A PLACE, A STORY / Xiamen
Gulangyu Island
Island streets hold a meeting of architectural traditions. Gulangyu’s buildings recall exchanges between local residents, returning overseas Chinese and people from abroad.
© Slyronit · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Resized and JPEG compressed. · Original source · License
© 周流劲火 · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons. Resized and JPEG compressed. · Original source · License
Gulangyu, also called Kulangsu, faces Xiamen across the water. Its nineteenth and twentieth century history brought residents with different cultural backgrounds into a small island settlement. Local Fujian architecture met imported styles, producing distinctive combinations in houses, gardens and streets.
A roof, veranda or doorway offers a manageable place to begin. Notice how two neighbouring buildings answer the same needs in different ways, and let a small detail lead you into the island’s larger story.
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