I spent the latter part of my Xiamen trip on the small island of Gulangyu, just 5 minutes away from the mainland by ferry. As a place of residence for Westerners during Xiamen’s colonial past, Gulangyu is famous for its European architecture and today is a popular holiday destination, although not strictly on the main tourist map. The focal point of the island is Sunlight Rock (above) which can be ascended by way of a rather more modern concrete staircase providing a wonderful panorama of the whole island (below). The island itself covers an area of 1.78 sq km and is home to around only 15,000 permanent residents. The streets are pedestrianised making it a nice place to get away from some of the hustle…