The true souvenir is not the object you buy, but the memory it holds. It’s the scent on a seashell, the texture of a ticket stub, the faded ink on a map. On a recent journey to Xiamen, a coastal gem where East meets West with effortless grace, I embarked on a mission not just to visit, but to collect. My goal was to transform ephemeral moments into a tangible narrative—a scrapbook that would capture the soul of this city, known for its colonial architecture, serene temples, and artistic spirit. This is the story of that curated collection, a guide to gathering memories beyond the typical magnet.
In an age of digital thousands, the deliberate act of scrapbooking is a rebellious return to the tactile. Xiamen, with its layered history and sensory delights, is the perfect muse. The process begins with a shift in mindset: every interaction is potential ephemera. It’s about seeking the authentic fragment over the mass-produced trinket. A scrapbook page tells a richer story than a lone photograph; it’s a collage of context, a preserved feeling.
For Xiamen, I chose a linen-bound album with blank, thick pages. The cover’s texture reminded me of the woven baskets in the bustling Zhongshan Road night market. The neutral color would provide a quiet backdrop for the city’s vibrant blues and earthy reds. A simple glue stick, photo corners, and a fine-line pen were my essential tools. The stage was set.
A great scrapbook has a narrative. I structured my hunt around the core identities of Xiamen: the Sea, the History, the Shapowei Artistry, and the Taste.
No memory of Xiamen is complete without the sea. My first pages are dedicated to Gulangyu, the car-free island of pianos and winding lanes. * The Ephemera: The ferry ticket is the centerpiece, stained slightly by sea spray. I pressed a tiny, perfect frangipani flower picked from a hidden courtyard on the island. A sketched map from a friendly street artist, highlighting Sunlight Rock and the Shuzhuang Garden, sits beside a strip of photos from a vintage photo booth I found in a lane. * The Story: The page smells faintly of salt. Journaling captures the cacophony of the ferry terminal dissolving into the island’s quiet, punctuated only by distant piano melodies. The pressed flower is from the very tree I sat under while listening to a local resident play Chopin.
Xiamen’s history is written in granite and Minnan architecture. The Hulishan Fortress, with its colossal Krupp cannon, and the red-bricked lanes around Xiamen University offered a different texture. * The Ephemera: A fragment of a rubbing I carefully made from a historical plaque (done with permission and great care). A piece of patterned tissue paper from a box of famous Xiamen pineapple cakes. A postcard of the old Kulangsu consulates, which I mailed to myself, so it arrived with a genuine Xiamen postmark—a brilliant, functional souvenir. * The Story: The tissue paper’s delicate pattern mirrors the ironwork on the historic villas. The postcard’s stamp and cancellation mark freeze a date and place in postal history, adding an incredible layer of authenticity no bought souvenir could match.
Shapowei is Xiamen’s beating creative heart, where fishing villages transform into art districts. This section is the most colorful and eclectic. * The Ephemera: A bold, screen-printed flyer for a small gallery opening. A used tea bag tag from a hipster café housed in a renovated warehouse (dried and flattened). Strips of washi tape with patterns of bicycles and cats, purchased from a local stationery designer. A small, hand-stamped logo from a independent bookstore. * The Story: This page feels alive. The flyer’s bold typography speaks of modern Xiamen. The tea tag is a nod to Fujian’s tea culture, repackaged for a new generation. The washi tape acts as both decoration and a memory of the city’s burgeoning design scene.
Fujianese cuisine is a highlight, and its memory can be preserved beautifully. * The Ephemera: A clean, elegant label from a bottle of Shaoxing wine enjoyed with a seafood feast. A handwritten note from a street vendor explaining the ingredients in Taro Paste cakes, scribbled on a scrap of brown paper. The unique paper wrapper from a Oolong tea candy. * The Story: This page makes you hungry. The label and wrapper add color and typography. The vendor’s note is a priceless human connection, a direct line to a moment of kindness and culinary discovery. I sprinkled a few grains of sand from Baicheng Beach in the corner, sealed with a clear laminate pocket.
Back home, with all my fragments spread before me, the real magic happened. Assembly is not just pasting; it’s choreography. * Layout: I grouped items by theme, not strictly by chronology. The Gulangyu page feels breezy and open. The history page is more structured and layered. * Journaling: This is the soul. I wrote in short, evocative phrases next to items: “The ferry horn, loud and low,” next to the ticket. “The cannon’s shadow was longer than history,” by the fortress rubbing. I used my fine-line pen, accepting the imperfections of handwriting. * Embellishment: I used the washi tape as borders. I let the items themselves be the decoration. A smudge of watercolor in the blue of the Taiwan Strait ties the sea pages together.
The completed scrapbook now sits on my shelf, not as a closed archive, but as a living entity. It is infinitely more valuable than any single purchased item. Flipping through it, I don’t just see Xiamen; I hear the ferry, taste the salty air, feel the humid breeze off the strait. It is a participatory memoir, a hotspot of personal history. It reminds me that the best travel souvenirs are not found in gift shops, but are collected with curiosity and assembled with heart. They are the ticket stubs, the pressed flowers, the handwritten notes, and the layered stories waiting to be told on the pages of a book that is uniquely, personally, yours. The next time you travel, to Xiamen or beyond, consider becoming a collector of moments. Start with a blank page, and see where the journey takes you.
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Author: Xiamen Travel
Link: https://xiamentravel.github.io/travel-blog/souvenir-scrapbooking-memories-from-xiamen.htm
Source: Xiamen Travel
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