30 yuan
Haoyue Garden	15 yuan
Organ Museum	15 yuan
International Calligraphic Carving Art Gallery	5 yuan
Package ticket for the above five attractions	85 yuan

 

Top Highlights at Gulangyu Island

Gulangyu Island, located in the southwest corner of Xiamen Island, was known as “ Yuan Sha Chau”. “Gu” means drum in Chinese. The cave in the southwest of the sea is struck by sea waves and it sounds like drum, therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, it was named Gulangyu which is still in use today.
 

Due to historical reasons, buildings of different styles at home and abroad are scattered and preserved here. Hence, it is also called the "World Architecture Expo". There are many popular shops in Longtou Road Commercial Street where various of Xiamen snacks are available. The island is also a fertile land for music, bringing forth many musical talents. The number of local residents who have pianos ranks first in China, therefore it is also known as "the Island of Piano" and "the Hometown of Music".
 

In 2017, Gulangyu was listed as a World Heritage Site. Architectures, coastal scenery and artistic shops impress tourists a lot.

 

Top Highlights to See at the Gulangyu Island

 Sunlight Rock

Sunlight Rock, also called Longtou Mountain, is composed of two parts: Sunshine Rock and Qin Yuan. Standing straight to the south of Gulangyu, Sunshine Rock is the highest peak of Longtou Mountain, with an altitude of 92.7 meters. It is the most representative attraction of Gualngyu Island.
 

Small as it is, the viewing platform on top of Sunlight Rock is usually crowded during day time. Tourists can choose to go in the evening with fewer visitors, then there is going to be a different scenery.
 

Shuzhuang Garden

Shuzhuang Garden, founded in 1913, is named after “shuzang”, which is the other name of Lin Erjia, a wealthy merchant in Taiwan. Shuzhuang Garden is divided into two parts: Bushan Garden and Zanghai Garden.
 

The main landscape of The Bushan Garden is the rockery and there are twelve caves with twelve zodiacs inlaid in each cave.
 

The reason of ZangHai Park is called ZangHai is that only when people turn out of the moon gate, the sea will come to your eyes, and the bridge of forty-four is the best point for viewing the sea.
 

 Piano Museum

The piano museum is a great highlight, with special piano impromptu performances every half hour. And it has many old antique pianos, which were collected by Hu Yiyou, a patriotic overseas Chinese. The museum is divided into two halls. There will be regular piano instruction and irregular piano performance.
 

The candlesticks lamp decoration on the pianos have a history of more than one hundred years. A visiting to the piano museum is equivalent to browse the development history of the world's pianos.
 

 Haoyue Park

Haoyue Garden is a memorial garden for Zheng Chenggong, the most representative attraction in it is the statue of Zheng Chenggong. It is a symbol of Gulangyu and can it be seen from far away even in the city of Xiamen.
 

After viewing the statue, the surrounding coastline can be seen from the rock of the base. It is also a good place to enjoy the Xiamen Twin Towers, and The Grand Bridge across the river. May wish to enjoy free access to the park after sunset on both sides.
 

The Haoyue Garden also has a gallery and an exhibition hall of Zheng Chenggong's miniature sculptures, which mainly shows his expulsion of the Netherlands and recovery of Taiwan. After shopping, you can also go to the beach outside the park to rest feet and take a walk.
 

 Organ Museum

Organ Museum was proposed by the patriotic overseas Chinese Mr. Hu Youyi, and all the collections are donated by him. It is the only one organ museum in China and the largest organ museum around the world.
 

There are church organs, the most famous reed organs in France, "Iorians" organs for the rich, little organs for busking, organs with mirrors and organs with candlesticks. The largest one is several floors high, and the smallest is like suitcase.
 

 International Carving Art Gallery

Gulangyu Island International Carved Character Art Gallery is located in the small building with an area of about 500 square meters on the opposite of Shuzhuang Garden, the first floor is International exhibition hall, and the second floor is the Exhibition hall of China. It is the only large-scale and high-grade international sculpture art gallery in the world.
 

The museum contains 407 works from China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. Most of these works were selected from the 5th National Lettering Art Exhibition and the 8th International Lettering Art Exhibition in 2004, representing the highest standard of lettering art at home and abroad. Calligraphy, engraving, painting, color, sculpture and decoration in one of the moderns lettering art with a distinct flavor of The Times and unique artistic charm, are increasingly appreciated and favored by the people.

 

You Can Travel in This Order

Take ferry to Gulangyu Island → Sunlight Rock→visit the Shuzhuang Garden → Haoyue Park → have lunch → Organ museum →International Carving Art Gallery

 

When to Travel to Gulangyu Island

Gulangyu Island has a warm and humid climate, without severe cold in winter and scorching heat in summer. It is full of sunshine, flowers and trees flourish all year round. Even in the winter, it is warm. Spring and autumn are best for traveling.

April, May, And October, these three months are pleasantly warm and ideal for travel. Don't forget to bring your umbrella in April when precipitation starts to increase.

August and September are the hottest months in Xiamen. Even in the shade of trees, it can be very hot. I suggest sitting on the beach or ordering a drink in an air-conditioned shop. Typhoons are common in August, and ferries generally operate normally unless the typhoon passes through Xiamen which is very severe.

December to March, temperatures range from 10 to 19 degrees. It's warm in winter when the sun shines, but it is best to try to avoid staying near the sea. The sea breeze is freezing.

 

Transportation

 By Ferry

To Gulangyu Island should arrive in Xiamen first, and take a ferry from terminals. There are many routes to Gulangyu Island.

• Daytime Routes

Terminals	Departs time	Price (Return Ticket)
Xiagu–Neicuo'ao (厦鼓码头–内厝澳码头)	Winter: 7:20–17:20 Summer: 7:20–18:20	50 yuan
Xiagu–Sanqiutian (厦鼓码头–三丘田码头)	Winter: 7:10–17:30 Summer: 7:10–18:30	35 yuan
Songyu–Neicuo'ao (嵩屿码头–内厝澳码头)	Winter: 7:30–17:50 Summer: 7:30–18:50	30 yuan

• Night Routes

Terminals	Departs time	Price (Return Ticket)
Xiagu second hall–Sanqiutian (厦鼓码头2号厅–三丘田码头)	Winter:17:50-23:45 Summer: 18:50-23:45	35 yuan
Xiagu–Sanqiutian (厦鼓码头–三丘田码头)	00：15-6：15	35 yuan

 By Taxi

Tourists could take taxi to terminals then take ferry to Gulangyu Island.

Chinese: 请带我去厦鼓码头。English: Please take me to the Xiagu Terminal.

If tourists go to the Xiagu Terminal by taxi, It takes about 40 yuan from the airport and about 20 minutes.