A day in Xiamen - a beautiful port city full of urban energy and laid-back vibes

I went to Xiamen on a work trip, not really knowing what to expect. As I jumped on a boat to see the famous UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, Gulangyu, I already felt captivated by what I was seeing. As I was walking through the streets of the pedestrian-only island, I felt as if I had stepped into a different world. Just minutes before, I had been in the modern and urban downtown of Xiamen. And now, I was exploring the old-fashioned alleyways of the car-free island.

(Photo/Liu Ning)

Over 10 million tourists just like me visit Gulangyu every year. But about 20,000 people call this island with a mere size of 2 square kilometers, home.

More than 100 years ago, Gulangyu had the peculiarity of having constituted the only international settlement on Chinese soil apart from the more celebrated International Settlement at Shanghai. Nowadays, you can still discover well-preserved Victorian-era style architecture all across the island.