Itinerary · 7 days · balanced
Fujian Coast and Tulou Circuit, 7 days
Xiamen's colonial island of Gulangyu, the Hakka earthen fortress villages of the tulou, Quanzhou's medieval Islamic and Confucian heritage, and the tea mountain of Wuyi — a Fujian round-trip.
Fujian province faces the Taiwan Strait and has historically been China's most outward-facing coastal province — home of the Hokkien diaspora, the Song-dynasty port of Quanzhou, and the Hakka mountain communities who built their circular earthen forts (土楼, tǔlóu). This seven-day circuit covers Xiamen, the Nanjing tulou UNESCO cluster, and Quanzhou in sequence.
Day by day
Day 1 · xiamen
Arrival Xiamen, Gulangyu Island
Arrive Xiamen (厦门). Ferry to Gulangyu Island (鼓浪屿) — a car-free island whose European-Chinese colonial architecture reflects the presence of foreign consulates and missionary settlements from the 1840s onwards. Piano Museum and the old HSBC building. Return for dinner in Zhongshan Road seafood market.
Attractions: gulangyu-island, kulangsu-international-settlement
Stay in: Xiamen, Siming district.
Day 2 · xiamen
South Putuo Temple, Xiamen University campus
Morning at South Putuo Temple (南普陀寺) — a Tang-dynasty Buddhist complex rebuilt in the Qing era, with a vegetarian restaurant. Xiamen University campus behind it — set among Bougainvillea-covered colonial buildings. Afternoon tea in the South Street neighbourhood.
Stay in: Xiamen.
Day 3 · nanjing
HSR to Nanjing (Fujian), Tulou drive
Morning HSR south to Zhangzhou direction, then bus to Nanjing county (南靖, not the Jiangsu Nanjing). This county contains the Tianluokeng tulou cluster — four round earthen buildings and one square, arranged on a hillside in a pattern that appears on the reverse of the old ¥50 note. Afternoon inside the largest — Hegui Lou, 400 years old with 200 rooms arranged around a central courtyard.
Attractions: fujian-tulou
Stay in: Tulou village homestay — several families rent rooms in active buildings.
HSR Xiamen → Zhangzhou 30 min; bus Zhangzhou → Nanjing county 2h.
Day 4 · yongding
Yongding Tulou — Chuxi cluster, Hongkeng village
Road east to Yongding county — home to the Chuxi cluster (eight round tulou in a valley, photographed from a hillside viewpoint) and Hongkeng village, which has the most accessible collection including Zhencheng Lou, built in 1912 with a European-Baroque interior. Hakka culture exhibition.
Attractions: fujian-tulou
Stay in: Yongding or back to Xiamen.
Road Nanjing → Yongding, 1.5h.
Day 5 · quanzhou
HSR to Quanzhou, Kaiyuan Temple, Qingjing Mosque
Morning HSR north to Quanzhou (泉州, 45 min from Xiamen). Quanzhou was a UNESCO-designated World Heritage city (2021) as the starting point of the medieval Maritime Silk Road. Kaiyuan Temple — Tang dynasty, with twin pagodas decorated with Song bas-reliefs. Qingjing Mosque — an 11th-century mosque built in Arab style, the oldest in southern China.
Attractions: quanzhou-emporium-of-the-world
Stay in: Quanzhou.
HSR Xiamen → Quanzhou, 45 min, ¥45.
Day 6 · quanzhou
Quanzhou Maritime Museum, Luoyang Bridge, Anping Bridge
Maritime Silk Road Museum — Song-dynasty shipwreck display and Islamic tombstones from the medieval merchant community. Luoyang Bridge (洛阳桥) — an 11th-century stone causeway bridge, the first sea-crossing bridge built in China. Anping Bridge (安平桥) — the longest pre-modern stone bridge in China at 2.5km.
Stay in: Quanzhou.
Day 7 · xiamen
Return to Xiamen, seafood, departure
Morning HSR back to Xiamen. Final seafood lunch — oyster omelette (蚝仔煎), satay beef noodles (沙茶面), and peanut soup. Depart from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport.
HSR Quanzhou → Xiamen 45 min; flight XMN → Beijing/Shanghai.
Budget guide (CNY per day)
| Backpacker | ¥2800 |
| Mid-range | ¥6500 |
| Comfortable | ¥13000 |
Per person 7 days. Gulangyu ferry and entrance ¥70. Tianluokeng tulou ¥90. Yongding Hongkeng ¥100. Quanzhou admission free for most sites (2026). HSR approximately ¥200 total.
Cities covered
Attractions covered