Xiamen Gulangyu Island Photography (Gulangyu Island through the lens of a photographer)

Pictures/text: Mr. Zhu Zi

Photographers all like to travel, and most of the scenery is on the road. At the invitation of a friend, I went to Xiamen.

When you go to Xiamen, how can you not go to Gulangyu Island?

It is said that the best time to go to Gulangyu is from March to September, but it was December when I went. However, this did not affect me. I still really felt the beauty of Gulangyu.

Xiamen is a coastal city, and Gulangyu Island is an island. If you want to go to the island, of course you have to take a boat. It departs from Xiamen Port at two o'clock in the afternoon and takes a cruise ship to Neicuoao Pier. This building in Xiamen Port is very large. In the afternoon sunshine, the sun just shines on this building, reflecting a dazzling halo. Coincidentally, there is a plane passing by in the sky at this time.

This is my second time taking a cruise. The last time was at Whampoa Military Academy. Watching the waves up close was quite refreshing. The cruise ship is not very comfortable, just like a bus, but you can see more scenery. After all, the feeling of driving on the water is very different from driving on land.

After driving on the sea for about 20 minutes, we arrived at the Neicuoao Pier on Gulangyu Island. This is a small island. The greening on the island is very good, with a forest coverage rate of 40%. As soon as we got off the boat, we saw a large area of ??lush green plants.

There are no motor vehicles, not even bicycles, on Gulangyu Island. You basically have to walk. If you want to see the sea, just walk along the road around Gulangyu Island. Even though it is winter, it was still relatively hot that day.

Although the sun is shining very brightly on my body, it does not affect the mood of watching the scenery at all. On the left is the wide sea, with a large ship passing by from time to time, and on the right is the lush green space. Occasionally, when you lower your head, you can see very beautiful floor tiles, which shows the designer's intentions.

If you come to Gulangyu Island, you must walk along the island. It is quite a long distance to complete. Even if you walk a short distance, you can feel the kindness of the world towards you.

Not only the scenery, but also the people.

Since there are no motor vehicles on Gulangyu Island, but there are so many tourists, there is a need to transport goods, so there are many rickshaws.

For example, a young and strong man pulled a cart full of gas tanks; I also saw three or five middle-aged people taking the cargo from the ship. Due to the distance, they directly threw the cargo in the air. , but the person on the opposite side can always catch it skillfully. Without years of training, this skill would not be so proficient.

The reason why Gulangyu is called Gulangyu is that the small island is "island"; and "Gulang" is because of a large reef. This reef is hollow, and every time the waves come over, it will It makes a sound like a drum, hence the name "Gulangyu".

I didn’t see that big rock, but I saw a lot of waves crashing onto the shore. The water surface has always been uneven. As soon as a wave goes down, another wave comes up again, just like this. When they touched the stone on the shore, the waves stopped suddenly and turned around suddenly. Many waves turned white instantly and jumped in the air, and some of them fell to the ground.

The color of the sea water here is very clear, and it may be the reflection of the green plants on the shore. Everything that comes into view is green.

I like photography, but I don’t like to take pictures of beautiful girls. I’m not very good at posing for photos. I mostly go to the streets and alleys to capture ordinary people in life.

After walking around the island, it’s time to reach the island. Since there are no motor vehicles, the pace here is relatively slow. Apart from the crowds of tourists, the life of the locals is very real and pleasant.

Because Gulangyu is a small island, the terrain is undulating, with frequent uphill and downhill slopes. Several tunnels may have been built for the convenience of human-powered carts.

I saw a rickshaw puller pulling a load of construction waste in the tunnel. His body was bent forward, and he took off his clothes and put them on his shoulders to prevent a red mark from being cut.

While everyone else was wearing winter clothes, he was shirtless and probably sweating;

I saw an old man carrying his grandson walking through the street, and the curious little grandson turned his head and looked around;

I saw an old man in a wheelchair, with his back to the sun and looking into the darkness. The old man looks like a veteran cadre. Next to him is a large stone tablet with the words "Second Party Congress of Fujian Province of China" written on it. This is an old man with a story. He must have been very prosperous when he was young.

I also saw a small business owner stopping to rest on a bench with his car next to him. He must have gone to deliver a box of goods. Stop and smoke a cigarette to give yourself a little more rest.

I also saw a black dog passing by the entrance of a certain stadium, running forward with one leg in the air.

These scenes are all full of life, making people feel that life is worth living.

I don’t like very commercial environments, so I often walk in small alleys. The signs and counters in the alleys are different from those on the streets. Many sellers have no facade, and customers cannot enter the house to choose. They only have a hole cut in the wall and a small window, and advertisements are written on the open window. The window is only such a large area, and it is really not easy to expose the heads of various products. What should I do if I really can’t give up anymore? It doesn't matter, you can still hang up. So you can also see the uneven products hanging above the windows, which is really a dazzling array.

Some of the windows were hung with photos of customers visiting the store. They were so full of love that I forgot what kind of store this was.

Gulangyu Island is not only real, but also a place of literature and art. Look at the decorations in those stores, how beautiful they are. Every highlighted text and pattern seems to be carefully designed and very beautiful. Even when they placed the sign, they had already thought about which angle would look better for the photographer.

When a city pays attention to design, it means that the city has transcended the basic level and is pursuing higher things. When I took these photos, it wasn’t too difficult. It was beautifully designed and it looked beautiful as soon as I took a photo.

Although some of them have been baptized by time and become mottled, they still cannot conceal the intentions of their designers.

It was a bright afternoon, and many inconspicuous scenes became very beautiful under the light. For example, a hole in the wall with a few tiles stuffed inside; such as a road sign; such as the shadow of a wall; such as the vines growing on the wall; such as the small flowers beside the fence. These are all small bits of beauty.

This is the literature and art of Gulangyu Island.

Gulangyu Island is surrounded by the sea. This is a good time to watch the waves.

Of course you have to go to the beach to watch the sunset at sunset. The weather happened to be very awesome that day. There were clouds in the sky, but the sun crawled out from the clouds, and the water surface was golden and sparkling.

No wonder people say that when facing the sea, you can let yourself go - the sea is so vast, people naturally seem very small. Such a vast sea has natural laws of ebb and flow, so what does the small ups and downs in life mean?

When night falls, you can look at the buildings on the other side of the river, watch the tide, watch the boats swimming across the river with lights, and the sea breeze blowing on your cheeks is not cold. Such a night is really rare.

There is still a ferry back to Macau city at around 9pm, and I can feel the rising and falling tide again on the boat.

I went to Gulangyu Island for one afternoon, but I walked more than 26,000 steps non-stop. The place is not big, but there are scenery everywhere.

The above are all photos I took on Gulangyu Island in December 2018. Is the Gulangyu Island in a photographer’s eyes different from what you see?

I was very satisfied with my trip to Gulangyu in December. I wonder if it would be more worthwhile from March to September? If there is better scenery in this season, I would like to go there again. Will you go with me?