The Mountain and Sea Whispers of Xiamen Botanical Garden: The South Gate Trail Hides the City's Poetry

Visiting Xiamen Botanical Garden for the first time? Don’t rush into the greenhouse to see exotic flowers and plants. Choose a clear morning, enter through the South Gate, and take a slow walk along the Mountain and Sea Health Trail—this is where the garden’s most touching soul lies, a rare place where "plants and the mountain and sea dance together." Most botanical gardens are confined within walls, offering only a patch of greenery, but Xiamen Botanical Garden breaks boundaries, embracing the entire city’s mountain and sea scenery. Just stepping onto the bluestone slabs at the South Gate, you’ll be stopped by two century-old banyan trees. Their thick trunks require two people to encircle, their branches stretch freely toward the sky, and the hanging aerial roots resemble an elder’s beard, brushing your shoulders with a gentle touch. Beside the trees stand yellowed old photos, recording what this place looked like decades ago: the same ancient banyans, before the trail was built, already had visitors sitting on the roots, gazing absentmindedly at the distant sea. It turns out the love for this mountain and sea has been etched into the memories of generations. Walking up the trail, you truly enter the botanical garden’s "dual world." On the left is a dense green secret realm: traveler’s banana leaves taller than a person, like opened green umbrellas; fiddle-leaf fig leaves round and shiny, reflecting scattered sunlight; occasionally, a cluster of blooming bougainvillea bursts with vibrant magenta petals peeking from the shrubs, as if trying to squeeze the whole spring into this splash of color. Hidden in the woods are tiny surprises—maybe a seven-spotted ladybug resting on a leaf, a squirrel suddenly darting out of the grass, or a phoenix tree petal falling on your shoulder. Every corner holds the vitality of nature. On the right is the unreserved blue sea view. The trail is built on the mountainside, offering an astonishingly wide view. The deep blue sea stretches from your eyes all the way to the horizon, with Gulangyu Island like a piece of jade floating on the water, and a white lighthouse shimmering faintly in the sunlight. The sea breeze carries a salty scent, stirring the hair on your forehead, making every breath feel lighter. You might meet a few students sketching; their canvases are filled with blues and greens. They say, "Only here can you capture the green of the mountains, the blue of the sea, and the vibrancy of the plants all at once." By the time you reach the viewing platform at the trail’s end, the sun is high in the sky. Looking down, the garden’s greenery layers like a giant emerald; looking far, the sea and sky merge into one line, fishing boats slowly moving with white trails behind them. The wind passes through the woods, carrying the fresh scent of plants and the salty freshness of the sea. Suddenly, you understand why some say, "Xiamen’s poetry lies at the South Gate of the Botanical Garden"—here, there is no contrived scenery, only the natural embrace of mountain, sea, and plants, hiding the truest romance of this coastal city.