Gulangyu Island
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| Gulangyu Island | |||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese: | 鼓浪屿 | ||||||||||
| Hokkien POJ: | Kó͘-lōng-sū | ||||||||||
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Gulangyu is a tourist island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian province in southern China, about 1km2 in area.
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[edit] History
The island became a foreign enclave following the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, hence the predominantly Victorian-era style architecture throughout the island, of which many were offices and residences of Consulate-Generals, as well as that of the thriving expatriate business community. The Amoy dialect of Hokkien is spoken on the island.
[edit] Attractions
As a place of residence for Westerners during Xiamen's colonial past, Gulangyu is famous for its architecture and for hosting China's only piano museum, giving it the nickname of "Piano Island" or "The Town of Pianos" (鋼琴之鄉) or "The Island of Music" (音樂之島). There are over 200 pianos on this island.
The Chinese name also has musical roots, as gu lang means drum waves so-called because of the sound generated by the ocean waves hitting the reefs. Yu means "islet".
In addition, there is a museum dedicated to Koxinga, Haidi Shijie (海底世界) Marine World, a subtropical garden containing plants introduced by overseas Chinese, as well as Xiamen Museum, formerly the Eight Diagrams Tower (八卦樓).
The island of Gulangyu is a pedestrian only destination, where the only vehicles on the islands are several fire trucks and passenger transport vehicles. The narrow streets on the island, together with the architecture of various styles around the world, give the island a unique appearance.
[edit] Transportation
Gulangyu is connected to the main Xiamen island by ferry.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gulangyu |
- Webpage about the island, with map
- Shanghai Star article: "Gulangyu Island - Garden on the sea"
- Shenzhen Daily article: "Gulangyu - A Piano Island"
- Article on newcolonist.com: "China's Carfree Town: Gulangyu"
- Xiamen-Gulangyu ferry times
- Dr Howard M Scott "Kulangshu"
Coordinates: 24°26′51″N 118°03′45″E / 24.447618°N 118.062451°E
