China: Gulangyu Island – Exploring the Island

Gulangyu Island is a small island just off Xiamen but it packs a lot of history and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Following the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, Xiamen was designated as one of the first five treaty ports forced to open to foreign trade. Foreigners quickly settled on the tranquil and easily defensible island of Gulangyu across the water from busy and epidemic-prone Hiamen. British forces occupied the island from 1841 until 1845 as collateral for treaty indemnity payments. In 1903 it officially became an International City and 13 countries established consulates here. Loads of ultra-wealthy Chinese merchants flocked here as well and the entire island was transformed into prime real estate of lavish mansions. Walking along the twisting streets today you get to see all these estates – Victorian-era properties, Western Classical Revival estates, and the distinct ” Amoy Deco Style – a local synthesis of Art Deco and early 20th-century Modernism.