Aerial photo shows historic buildings on the Gulangyu island, southeast China's Fujian Province. Gulangyu island, famous for its varied architecture and multicultural history, was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list Saturday. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
GULANGYU ISLAND
Days before Gulangyu island in eastern China's Fujian Province was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list, Dong Qinong, who has lived on the island for over 60 years, was frantically posting on his social media accounts.
Dong can speak about almost all the local architecture and their multicultural history with great familiarity.
A former international settlement, the island features 13 consulates, as well as many churches, hospitals, schools and police stations, built by foreign communities from the middle to late 19th century.
In the early 20th century, the island attracted overseas Chinese elites, who returned and built private residences on the island, often with a mixture of eastern and western architectural styles.
Gulangyu has more than 2,000 intact historical buildings, making it one of the best-preserved international settlements in China.
As early as 2000, the local government introduced a regulation specifically to protect historical architectures on Gulangyu. In 2011, two more government documents were issued on planning of the island. A year later, another regulation was put into effect to protect cultural heritage on the island.
According to Dong, buildings can not be torn down or repaired casually. The local government has strict requirements for the height, number and style of architectures on the island.
Liao Zhitang restores ancient buildings. He has repaired about 100 old houses since arriving on island in 1995.
"Here in Gulangyu, only those with craftsmanship who believe in the idea of restoring the old as the old, can be permitted and recognized," Liao said.
An active interaction with the real world is another way for ancient buildings on Gulangyu to be cherished and preserved, according to the local administration.
Gulangyu has the first piano museum and only organ museum in China, both established by Hu Youyi, an Australian-Chinese pianist and collector. The museums regularly host music festivals and contests. [ "When I was a child, the sound of piano could be heard everywhere on the island," said Fang Site, a 34-year-old local pianist and curator of the organ museum. Her family was among the overseas Chinese who moved to the island in the early 1900s.
With the rapid growth of tourists in recent years, the island also faces problems that exist in many tourists spots. However, the local government has reacted to limit the vast number of tourists on the island, cracked down on pollution and illegal tourist guides, and preserved the appearance and lifestyle of "the garden at sea."
"The UNESCO inscription is not our ultimate goal, but a fresh new start for us to better preserve and inherit the spirit of Gulangyu for future generations," said Zheng Yilin, director of the Gulangyu administrative committee.
