Having been explored by only a few of our adult bike groups, The Hutong welcomed groups from Renaissance College Hong Kong and the British School of Nanjing to China’s southeastern coast. Known as the “Gateway to the Mansion (China)”, Xiamen has long been a gateway-in for foreign traders and a gateway-out for fortune-seeking Fujianese. Beginning with a walking photography tour  of Xiamen’s beautiful hillside botanical gardens and of the perched-up viewpoints on the Nan Putuo temple shrines, students explored the contemporary urban culture of the city along with the local, the colonial, the Fujian Diaspora and the returning Overseas Chinese heritage culture. Students continued with a treasure hunt through Gulangyu’s incredible architectural sites witnessing the area’s once proud reputation as the richest square mile on earth.

Heading out to the countryside, students made their way through the rich history and unique architecture of the UNESCO-listed Nanjing Tulou roundhouses through biking, hiking, and home-staying in an authentic living Tulou. Allowing students to appreciate the defensive qualities and geomantic layout of the Tulou as they related to the surrounding landscape, students also learned how and why the Hakka fortified themselves in these buildings. Students were given the chance to assess how effectively these buildings under UNESCO and NGOs have been preserved and are now being protected.

The final stop of the trip was the charming virtually undiscovered Zhangzhou city where students tasted their way through the city’s most famed street snacks and experienced some of the area’s customary traditions such as bamboo weaving, hand puppets and paper cutting, that are quickly fading away.