Travel in Fujian Gulangyu Island
| Gulangyu Island |
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A 10-minute boat trip from Xiamen, Gulangyu is a relaxing retreat of meandering lanes and shaded backstreets, set in an architectural twilight of colonial villas and crumbling remains. It’s well worth spending a few days exploring the place. It is home to about 20,000 people and is a very popular tourist destination.
Transpotation:Ferries to Gǔlàng Yǔ leave from the ferry terminal just west of Xiàmén’s Lujiang Hotel. Outbound, it’s a free ride on the bottom deck and Y1 for the upper deck. Xiàmén bound it’s Y3 on the bottom and Y4 upstairs.
Nearby Attractions Recommend Top Four Scenic Spots in Xiamen
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Gulangyu Island is on China's list of National Scenic Spots and also ranks at the top of the list of the ten most-scenic areas in Fujian Province. Visitors can reach it by ferry from Xiamen Island in about 5 minutes. Administratively, the island presently forms Gulangyu Subdistrict within Xiamen City's Siming District. The best way to enjoy the island is to wander along the streets, peeking into courtyards and down alleys to catch a glimpse of colonial mansions seasoned by local life. Most sights and hotels are just a short walk from the ferry terminal.
The narrow streets on the island, together with the architecture of various styles around the world, give the island a unique appearance. The site is classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.There's also an Organ museum, bird sanctuary, plant nursery, and a tram that takes to the peak. On the west beach of the island you can rent pedal boats and jet skis. There's a garden of 12 grottos to represent each of the animals on the zodiac. Built into the hillside, its a maze of caves and tunnels to find all twelve. There are many boutique hotels to stay in as well.
Since the mid-19th century, along with the spread of Christianity and Western music began the influx of Gulangyu. Gulangyu elegant living environment integration, creating today's musical traditions of this old and beautiful island, Today, Gulangyu's each family mostly owing its own piano has the first rate of the country, the island has more than 100 musical family in 2002, so the Chinese Musicians' Association named it the "Island of Music", or “ The Town of Pianos”.
National Hero Zheng Chenggong ever training navy in Gulangyu recovered Taiwan from Dutch invaders.The foreign community was well established on Gulangyu by the 1880s, with a daily English newspaper, churches, hospitals, post and telegraph offices, libraries, hotels and consulates. In 1903 the island was officially designated an International Foreign Settlement, and a municipal council with a police force of Sikhs was established to govern it. Today, memories of the settlement linger in the charming colonial buildings that blanket the island and the sound of classical piano wafting from shuttered windows. Many of China’s most celebrated musicians have come from Gulangyu.Xiamen (also known as Amoy) became a treaty port resulting from China's loss in the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, hence the predominantly Victorian-era style architecture throughout Gulangyu Island, where 13 countries including Great Britain, France and Japan established consulates, churches, and hospitals. Gulangyu was officially designated an International Settlement in 1903. Japanese occupation of the island began in 1942, and lasted until the end of World War II. The Amoy dialect of Hokkien is spoken on the island.
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