Shuzhuang Garden and Gulangyu Piano Museum (菽庄花园 / 钢琴博物馆)

Shuzhuang Garden is a seafront garden on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen's Siming District, Fujian province, China, built in 1913 by the Taiwanese businessman Lin Erjia and laid out to borrow the sea as part of its scenery. A long winding corridor, called the Forty-Four Bridge, zigzags over the water on low arches, so that waves wash beneath the walkway at high tide, and rockeries, pavilions, small bridges and lawns fill the grounds above it. Within the garden, the Gulangyu Piano Museum holds antique pianos and other keyboard instruments from the collection of the Australian-born collector Hu Youyi, displayed in rooms that include a hall of early European instruments and a gallery of historic upright and grand pianos. The museum links to the island's nickname of Piano Island, a reputation earned from its early households with pianos and its many later musicians. Visitors typically spend one to one and a half hours, starting at the garden entrance on Tianwei Road, following the shore corridor, climbing to the small hill pavilions for harbour views, and then entering the museum. Photographers favour the corridor with the open sea behind it, the stone pavilion outlooks and the garden's garden-wall framed vistas toward the open water. Crowds peak when tour groups arrive in late morning and early afternoon, especially on weekends and holidays, while weekday late mornings and the last hour before closing are quieter. The garden opens daily at about 08:00 and closes around 17:40, with hours varying by season. Admission is about ¥30 (~$4), and the entry also covers the Piano Museum, and the garden is included in the Core Attraction Pass at roughly ¥90 (~$13). The garden is about a 15-minute walk from the Neicuoao pier, following signs along the lanes and past the seafront.