We stepped off the train in Xiamen to sixteen degrees. In January! Following Baidu Maps (Chinese Google) we queued up for a plastic coin to get us on their BRT (Bus Rapid Transfer, like in Ürümqi) to Xiamen island, home to most of the city. An online deal with CTrip (an English-language middleman company for trains, planes and hotels) meant we had a pretty swish deal for our two-night stay (hostel-priced hotels…). That evening Calum tested his Chinese by ordering Red-Braised Pork Noodle Soup. What turned up was Pig Intestine-and-Hoof Noodle Soup. Close enough (also, no).

Our target the next day was the non-vehicular island of Gulang Yu. The powers that be decided it was too popular, so they hid the tourist ferry terminal. We therefore spent our morning locating it on a few buses and following many conflicting directions from locals.

Gulang Yu was worth the search. After a wander among luscious undergrowth, Colonial balconies and a slew of wedding shoots, we purchased a bumper tourist ticket to all the main attractions. The island is home to the world’s largest Organ Museum (you read that correctly) and a neighbouring Piano Museum. Sunlight Rock was next, the island’s craggy summit viewpoint (although the aesthetic canopy of trees was prettier from below, where the ugly industrial mainland was hidden). On our way back to the ferry we found the Zheng Chenggong statue (the man famed with recovering Taiwan from the Dutch) and chanced upon the Calligraphy Carving Art Gallery which was actually the best of them all.

The next day we were Shenzhen-bound at 300kmph. From here it was a metro hop to Futian Checkpoint, where we went through Hong Kong customs and the inordinate accompanying paperwork. On the Hong Kong side, the metro was extortionate (HK$40 compared to CN¥3 – that’s around £4 compared with 40p). This experience really summed up Hong Kong for us: go with money, because it is expensive. It was refreshing to see everyone driving on the left (as they should) and queueing impeccably (which I no longer take for granted). Despite the crushing awareness that we didn’t have cash to spare, we spent a few days enjoying unrestricted Internet and British brands, such as M&S.

Our hostel was situated in Kowloon, with nearby views to Hong Kong Island. The entrance was through a dodgy fakes market and up an unmarked lift between two vendors. Inside the hostel it was actually very welcoming with delightful owners. Don’t judge a book by its covers, and all that. On the last day we paid the island a visit and took in the 360-degree panoramic views from Victoria Peak, accessible by tram. Calum was also telling me that Hong Kong Island had been ‘owned’ by the British, not leased, but returned in 1997 nevertheless. It’s interesting to see how the rest of the world sees the deal – the phrase ‘independence from the UK’ was used by one US expat I spoke to, although some Hong Kongers have expressed regret at the 1997 treaty.

All too quickly it was time to leave. Laden with digestives and chocolate bars we made the HK$40 journey up to Lok Ma Chau and re-entered the Mainland. The customs lady was worryingly interested in how we got Work Permits aged 18, but amazingly – and I can’t quite believe I’m saying it – getting back into China was much easier than getting into Hong Kong. One would think that, especially for a Brit, the opposite would be true. We stopped at Shenzhen North for a buffet lunch (all-you-can-eat but still cheaper than Dim Sum in Hong Kong), then took the forty-minute train to Guangzhou.

—TJC

Featured image: Hong Kong and Kowloon from Victoria Peak.