Luoyang Departure: Gulangyu, Xiamen University and Zengcuoan, 4 Days 3 Nights

Arrive at midday, leave the bags and go out. Start under the twin towers by the sea, then turn into Shapowei, where a few old fishing boats still sit in the sheltered dock with blue hulls. Toward evening walk a stretch of the Yanwu bridge, sea below and traffic above, wind coming through from both sides. For dinner find a shop doing shacha noodles, the broth thick, with a side of pork liver.

Attraction introduction: Xiamen is an island off the southeast coast of Fujian, separated from the mainland by the Lujiang channel. Shapowei was one of the first harbours here, a shelter for fishing boats since the Ming dynasty; the dock remains, the boats mostly do not. The Yanwu bridge runs low along the water and is the place to be at sunset.

Tips: No ticketed sight is scheduled today, the point is to slow the pace. Guests generally find the common mistake is filling day one and then arriving on the island already tired. In practice only two city stops are on the list and we are back by seven; buses and the metro both take QR payment if you want to go out alone.

At the Dongdu cruise terminal by half past eight, twenty minutes across to Neicuoao. Bags into the guesthouse, then uphill along Quanzhou Road where sea wind has pitted the red brick of the old villas. Lunch on fishball soup and oyster omelette along Longtou Road, then into Shuzhuang Garden, where the Forty-Four Bridge runs out over the water and you can hear the swell hitting the piers underneath. By evening the tour boats have gone, so walk Beishan Road slowly.

Attraction introduction: Gulangyu covers under two square kilometres and bans motor vehicles. From the late nineteenth century consulates, trading houses and overseas Chinese mansions went up side by side, mixing red brick, arcades and columns. Shuzhuang Garden was the private garden of the Taiwan merchant Lin Erjia, finished in 1913, and its bridge takes its name from his forty-fourth year.

Tips: The island is all slopes and steps, so wear flat shoes; suitcase wheels get destroyed on the paving. Guests generally find Longtou Road impassable by day and the lanes worth having at dawn and dusk. In practice we cross before nine to miss the first wave of tour groups; the ferry is 35 yuan return, booked by real name, and the return leg is good on any sailing.

Out at twenty to eight and at the foot of Sunlight Rock before eight, when the narrow stairs still have no queue. From the top the island is a field of red roofs against the Xiamen skyline opposite. Down, back to the guesthouse to check out, and across to the main island. Enter Xiamen University at the booked slot, walk the Furong tunnel covered in painted work, then sit a while on the Shangxian field in front of the Jiannan hall. Zengcuoan toward evening.

Attraction introduction: Sunlight Rock is the highest point on Gulangyu at 92 metres, and the gate on top is a remnant of Zheng Chenggong quartering troops here at the end of the Ming. Xiamen University was founded by Tan Kah Kee in 1921, and the green roof of the Jiannan Great Hall facing the Shangxian field is the most photographed corner of campus. Zengcuoan began as a fishing village and is now a lane of food stalls.

Tips: The stairs on Sunlight Rock are narrow and steep, with up and down traffic squeezing past each other, and it jams once the groups arrive after eight. Guests generally find the university is the easiest thing to miss out on, because slots are released daily and same-day booking rarely works. In practice the whole group list is submitted before departure. Zengcuoan is crowded, so keep to the main lane.

Walk the coastal road in the morning from Baicheng beach eastward, sea on one side and hill on the other, with bicycle hire along the way. Ride as far as the music square and turn back, wind in your face and sweat that never feels hot. Back at the hotel by half past ten to pack, lunch, then out to Xiamen North for an afternoon train and Luoyang by night.

Attraction introduction: The coastal road follows the southeast shore of Xiamen for more than thirty kilometres, boardwalk and sand on the seaward side and banyan with bougainvillea on the other. Baicheng beach faces the Baicheng gate of the university and exposes nearly a hundred metres of sand at low tide.

Tips: Keep right when cycling, scooters are frequent, and share bikes can only be returned in marked areas. Guests generally find the last day is where timing goes wrong, since Xiamen North is far from the centre and the evening peak adds half an hour. In practice the morning ends at half past ten and lunch comes early, so the train is not a scramble.