Designed as a weekend getaway for city workers this trip starts at Xiamen Airport at 7.30 pm on Friday night and drops off back at Xiamen airport at 6pm on Sunday night.
Note: if the group happens to arrive earlier – we will depart earlier
Join Bike Aways on a connoisseurs’ cycle through Fujian’s famed tea fields and Tulou Roundhouses.
Private bookings welcome.
Cost: RMB 3300
Minimum 2 persons, Maximum 12 persons, Average number 8
2019 Departures:
Oct 18-20
Dec 6-8
2020
April 17-19
April 24 -26
Tea & Tulou Eco-Cycle Weekend Getaway
Mistaken in 1980’s satellite photos for missile silos, Fujian’s Tulou turned out to be far more interesting: multi-storied, fengshui-alligned, rammed earth fortresses built from the 13th Century onward to protect the “newly” arrived Hakka Clan’s and their rich culture. 46 Tulou scattered across Southern Fujian are now UNESCO listed World Cultural Heritage gems, best appreciated on a bike, with plenty of tea. This is a real eco-tour; if coming from Hong Kong, you may opt for the new 3.5 hour new bullet train Kowloon West, which passes through Shenzhen, or meet at Xiamen Airport on the Friday night. Then push bike the rest. There are hills, hedged with seasonal crops, most famously Fujians Iron Goddess tea bushes that provide us our happy excuse to stop and taste both the landscape and Tulou-hospitality, in a teacup! Brewed with ceremony (kung-fu styled), Oolong teas are the Pocari Sweat of this eco-ride – served up with Fujian folklore, tea-processing know-how and the basics of tea-palate education.
You will support heritage conservation by staying in two lesser known Tulou. Tea lovers and non-hardcore cyclists are encouraged to join. There are some challenging hills but the cycling is not rushed. In total you will cycle approximately 75 km kilometers of both beautifully paved country back roads, and tiny village pathways (some less than beautifully paved, but providing intimate access to the tulou villages and fields).
Itinerary:
Friday: Meet at Xiamen Airport at 7.30 pm and transfer 3 hours to Guesthouse in the tulou.
Saturday: Full day cycle from the Yongding Tulou to our Tulou homestay in the Nanjing tea fields.
Sunday: Three quarter day cycle (till 3.30pm), tea culture activities – mostly drinking it with friendly locals but also exploring random home tea factories before transferring to Xiamen Airport for 6 pm airport check in’s.
Included: All meals (including rare Hakka dishes like Tulou-Chicken), twin-share accommodation (single supplement available for RMB 150 per night), mountain bike, helmet, two days supported cycling, luggage transfer and vehicle transfers onward to Xiamen Airport/ train station.
Departing from Hong Kong
Flights are roughly 1 hour from Hong Kong to Xiamen. Flight KA 604 departing at 17.50 is perfect for those joining straight from work on Friday afternoon. For the eco-minded with a little more time, the bullet train takes just 3.5 hours from Hong Kong’s Kowloon West Station, and 3 hours from Shenzhen North Station.
Departing Shanghai
The new bullet speed D-Trains take about 8 hours from Shanghai to Xiamen. There are seven direct flights on a Friday – China Eastern MU 5563 the most convenient for the 7.30 pm meet up.
Departing Beijing
There are more than 17 flights a day. The 24 hour train ride is truly for afficiandos.
Return options:
The Tea and Tulou Eco Cycle trip finishes at Xiamen Airport at 6pm Sunday night to connect with flights back to all major cities (Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai). Please check ticket availability for your return before you book. Drop offs for the the bullet train back to Shenzhen can be made at at 5.15 pm
Contact bruce@bikeaways.com to reserve your place.
Wuyishan Extension
If you don’t have to get back to work on Monday, a Wuyishan extension is a must.
Travel by train from Xiamen. Stay in a quaint tea village on the edge of the ethereal Chinese ink-painted mountain crags that make the legendary rock-teas the most expensive (and tasty) teas on the planet. Hike this grade A national park where the Taoist heritage so interwoven with tea is humbly present in rustic monasteries and tea gardens grown in rock crevasses. And relax on a bamboo raft down through the famous Nine Bends.
Wuyishan Extension Itinerary
Sun – Board high speed train in Xiamen for Wuyishan
Mon – Hike to Da Hong Pao, afternoon raft down Wuyi River.
Tue – tea sampling and Daoist Monasteries, afternoon departures / or train to Shanghai.
Trip end is 3 pm on Tuesday, transfers to airport or high speed train provided.
Cost: Twinshare: 2800 RMB
Includes all meals, accommodation, park entrance, rafting
Does not include onward travel back home. Make your flight/ train reservations in advance of bookings).
Extensions on extensions…
Hangzhou is now just three hours by train from Wuyishan, and then its just a skip too Shanghai. Jingdezhen (the porcelain capital of the world and where all the classic china of China originally came from is also just over the border in Jiangxi – not far from Wuyishan. These extensions on the Wuyishan extension are also possible…just let us know when you book if you’re interested in travelling on.
Wuyishan Photos
