Gulangyu Island Increases Measures to Limit Number of Visitors

On average, Gulangyu (鼓浪屿), the island off the coast of Xiamen, sees nearly 20,000 tourists per day, and during holiday periods, such as Spring Festival, and the October "Golden Week”, the number reaches 100,000-110,000. According to experts who have been monitoring the situation, the optimal number of tourists for Gulangyu is around 15,000 per day. Experts are concerned that if this number more frequently is in the 80,000-100,000 range, that the island’s ecosystem will be damaged, unforeseen safety issues will occur, and tourism satisfaction will decrease. As such, it's necessary to take effective measures to limit the number of tourists visiting the island.

To better limit the number of visitors, Gulangyu will adopt a nationwide online ticket booking system. In the event that ticket bookings for a single day exceed 40,000, the system will no longer sell tickets for that day, and will automatically rollover to the next day. Currently, tourists pay 8 RMB to ride the ferry over to the island, and from there, if they want to visit one of the various attractions on the island, they must purchase additional tickets per attraction. Under a new "single-ticket" system, tourists purchase a single ticket for 100-150 RMB online prior to reaching the island. After arriving, visitors may freely visit the five main attractions on the island (under the current pricing system, visiting these five attractions already costs a total of 143 RMB). All Xiamen residents, including foreigners with temporary resident permits, may purchase seasonal, month-long or year-long cards. Holders of these cards must only pay 8 RMB for the ferry each additional time they visit Gulangyu.

 See also: Xiamen Airlines Expected to Open New Flight Routes to Lhasa Next January