10th December: Xiamen, China

Today was another low-key day on the coast. We’re both still tired and I’m suffering from exhaustion and numbness. Late in the morning, we headed out to wander. Today had proper warmth. It was 24C and sunny. Really pleasant shorts weather (something I’d later regret after dozens of mosquito bites!).

Our walk took us northeast, via the obligatory tea and coffee stops towards Yungang Wai Lake. On the way, we called into the same restaurant as last night to take some snacks for later.

The lake and its island park were both very quiet on this Tuesday afternoon, which suited us perfectly. This quiet when paired with the tropical foliage didn’t feel like the China we’ve gotten used to. It’s going to take a little while for palm trees to feel normal! We sat and enjoyed our veggie burgers and ginger tofu, taking in the warmth of the day.

There wasn’t too much to see but the trees themselves, especially those with pink and purple blossom, made this a lovely place to just be. At the eastern edge of the island, we watched multiple white herons fishing in the waters and then came across a gallery in a very peaceful setting with Chinese and Russian flags ceremoniously planted. To our surprise, as we walked in to have a look, it turned out to be where Xi had hosted Putin and also the setting of a previous BRICS Summit. I guess an island in a lake on an island is quite a good place for high security events!

We hopped on the bus most of the way back, picking up some more snacks and drinks. Some very cheap freshly made and crushed iced teas – one lemon and passionfruit and the other pomelo – were very refreshing. Lots of small bakeries lined the streets and were doing a roaring trade with the early evening commuters. If you want bread in China, the evening seems to be the time to buy it. We stopped at one and took half a dozen plain bagel type rolls and a couple of spicy breads, straight from the brick oven and filled with umeboshi (pickled Japanese ume fruits – another hangover from the Japanese occupation). The flavour was a little strong for us!