Travel Destinations: Gulang Yu, Fujian Province, China

With so many provinces and thousands of great cities and towns in China it can be difficult to choose one or even a dozen cities to visit. But if you are in Fujian Province, then you should definitely make the time to visit Gulang Yu, an island 10 minutes on the boat away from Xiamen.

This is a simply beautiful island; the architecture has a distinctive colonial feel to it, with beautiful villas and crumbling ruins from its former years. It was used as a base for a large foreign community in the 1880s, complete with an English newspaper, a post office, consulates, libraries, churches and many other services. In 1903, the Chinese government declared Gulang Yu an Internation Foreign Settlement and a council of Sikhs were brought together to run the community.

Today, you can still see the impact the foreigners had on this beautiful island. The charming colonial buildings are still being used. Some of China’s most famous of musicians have come from this island.

So what can you see here? Start with a trip to Sunlight Rock, which is the highest point on the island. At 93m and when the day is clear, you may be able to see Jinmen Island itself.

At the base of here, you can visit the Koxinga Memorial Hall which has a gallery dedicated to the Dutch who settled in Taiwan and Koxinga throwing them back out of the island again. You can admire some remains of his clothing and his beautiful jade belt.

You will find Yingxiong Hill near the Memorial Hall. There is an aviary here where egrets and parrots squawk and speak. A little noisy sometimes, but it is a charming place for tourists.

Shuzhuang Garden is located on the waterfront near the southernmost part of the island; it is so beautiful that it is the perfect place to stop and relax and let the world go sailing by. The pavilions here so incredibly delicate and the bonsai gardens look simply stunning. It was established by a businessman from Taiwan who came here with his fsmily during the Anti-Japanese War.

There are other things to see and do here. Why not visit the beautiful Roman Catholic Church near the British consulate and if you carry on, you will come to Haoyue Garden, where an impressive statue of Koxinga has been erected, looking out to see to Taiwan.

One of the best things to see and do here is to wander the old streets and alleys to admire the beautiful colonial buildings that still stand on Gulang Yu.