5-Day Fujian Tulou & Wuyishan Culture Tour

A ten-minute ferry carries you onto Gulangyu, and the island's quiet, car-free rhythm immediately sets a different pace, as European villas, former consulates and bougainvillea-shaded lanes unfold one after another. You tour Sunlight Rock Park and Shuzhuang Garden by buggy — the first is the island's highest point, looking out over Xiamen Bay, while the second tucks sea, rock, pavilions, bridges and the Piano Museum neatly into one private garden. As the sea breeze drifts through the windows of the old villas, it is easy to understand why the island is known as the “Island of Pianos.”

The Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster is made up of four round towers and one square, affectionately nicknamed by locals the “four dishes and a soup,” and stands as one of the grandest and best-preserved Hakka fortress dwellings anywhere in the region; the Hekeng Cluster, meanwhile, is famous as a filming location for the movie Mulan. You will step into a Hakka family home, wander through the upper rooms that are normally closed to the public, sip local tea and listen to a family's story — feeling the living, warm everyday life of the Hakka people.

Mount Wuyi has been a sacred site of Taoism for more than 1,800 years. After arriving by high-speed rail, climb Tianyou Peak with its red Danxia cliffs and green forest keeping you company all the way, breathing the cool, clear mountain air; from the summit the entire Nine-Bend Stream spreads out before you — its waters winding nine bends between the peaks, the single most classic image of Mount Wuyi.

The bamboo raft glides downstream between a blue sky, green vegetation and the red cliffs typical of the Danxia landform. On those cliffs hang the ancient Yue hanging coffins from over 3,000 years ago, and how they were placed dozens of metres up on the sheer rock face remains a mystery to this day. Along the way you can also see stone carvings left by poets and painters across the dynasties, as well as Song Street and Wuyi Palace at the far end of the stream.