This article is from People's Daily Online
Gulangyu Island in Xiamen is known as the "Garden on the Sea" and the "Museum of Architecture from All Nations". Photo by Xu Lin
On July 8, at the 41st UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meeting (World Heritage Conference) held in Krakow, Poland, Gulangyu Island in Fujian Province, China was approved to be included in the World Cultural Heritage directory.
Gulangyu Island is a small island covering an area of ??1.8839 square kilometers in the southwest corner of Xiamen Island. People have settled there since the Song Dynasty. Zheng Chenggong, the national hero of the Ming Dynasty, began stationing troops on Gulangyu Island to train his troops in 1646. In 1661, he used it as a base to dispatch troops. The following year, he recovered Taiwan Island, which had been occupied by Dutch colonists for 38 years. Gulangyu Island witnessed the tortuous process of China entering modernization in the late Qing Dynasty under the impact of the early wave of globalization. It is a model of multicultural exchange, collision and mutual learning in the early stage of globalization.
51 groups of representative historical buildings and gardens, 4 groups of historical roads, 7 representative natural landscapes and 2 representative cultural relics, together with the more than 900 historical buildings existing on the island,* **At the same time, they constitute the natural and organic spatial structure of Gulangyu Island and the rich urban historical landscape.
Gulangyu Cultural Heritage
Sunlight Rock Temple
Sunlight Rock Temple is located at the foot of Sunlight Rock, the commanding height of the island. It was first built in the mid-Ming Dynasty and was originally named "Lotus". "Nun" was rebuilt in the 14th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1586) and later renamed Riguangyan Temple. In 1936, Master Hongyi went into retreat in the east wing of Riguangyan Temple. During this period, he compiled a number of Buddhist works, inscribed a plaque on his retreat house, calling it "Rikguang Villa", and preached the "Pure Land Dharma Gate" in the temple. 》, attracting a large number of believers.
Shuzhuang Garden
In the first half of the 20th century, Lin Erjia, a wealthy Taiwanese who moved to Gulangyu Island, missed his hometown in Banqiao, Taipei, and founded the "Shuzhuang Yinshe" in 1913. Build Shuzhuang Garden. It has high achievements in the art of gardening. It not only uses the gardening techniques of traditional Chinese gardens, but also integrates the styles of modern architecture and Western gardening styles to create a unique coastal modern literati garden. Shuzhuang Garden, hidden in the courtyard, vividly displays the beauty of oriental gardens. It is not only the most important private garden on Gulangyu Island, but also one of the most important modern gardens in Lingnan, China.
Trinity Church
After 1927, as the number of believers who settled on Gulangyu Island increased, the three churches of Xiamen Port Chapel, Xinjie Chapel and Zhushujiao Chapel decided to open their own churches in Gulangyu Island. They jointly built a church and named it "Trinity Church".
The inscription on the cliff of Sanhe Palace in Chongxing Gulangyu Island
The inscription on the cliff of Sanhe Palace in Bijia Mountain was carved in the 18th year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1813). It was written by Wang Delu, the admiral of the Fujian Navy. It records that Wang Delu renovated warships in front of Sanhe Palace, raised funds to build Sanhe Palace, and led his troops into Taiwan to encircle and suppress Cai Qian's rebel army. Cai Qian's Taiwan Uprising was a major event during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty; the Qing government spent several years mobilizing heavy troops to suppress the uprising. This stone carving bears witness to Gulangyu Island's important position in Fujian-Taiwan exchanges in its early foreign exchanges.
The Liao Family Villa (Former Residence of Lin Yutang)
Entering Zhangzhou Road from the intersection where the former site of Xingxian Palace (today’s Ma John Memorial Square), there is a deep alley in the north of the road. On the west and north sides of the small site, one building faces west and is built on a high platform, and the other faces south and is called "Lirenzhai". These two buildings are the Liao family villa. Liao Yuefa's second daughter, Liao Cuifeng, married Lin Yutang, a famous modern Chinese writer, in 1919, and their wedding room was located in this building.
The former site of the U.S. Consulate
In 1844, the Americans set up an office next to Gulangyu Foreigner Qiupu to perform consular duties on their behalf. The former site of the U.S. Consulate, with its Western-style houses and Western-style gardens, forms the "most exquisite consulate". The building's facade uses three vertical and horizontal sections, as well as triangular pediments, Corinthian columns, and rigorous Dutch masonry (Flemish Bond). The overall appearance presents the classical revival architectural style popular in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gulangyu Food
Oyster Omelette
Pineapple Cake
Shacha Noodles
Gulangyu Fish Ball
p>Gulangyu Pie
Gulangyu Island is located at the estuary of the Jiulong River and is separated from Xiamen city by the 600-meter-wide Lujiang Strait.
On the island, flowers bloom all year round, various buildings are scattered in an orderly manner, the coast is winding, and the sound of music lingers in the deep lanes. The reporter walked into Gulangyu Island, which is known as the "Garden on the Sea" and the "Museum of Architecture of All Nations", and explored the story behind the success of Gulangyu Island's application as a World Heritage Site.
The road has been declared a cultural heritage site for nine years, just to protect that cultural pure land
The reporter first came to the "Gulangyu Historical and Cultural Exhibition Hall" located at No. 16 Lukan Road.
In the 1,953.9-square-meter exhibition hall, more than 600 precious historical pictures and nearly a hundred objects clearly and vividly show the context and details of Gulangyu's century-old history and culture.
How unique is Gulangyu Island?
According to historical records, in 1843, Xiamen was opened as a treaty port. In southern Fujian, there was a wave of immigration of "millions of overseas Chinese going to Southeast Asia". In 1903, Gulangyu Island became a gathering place for foreign expatriates. 13 countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan successively established foreign consulates in Gulangyu Island. Gulangyu Island witnessed the tortuous process of China entering modernization in the late Qing Dynasty under the impact of the early wave of globalization. It is a model of multicultural exchanges, collisions and mutual learning in the early stages of globalization. It is a hub for native residents of southern Fujian, multinational expatriates and overseas Chinese groups* **Co-constructed, it has a fusion of outstanding cultural diversity and modern life quality.
How can such a unique Gulangyu Island be defended?
On November 2, 2008, Xiamen City decided to officially launch the application of Gulangyu Island as a world cultural heritage.
On November 16, 2012, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage announced that Gulangyu Island was officially included in the "China World Cultural Heritage Tentative List".
On January 29, 2016, with the approval of the State Council, the Secretariat of the Chinese National Committee for UNESCO notified the UNESCO World Heritage Center in a letter to recommend "Gulangyu Island in Fujian" as a cultural heritage project in 2017...< /p>
Over the past nine years, the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have mobilized the entire city to promote the application of Gulangyu Island as a World Heritage Site.
He took the lead in formulating the "Gulangyu Cultural Heritage Site Protection and Management Plan" and further revised and improved the text.
“Application as a World Heritage Site is not the purpose, repair, management and protection are fundamental. By taking this as an opportunity, we hope to effectively protect precious historical heritage and cultural scenes, and inherit the essence of Gulangyu’s history and culture as well as the culture of the international community. Diversity, this is our original intention," Zhang Shunbin, deputy director of the Gulangyu Management Committee, told reporters.
This road to inscription on the World Heritage List is long and arduous. The efforts of the past nine years are just to protect that cultural pure land.
Wu Yongqi, a historical researcher on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, pointed to historical materials and introduced to reporters that since 2013, the Gulangyu Island World Heritage Application Office has collected precious cultural relics through collections and interviews with relevant people. And this is just a fragment of the long road to be recognized as a World Heritage Site.
The reporter learned that Gulangyu currently has 20 groups and 30 buildings of national key cultural relics protection units, 15 provincial-level cultural relics protection units, 25 municipal-level cultural relics protection units, and has also been recognized as a historical site. There are 391 buildings, including 117 key protected style buildings, 274 general protected style buildings, and 54 buildings are being recognized.
Involving so many assets, so many cultural relics, in addition to different units, different departments, and many privately owned houses (private villas), so during the application process, we encountered The most difficult problem is how to coordinate them and make unified adjustments according to the plan.
In order to repair and restore its historical functions, staff from the Gulangyu Management Committee and the street went door to door and worked patiently and meticulously. During this period, 250 million square meters of illegal structures were demolished and 101 households were relocated, further improving the environment.
At the same time, Gulangyu Island has also comprehensively improved its artistic and cultural atmosphere.
After nearly nine years of applying for World Heritage status and more than four years of systematic improvement, Gulangyu Island has clarified its development positioning of "cultural scenic spots + cultural communities", optimized protection methods, and utilized cultural heritage. Infrastructure has been improved, environmental capacity has been revised, "smart tourism" has been implemented, supervision and management have been strengthened, and social awareness has been recognized.
In October 2016, experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, came to Gulangyu for on-site inspection and evaluation, and highly praised Gulangyu’s preparations for the application.
Continue the pluralistic governance and let the international community and the scenic spot live harmoniously
“Gulangyu Island has been an international community in history. Through this application, it has further improved the international community. We have provided supporting facilities, public water supply, road sewage and other infrastructure. At the same time, we have also made further improvements to community elderly care and community services around affordable supermarkets. Since last year, we have invested a lot of money in electricity and improved three major projects. The main roads have been renovated for one purpose, which is to improve the quality of life of residents," Zhang Shunbin said.
“How to make the international community and the scenic spot effectively and harmoniously exist?” Zhang Shunbin said, first, continue the good tradition of Gulangyu’s pluralistic governance and open “community living room” and other interactive spaces for residents to further Inspire their love for Gulangyu Island. The second is to deepen community autonomy and management. The Gulangyu Public Security Council was established, a neighborhood renovation "workshop" was established, the "Love Island Convention" and a series of civilized conventions were issued, the "Clean Home Action" and the "Flower Sea Action" were launched, Gulangyu renovation and improvement supervisors were hired, and the establishment of A team of 350 cultural volunteers carries out voluntary explanations and civilized tourism persuasion activities every week.
In order to compress the excessive commercial atmosphere, the Gulangyu Management Committee also issued the "Gulangyu Longtou Road and Fuzhou Road Commercial Business Control Guidelines", studied and formulated the "Gulangyu Commercial Business Promotion Measures", and fully launched road occupation operations, Gate management, courtyard management and regulation of prohibited businesses. The operation was carried out in four batches to control catering fumes on Longtou Road and Fuzhou Road in the core commercial streets, and compulsory measures were taken to seize and detain 24 illegal business units, and 19 cases were filed. Carry out rectification work through civilized construction inspections across the island, set up warning signs, sprinkle water to reduce dust, regulate areas, reduce noise, and minimize interference to residents' lives and tourists. A three-month special rectification campaign for advertising shops was launched to address issues such as illegal outdoor advertising and random hanging on exterior walls.
In order to better scientifically determine the capacity of the scenic spot, in October 2014, Xiamen City launched the Gulangyu Island route adjustment and tourist flow control plan, clarifying that the maximum daily carrying capacity of the Gulangyu Island scenic spot is 65,000 people, and will Tourist routes are separated from citizen routes. In June this year, the maximum daily capacity of the Gulangyu Island Scenic Spot was again adjusted to 50,000, and a series of measures were launched to optimize tourist services, enrich tourist routes, and encourage off-peak travel. The order of the scenic spot was significantly improved.
It is worth mentioning that in terms of "smart tourism", Gulangyu Island has also realized the electronic ticketing of state-owned core attractions; realized 53 core elements of the application for World Heritage (including the ruins of the Ministry of Industry, the US Consulate, and the Sunlight Rock Temple). , Zhongde Palace, Yanping Theater Site, Bagua Tower, Shuzhuang Garden, Fanpo Tower, etc.) audio guide service, free AR map, 720-degree panoramic photos and island-wide aerial photos; WeChat public account of the tourist area management office The audio guide function is online to achieve a comprehensive introduction of "audio + text + photos". Visitors can enjoy the collections of the Piano Museum and Organ Museum anytime and anywhere; six major wireless areas have been added: Three Piers, Sunlight Rock, Shuzhuang Garden, and Guanhai Garden. Full WIFI coverage enables tourists to have an intelligent tourism experience in the scenic spot.
The application for World Heritage was successful, and Gulangyu became China’s 52nd World Heritage. This beautiful island will attract the attention of the world and lead to a better tomorrow.