Sunlight Rock Temple (Ri Guang Yan Si 日光岩寺)

Sunlight Rock Temple, originally named “Lotus Nunnery”, was rebuilt in the 14th Year of the Wanli Reign of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1586). The main hall, General Funds Hall (Yuan Tong Bao Dian), is a huge cave carved into a rock at the hill’s peak and supported by stone columns and crosspieces, hence the nickname […]

Trinity Church (San Yi Tang 三一堂)

As more and more Christians moved to Kulangsu in the 1920s, Xiamen Church, New Street Church and Bamboo Church cooperated to make worship more convenient by building a Kulangsu church in 1934. The name “Trinity Church” alludes to its joint construction by the three churches, as well as the doctrine of the Trinity. (The Chinese […]

Kulangsu Island: a tropical beach paradise beating to the waves of its own drummer

Kulangsu is an island about 600 meters from southwestern coast of Xiamen, Fujian. Slightly long and narrow, the 1.88-square-kilometer Kulangsu Island looks like a sailing ship anchored in the bay. There are seven granite hills as well as numerous ravines and springs scattered on the island. An alternating distribution of white beaches and oddly shaped rocks […]

Gulangyu Concert Hall (Gu Lang Yu Yin Yue Ting 鼓浪屿音乐厅)

The premier classical music hall on Kulangsu, China’s premier classical music island, the Gulangyu Concert Hall is proof that the best things in life are free. The diverse classical and traditional Chinese concerts held here on many nights of the week—from visiting symphony orchestras to traditional Chinese music to world-class visiting soloists—are all offered to […]

Integration of diverse cultures

With the continuous increase of both local and foreign residents, Kulangsu began to face great pressure from infrastructure construction and maintenance as well as security management. On the other hand, the increasingly rising Japan had been seeking for more benefits from Kulangsu, while other powers hoped that there would be a reasonable mode to maintain […]