The island of Gulangyu as I mentioned in my last post, was a slight disappointment. I don't know what I was expecting, but at the same time, with the crowds of people that were flooding off the ferries, there had to be something of a fantastic attraction.
I do have to say the weather again, as my whole trip to China, was extremely hot. There weren't many places to duck away from the heat. We would go into a coffee shop to relax and cool down, but we were still sweating and uncomfortable. There was air conditioning, but I found how not just Gulangyu but most places I went in China, used air conditioning much different ways than I believe in using it. I will talk about that more in a later post on my over all feelings of China.
Back to Gulangyu. Now if the weather was more pleasant, walking around the island would have been more relaxing. That is until the merchants over crowded you.
Yes, there were tons of merchants all over the island. And in some areas you would find a store or restaurant, selling the same things, that is sold a few stores down. Sure restaurants can be different, but not on this Island. It seemed that they all almost were serving the same dishes. There appeared to be no well-known restaurants that are the must go to place. It was more a merchant survival party.
And the food that we did eat, well for me wasn't that great. Well, that too is another story. Me and the food in China, never really got along.
Other than the merchants and food, the one thing that Gulangyu has is its views. There are mountain ranges and skyline view. So sometimes you would come around the corner, and there is a massive skyscraper in the distance. Or you would find a monument that is facing the sea.
Now there are no cars on the island, and most things are transported my golf carts or hand carted. Like this man transporting a huge air conditioner.
In the morning of leaving the island, I was happy. Not to get away from it, but I remembered the lines to get on the ferries the day before was ridiculously long. So we were to get on the first ferry of the day, and there were no lines to stand in the hot blazing sun.
Our next venture was in Xiamen and a visit to a temple. But first, it was breakfast in the tower that is in the first photo of this post. At the top, we went, and that is where I took the aerial shot that is in my last post.
https://steemit.com/cn/@davidmendel/next-venture-to-gulangyn-island-off-of-xiamen-china