July 6, 2017

Sue’s Festival Gift Shop (Su Xiao Tang 苏小糖)

This candy shop is bright and welcoming, framed by a striking outdoor wall of frames with plants growing out of them. As an art installation, this wall is worth seeing...

Li Ji Li Ji (礼即礼集)

The literal translation of the name is “gift, immediately, gift, gather,” and this popular chain, with branches all over China, does not disappoint the gift-seeker, especially if the intended recipient...

Kulangsu Supermarket (Xian Shang Chao Shi 夏商超市)

Kulangsu’s main supermarket is not huge, but it’s a great store and an essential point of reference on the island. The market is clean, well-run, and well-stocked, with fast and...

Listening to Kulangsu (Ting Gulangyu 听鼓浪屿)

My first introduction to Kulangsu was “Gulangyu Zhi Bo,” played by Jing. I had heard it at least fifty times before I ever saw Kulangsu, and before I even knew...

Pianist Yin Chengzong’s house (Yin Cheng Zong Zhai 殷承宗宅)

Kulangsu’s most famous pianist, Yin Chengzong, still owns and periodically visits this hilltop house. It is one of the island’s most beautiful private homes, now inhabited by the pianist’s brother, Yin...