Chinese New Year, Xiamen, and the Coronavirus
Happy Year of the Golden Rat!
I was pretty pumped about spending Chinese New Year in China this year, especially since I haven’t been able to do so since I was 5. But unfortunately, the circumstances were not what I imagined due to the increasing alarm of the coronavirus.
Originally, we booked our trip to Xiamen in Fujian Province as well as the Tulou Clusters near its countryside. And we in fact, did take the trip from Hong Kong to Xiamen on the high-speed train the afternoon of Lunar New Year Eve. However, due to the contagiousness of the virus, it resulted not only in the closure of practically every single tourist destinations but also a damper on our excitement for travel. To be honest having been in Xiamen for a little more than 24 hours, the sheer panic for everyone, including myself, just totally killed the mood for my desire to travel.
In retrospect, we should’ve canceled the trip entirely and either went somewhere else or stayed at home. But we decided to take our chances since Fujian Province only had only had 3 or 4 cases at that time. So I stocked up on hand sanitizers, masks, and travel disinfectant wipes and we boarded the high-speed train from Kowloon West directly to Xiamen Station. Props to train staff though, I noticed every time we had a stop on the train and people got off and on, the staff would wipe down and clean the car with disinfectant solutions.
We arrived at our hotel around dinner time and had a lovely Chinese New Year’s Eve meal with dumplings, steamed fish, local Xiamen delicacies, and some veggies. Our hotel was also very professional and only 1 km from the Xiamen Station. they provided guests with masks and additional cleaning services. We also got traditional snacks and oranges for Chinese New Year.
Gulang Yu was on our agenda for things to explore next day but unfortunately, all the attractions on the island were closed; in addition, they were only selling ferry tickets (the only transportation method to get on the island), from online or WeChat. Both methods needed WeChat Pay, which we did not and cannot use because we don’t have a Chinese ID and a Chinese bank account.
Didn’t know what to do, we planned to go to another pier and try our luck. On our way to the pier, the taxi driver convinced us to go take a driving tour with this travel company who can take us to this island called Dadeng Island - which used to belong to Taiwan as part of the Kinmen Islands under the Nationalist Government. But in the 50s, the island was won over by the CCP and now belongs under the jurisdiction of Xiamen City.
With not many options, we opted for the tour, which was $198 RMB ($25 USD) per person with a private driver. We drove along the scenic ocean front route and stopped at a few places along the way, including a Ma Zu Temple (顺济宫) at He Cuo (何厝), or otherwise known as He Village. Interestingly, the Ma Zu Buddha (顺济宫) went home to her mother during Lunar New Year, according to tradition or our driver tour guide. Hence, the front doors to the temple as well as the curtains in front of her statue was closed. Not sure how legit that is because our tour guide/driver didn’t look super legit. For all I know it could just be the temple workers took vacation for Chinese New Year (lol!) We also spotted a group of stray cats - again! With 3 kittens and a super scary dirty looking mom-cat.
There was also a pearl wholesale store in the same village where the A-Ma Temple was. They had live shells where each supposedly had 6-8 colorful pearls for $50 RMB ($7 USD) each. We saw them open a live one and it was indeed the case! I am still dubious that it’s all natural though…although our driver and the store owner all claimed that it was. Later on, we also saw so many of them in the touristy food/shopping district. (*Upon some research just now, it is indeed manmade pearls and freshwater pearls. They are not expensive of course so it’s fine to buy it for fun but don’t get scammed thinking it’s real high quality pearls!)
Afterwards, we made our way to Dadeng Island. To be honest, the island wasn’t super impressive. It wasn’t very beautiful or well-developed. Just a village with the fisherman’s houses. There was one small area of historical buildings that they preserved from the Chinese Civil War days that was cute. But other than the historical significance, houses and villages like this can be spotted in many different places in China! So we were not impressed. Lastly, we went to a good luck Banyan Tree where tourists and locals alike tied their ribbons of good wishes. The tree was perhaps one of the biggest I have seen and very beautiful. We bought a little red sash and tied our well-wishes to the tree.
Oh! How can I almost forget. We got scammed on a fresh seafood restaurant on Dadeng Island. Biggest lessons learned for traveling in China - and a warning for anyone reading, never ever go to a restaurant with glass tanks and “fresh seafood.” It’s all a scam! We got bullied into ordering a fish and 2 large shells for $630 RMB ($90 USD!!!) One of the owners keep pressuring us to order the fish, in which he promised to cook 3 dishes for us - steamed fish, sweet and sour fish, and a soup. The shells we got cooked with garlic and rice noodles. That’s it! In the middle of nowhere for more than $90 USD! But we didn’t want to argue and there weren’t too many options since everything was closed due to both Chinese New Year and the virus.
After Dadeng Island, our driver dropped us off at Zeng Cuo An (曾厝安), an old village that got converted into a touristy district with alleys and alleys field with street food, airbnbs, and shops. Mostly street food, it ranged from barbecue, grilled seafood, pancakes, and braised pig trotters. There were also quite a few rabbit cafes. We found a cute traditional paper cutting shop and got our portraits done :) And we discovered this adorable bookstore, 从聿书店, with nordic decor that sold a lot of diy music boxes, calendars, and houses. We got way too excited and bought an incredibly difficult cafe shop diy and Xiamen Cat themed music box.
And this pretty much recaps our adventure in Xiamen. Because the coronavirus appeared to be spreading quicker and wider throughout the country and as a result more precautionary measures such as travel bans, site closures were implemented, we had nowhere else to go. Hence our 4 day trip got cut to 1 and a half day trip and we came back to Hong Kong to spend the rest of our holidays. While I’m disappointed, I’m also glad we made the decision to head back early and also glad to see that destinations have implemented closures. The panic is real and it’s best to be safe than be sorry!
Hope everyone have a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2020 and Year of the Rat! Xiamen, I will be back to explore its amazing offerings!
