Wednesday, first full day in Xiamen

Woke up after sleeping 10 + hours, that was a good bed, and I was tired, very. Maybe more than I thought.

Breakfast downstairs, and a couple from Singapore sit with us, the restaurant is so crowded. She speaks English (Singapore, yes, English) so we have a short conversation, but the restaurant starts to clear some so they get their own table. A little disappointed, that might have proved interesting.

Off to Gu lang yu, or Piano Island as it is know hereabouts. Named that because so many of the missionaries that lived here in treaty port times (What the Chinese call the Unequal Treaties.) had pianos. Now home to a piano museum and one of the country’s best music school programs is located on the island. WE have been forewarned by the Singapore couple that there are no English speaking guides, so I am going to guide Grace. Well, I have been here once before. But as we approach the ferry, a young girl approaches and offers to be our guide. She speaks English quite well, and will charge 20 RMB (less than $3.00 USD) for two + hours. That is about all Grace and I think we can handle, it is hot, the sun is shinning, and our dogs both hurt, or maybe I should say all four dogs hurt. So we jump at the chance and hire her.

Ferry ride over is no charge, and she begins a good narration of the surroundings and architecture. Before we go far she stops at her office and we register. Now I am super sensitive about signing anything without reading it in the US. I did not say without understanding, but I do read it all. She asks me to sign my name, and the form is completely written in Chinese. I see the date, I see the start time 10:50, I see 20 RMB and I see my name in my handwriting. I keep a copy because this is probably the last and only time I am going to sign my name blindly. Streets are narrow, cobblestone mostly, no cars or bikes allowed. There are electric trams that the guide service uses, but we walk. At least we are with a legitimate guide?

Gu lang yu is special. When the foreign powers got extraterritoriality they set up isolated (from the Chinese) enclaves that were subject to their laws, not Chinese laws. This one was Amoy, one of the first ports. Lots of strange (for China) buildings. German Consulate, British, Japanese, Dutch, we do not see an American, although they were certainly here too. One looks like a Greek building you would find in Athens, very much so. Lots of hotels, a youth hostel, so many coffee shops I stop counting, and of course shops and shops and more shops. Only one we stop at is a pearl shop, she says they have pearls for $1.00. Ah, an American sucker is reeled in; sure, $1.00.

Then a shop where a young lady out front is carving (?) on a shiny piece of black polished stone. But not carving as I thought, more like punching a tiny dot, moving the tool, then punching again. I gotta see, so we go inside that one too. Absolutely amazing. Have you ever seen the “pictures” printed in the Wall Street Journal? Like that, composed of hundreds if not thousands of tiny dots. We bargain and Grace ends up with a Qi Baishi likeness, our favorite Chinese artist, small version thank you as our bags are getting heavy. Some are even colored after the carving, ours is black and white, no color added.

We walk on to the other side and the beach, but thankfully this is where the trams come in. To that 20 RMB for the guide now is added 10 more RMB each, yes another 20 RMB. But with sore dogs and a return trip by a different route, we are game. At least I do not have to pay for the guide Mary.

Back to the ferry, and oh yes, another 8 RMB each for the return trip to Xiamen, so another 16 RMB. You do the math, my 20 RMB trip has just tripled in price. Still well worth the cost, but too many hidden costs for me. And notice how I did not say how much we spent in the pearl or art shops?

Back in Xiamen I ask Mary to assist me at the post office. A friend gave me a large stack of used postcards and stamp newspapers (I’m a stamp collector if you did not know.) that I have been carrying around since Suzhou, and they are heavy, and getting heavier if that is possible. So she goes with me to the post office and we mail parcel post those items back to the US. Choice is to pay postage or extra baggage charges, and at this point, extra baggage is going to cost more. Two months delivery, but I am in no hurry, glad to send them.

Hotel again and another rest.

Evening and Grace and I head out for a walk. Down Fu Zhou Lu, a street next to our hotel, a pedestrian walkway with no traffic, at least none at night. Shops are extra clean, very modern and stylish. Not the extreme Shanghai high fashion, but very nice. Evening is cool and pleasant. There are several local folk artists on the street. The photo is of a special local art form: dough figures that Fujian is famous for. The bottom ones are cute, but the ones up above are much more detailed and fancy. Cool, but not sure it would get home in one piece, so we pass. Wow, did not even ask the price! Down a side alley with lots of food vendors, then back another alley and return to Fu Zhou Lu. We sit at an outside table and have a cup of coffee and a blueberry Danish, watching the locals go by, and them watching us. I order a baguette for tomorrow, hoping it will be similar to French bread, we’ll see.

Getting late and the sun is way down, we head back to the hotel and our room.

Very pleasant day, very. Xiamen is friendly, clean and welcoming. I think you could be very comfortable in Xiamen.