Gulangyu (Xiamen) — Open; Ferry Is the Whole Game

The short answer

Gulangyu is open, but there is no "ticket to the island" — there is only a ferry ticket, sold through exactly one official channel: the "屿见厦门" mini program (WeChat or Alipay). Everything else about your visit — which pier, what time, whether you get on at all — follows from that booking.

Current rules worth knowing (2026)

• Booking window: 15 days ahead (extended from 10 days as of Feb 1, 2026); the day-15 batch goes on sale at 09:00 daily.
• Daily island cap: 50,000. Ordinary CNY 35–50 sailings sell out first; premium boats CNY 60–80 are the fallback.
• Your ticket includes a free return, valid 20 days, any sailing — you never buy a second ticket to leave.
• Passports work as tickets: book with your passport and you tap the document at the gate, no paper ticket.
• Daytime visitors board at Dongdu (International Cruise Center) terminal (most sailings), or First Wharf / Haicang Songyu; the historic Lundu pier opposite Zhongshan Road is residents-only by day and serves visitors only at night (from ~17:50 in the Oct–May winter timetable).
• Leave 45–60 minutes of buffer for security and check-in; boarding stops 5 minutes before departure.

Recent changes we saw on the official site

• Sep 3, 2026: full-service suspension and resumption notices around a typhoon — ferries do stop for weather, sometimes with little warning.
• Oct 12, 2026: a notice about pier-bridge renovation at the Lundu ferry pier. If your plan depends on the night sailings from Lundu, re-check the official site close to your date.

What first-time foreign visitors keep getting wrong

1. Book on mini program, not at the pier — same-day Dongdu tickets are frequently gone by mid-morning.
2. Choose your landing pier deliberately: Sanqiutian lands near the shops and main sights; Neicuao is the quiet west side.
3. "Someone at the station offers a cheap ferry ticket" is a bundled-tour scam — the mini program is the only channel.

Related guide: Gulangyu Ferry Tickets. Related open-status checks: Tianmen Mountain.