This 5-day Xiamen and Tulou trip splits into three nights in Xiamen and two among the earthen towers of Nanjing or Yongding — the UNESCO “Tulou” that look like giant clay doughnuts. Use Xiamen as your comfort base, then bus inland to sleep inside a real Hakka round house.
Quick answer
Xiamen is a clean, relaxed coastal city with good metro and beaches; the Tulou are 2.5–3 hours inland and are the once-in-a-lifetime sight. I stayed one night inside a converted Tulou and the thick mud walls kept the room cool without AC — unforgettable, but confirm the licence first.
| Night | Base | Why | Foreigner note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiamen (Zhongshan Rd / Island Rd) | Arrival, food | Metro Line 1 easy |
| 2 | Xiamen | Gulangyu, temples | Confirm passport |
| 3 | Nanjing Tulou (Tianluokeng) | Round houses | Inns vary on licence |
| 4 | Yongding / Yunshuiyao | More Tulou | Re-register |
| 5 | Xiamen | Depart | Buffer night |
Day-by-day plan
Day 1 — Arrive in Xiamen
Land at Gaoqi (XMN), metro Line 1 into the city. Stay near Zhongshan Road for old-town eats or Island Ring Road for the sea. Walk the waterfront and try sha cha noodles.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: a 4-star near Zhongshan Road. Our can foreigners book hotels in China guide is your licence checklist if a small inn looks tempting.
Transport to next: rest; islands tomorrow.
Day 2 — Gulangyu Island
Ferry from the international terminal to Gulangyu, a car-free island of colonial villas and piano museums. Afternoon: Nanputuo Temple and Xiamen University’s outer lane.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: same Xiamen base.
Transport to next: morning train Xiamen North → Nanjing (about 1 hour, ¥50 / $7), then a bus or Didi 1 hour to the Tulou cluster.
Day 3 — Tianluokeng Tulou
The “four dishes and one soup” cluster — three round and two square towers — is the icon. Climb the viewpoint for the postcard angle.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: a guesthouse inside or beside a Tulou at Tianluokeng. I messaged ahead with a passport photo; the one I picked could register foreigners, the next door could not.
Transport to next: local bus or driver to Yongding.
Day 4 — Yunshuiyao and Chengqi Lou
Yunshuiyao’s riverside tulou and the huge Chengqi Lou (“king of round houses”) are the highlights. The drive between clusters is scenic rice-country.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: Yongding-area inn, or return toward Xiamen late.
Transport to next: afternoon bus/train back to Xiamen.
Day 5 — Xiamen buffer and depart
Keep a Xiamen buffer night if flying out internationally; ferries and mountain roads run on weather and traffic.
WHERE TO STAY TONIGHT: airport-area hotel for early departures.
Where to stay
| Base area | Best for | Price range | Getting around |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xiamen Zhongshan Rd | Food, ferry, metro | ¥400–800 / $58–116 | Metro Line 1 |
| Xiamen Island Ring Rd | Beach, calm | ¥450–900 / $65–130 | Bus, metro |
| Nanjing / Yongding Tulou | The towers | ¥300–700 / $43–100 | Driver, bus |
Xiamen city hotels are foreigner-reliable; the Tulou inns are the adventure and the weak link on passports. A deposit and card hold in a rural inn can be awkward — our China hotel deposit, taxes & foreign credit card article tells you what to expect. Each new check-in also triggers police registration; read China temporary residence registration explained so it is not a surprise.
Intercity transport
Xiamen to the Tulou is a two-step hop: high-speed train (D/G prefix) to Nanjing or Longyan, then a road transfer. Train IDs are on your confirmation and match the station board — there is no extra ticket number to track. Inside the Tulou region there is no metro; hire a driver for the day (¥300–500 / $43–72) because buses are sparse and slow. Book the train via book on Trip.com; for the driver, ask your Tulou guesthouse to arrange one with a foreigner-friendly licence.
Foreigner check-in & payment tips
The Tulou inns are family-run and charming, but card machines and licence systems are hit-or-miss. Carry RMB and a backup card — our how to pay for Chinese hotels with a foreign card guide is the prep you want. Confirm by app message with a passport scan before paying, because a midnight “we can’t register you” is the classic rural China problem. In Xiamen itself, everything is smooth; it is the inland night that needs the backup plan.
When to go, packing and budget
Fujian is subtropical, so spring and autumn win. I visited Xiamen in April and the sea was warm enough to dip while the Tulou lanes were green; March–May and October–November are best. Summer is hot and typhoon-risk; winter is mild but grey. I’d skip the summer — the humidity and storm closures aren’t worth the cheaper rooms.
Pack for coast and countryside: swimwear for Xiamen’s beaches, good shoes for the Tulou’s muddy village paths (they get slick after rain), a rain layer, and a power bank. Cash matters more here than in big cities — the Tulou inns and tea houses often prefer it, so I carry ¥300.
Indicative daily budget, ranges I last verified in October 2026:
| Item | Budget | Mid-range |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel (Xiamen 4-star) | ¥400 / $58 | ¥800 / $116 |
| Tulou guesthouse | ¥300 / $43 | ¥700 / $100 |
| Meals per day | ¥110 / $16 | ¥260 / $38 |
| Trains & driver | ¥250 / $36 | ¥500 / $72 |
The Tulou driver (¥300–500 / $43–72 a day) is the real cost outside the city; a train to Nanjing is cheap but the last mile needs a car. I compare Xiamen rooms on check Agoda and Trip.com, and the China hotel price seasons guide helps dodge holiday spikes. And give Gulangyu a full morning rather than an hour — the island rewards slow wandering, and the ferry queue builds by mid-morning. Honest caveat: the Tulou are spectacular but remote — if you only have three days, stay in Xiamen and do one Tulou overnight rather than rushing every cluster. For entry and rail facts I verify against https://www.nia.gov.cn/ and https://www.china-embassy.gov.cn/ before publishing.
Who this route suits
Xiamen and the Tulou suit travelers who like a coastal base with a cultural day-trip, rather than nonstop sightseeing. It’s ideal for a slower pace and good for families — the island and the round houses fascinate kids. It’s less ideal for those short on time, because the Tulou are 2.5–3 hours inland and an overnight is what makes them worthwhile; day-trippers often regret the rush. Skip it if you want big-city energy or famous landmarks — Xiamen is mellow and a bit provincial. I’d also caution vegetarians: Fujian food leans on seafood and pork, though the Buddhist spots around Nanputuo serve decent veg, and the night markets have more options than you’d expect.
A few final pointers
A final pointer: book the Tulou guesthouse at least a week ahead in spring and autumn, because the licensed foreigner rooms inside the towers are few and fill fast. And confirm your Xiamen–Tulou transfer the day before, since rural drivers rarely speak English and a written address in Chinese saves the confusion at the station. The Gulangyu ferry also needs timed tickets in peak season, so reserve online rather than queuing on the day.
