Xiamen, Gulangyu and Quanzhou from Luoyang, 6 days

We board the morning train at Luoyang Longmen, change once at Zhengzhou East, and reach Xiamen North in the late afternoon. The metro takes us across to the island. After checking in we walk to the Eighth Market, where fish stalls sit under the arcades and the catch is laid out in shallow baskets.

Attraction introduction: The Eighth Market is the old wet market of Xiamen, held in the colonnaded lanes near Yingping Road. Fishermen sell what came off the boats that morning, and the small kitchens beside them will steam or fry your purchase for a modest fee.

Tips: The first day is mostly transport, so nothing is scheduled. Guests generally find the metro from Xiamen North steadier than a taxi, because the bridges jam at rush hour. In practice we eat near the market and turn in early, since the first ferry leaves at half past seven.

At half past seven we reach the Dongdu cruise terminal, clear security, and land at Sanqiutian pier twenty minutes later. Instead of heading for Longtou Road we walk west toward Neicuoao, where the lanes are empty and bougainvillea spills over old villa walls. Lunch is a bowl of noodles on Quanzhou Road, then Sunlight Rock at three o clock.

Attraction introduction: Gulangyu sits southwest of Xiamen island and carries no cars at all. Sunlight Rock is its high point, a granite outcrop of some ninety metres where the roofscape and the harbour come into one view. Shuzhuang Garden was built on the shore rocks, its Forty Four Bridge running just above the water.

Tips: Ferry seats must be booked ahead on the official Xiamen ferry account and cost thirty five yuan return. Guests generally find Longtou Road unbearable after ten in the morning, so two hours earlier changes the whole day. In practice we split it into lanes in the morning and the summit in the afternoon.

We take the ferry back and spend the morning at Nanputuo. A stone stair behind the temple climbs Wulao Peak, short but steep, and from the top the red roofs of the campus and a strip of sea appear together. Lunch is satay noodles by the gate. In the afternoon we follow the coastal road east, then end at Shapowei, where old fishing boats still moor inside the curved harbour wall.

Attraction introduction: Nanputuo Temple sits under Wulao Peak and traces its founding to the Tang dynasty, with cliff carvings behind the halls. Shapowei was the first sheltered harbour of Xiamen, a crescent of still water now ringed by converted workshops, with nets and cafes sharing the same bank.

Tips: The temple charges nothing but requires a booking in advance. Guests generally find cycling easier than walking along the coastal road, with rental stands clustered near Baicheng. In practice we allow two hours for that stretch and stop wherever it looks good rather than chasing a schedule.

A forty minute train ride takes us to Quanzhou. We start with a bowl of misua soup, a stick of fried dough and a few pieces of vinegar pork. In the early afternoon we enter Kaiyuan Temple, where two stone pagodas face each other across a stand of banyans, their carvings worn round by centuries of rain. By dusk we are drifting down West Street toward the clock tower.

Attraction introduction: Kaiyuan Temple stands on West Street and was founded in the Tang dynasty. The twin pagodas, Zhenguo in the east and Renshou in the west, date from the Southern Song and are octagonal, five storeyed, and built entirely of stone in imitation of timber frames.

Tips: Trains between Xiamen and Quanzhou run often and cost about thirty yuan, so there is no need to book far ahead. Guests generally find the temple crowded with groups in the morning and quiet after lunch. In practice we enter after two, once the streets have fed us.

The morning goes to Luoyang Bridge, its deck laid with long granite slabs and its piers shaped like boats. At low tide the oyster shells cultivated on the foundations show through the water. After lunch we move to Xunpu, a fishing village where the women coil flowers into their hair, and courtyards along Shunxian Road will pin a wreath for you in half an hour.

Attraction introduction: Luoyang Bridge crosses the Luoyang River northeast of the old town. Work began in the Northern Song and took six years, making it the oldest surviving sea crossing beam bridge in China. Oysters were grown on the piers so that the shells would bind the stones together.

Tips: The bridge is free and has parking at its head. Guests generally find the piers clearest at low tide, when the water pulls back and the boat shaped bases stand exposed. In practice we set the order by the tide table and the guide posts the timing the night before.

Breakfast is a bowl of beef soup near the hotel, then we pack without hurry. We leave at nine for Quanzhou station, change at Xiamen North, and ride north through the afternoon. The Fujian hills give way to the mountains of western Zhejiang, and Luoyang comes up after dark.

Attraction introduction: Quanzhou station sits on the Fuzhou Xiamen high speed line, with trains to Xiamen North every twenty minutes or so and banyans planted across the forecourt. South of it the line hugs the coast, and the windows carry mudflats, salt pans and long sea bridges.

Tips: Nothing is scheduled on the return day, and the transfer needs room. Guests generally find the change at Xiamen North takes a good fifteen minutes on foot, so tight tickets are a gamble. In practice we book the afternoon service and leave an hour and a half in the middle.