- Gulangyu Island
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p=Gǔlàngyǔ|poj=Unicode|Kó-lōng-sū|showA tourist
island off the coast ofXiamen ,Fujian province in southernChina , about one km2 in area.Administration
In October
1999 , Gulangyu became one of the first fourdistrict s of Xiamen City. However, in May2003 , Gulangyu District was absorbed into the largerSiming District (based on main Xiamen island).History
The island became a foreign enclave following the
Treaty of Nanking in1842 , 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 Fujian dialectMin Nan is spoken on the island.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
reef s. "Yu" means "islet ".In addition, there is a museum dedicated to
Koxinga , Haidi Shijie (海底世界) Marine World, asubtropical garden containingplant s introduced byoverseas 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, gives the island a unique appearance.
Transportation
Gulangyu is connected to the main Xiamen island by
ferry .ee also
*
Shamian Island , inGuangzhou External links
* [http://www.amoymagic.com/gulan.htm Webpage about the island, with map]
* [http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2003/1016/tr16-1.html "Shanghai Star" article: "Gulangyu Island - Garden on the sea"]
* [http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/110241.htm "Shenzhen Daily" article: "Gulangyu - A Piano Island"]
* [http://www.newcolonist.com/gulangyu.html Article on newcolonist.com: "China's Carfree Town: Gulangyu"]
* [http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/index.php?p=333 Xiamen-Gulangyu ferry times]
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