Piano Island

[highlight]Leia em Português[/highlight]

Gulangyu Island, aka Piano Island, is a village with about 20.000 residents and over 200 pianos. Its name and reputation comes from having the only piano museum in China.

Detail of a Chinese roof with Xiamen in the background

The place is very picturesque, where you cannot use car till today. The whole island must be covered on foot or by bike. The most interesting point is the cable car with a beautiful view of Xiamen and Taiwan.

I had a one-day tour there; we arrived in the morning and left in the afternoon. Charming as everything in China. I really enjoyed the beach, with the view and kids playing inside floating plastic bubbles.

Like what happened to me in Beijing, the Chinese teenagers also asked me to take pictures with them. I guess it is because I am tall and Western, or maybe because I wear leather jacket and sunglasses they mistook me for somebody famous. I had to take pictures with the entire group, one by one! Another cool thing to see was the brides being photographed for their weddings. The island is the setting for this kind of photos and, of course, the Chinese brides always wear a red dress. At the end of the tour we hanged out in the city center, checking the shops that sell everything, and the exotic food. I remember we ate a Chinese McDonald’s that day.