Former Office of Great Northern Telegraph Company (Denmark) (Dan Mai Da Bei Dian Bao Gong Si 丹麦大北电报公司)

July 7, 2017 Leave a comment
In 1871, the Great Northern Telegraph Company began operations on Kulangsu’s Tianwei Road.  It laid the telegraph service’s submarine cables connecting Shanghai, Xiamen and Hong Kong. It was also the office for the Kulangsu Danish consular agent. Address: 21 Tianwei Road, Gulangyu Island, Siming District, Xiamen City, China 1871年，大北电报公司在鼓浪屿上的田尾路开办。它的水下电报服务通信...

Continue Reading →

Former Japanese Consulate, Police Station, and Staff Quarters (Ri Ben Ling Shi Guan Jiu Zhi 日本领事馆旧址)

July 6, 2017 Leave a comment
The former Japanese Consulate, built in 1879, is the only 19th century embassy building still intact upon Kulangsu. The Japanese Police Station and Staff Quarters were built on the south side in 1928. In 1936, the Japanese consulate became the Japan consulate general. In 1937, after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the consulate was closed, but reopened after the Japanese occupation of Xi...

Continue Reading →

Kulangsu Organ Museum (Eight Diagrams Mansion / Bagua Mansion) (Ba Gua Lou 八卦楼)

Leave a comment
The Kulangsu organ museum’s beautiful red dome is visible from across the bay in Xiamen. The museum, housed in the old Bagua Mansion, is one of Kulangsu’s most important tourist attractions--both for its impressive collection of organs and for its stately and imposing architectural style. The Bagua Mansion, also known as Eight Diagrams Mansion, is a good representation of early  Xiamen archi...

Continue Reading →

Foreigners’ Football Field (Ren Min Ti Yu Chang 人民体育场 / Ma Yue Han Ti Yu Chang 马约翰体育场)

June 4, 2017 Leave a comment
The Foreigners’ Football Field was built before 1878 and originally used as a lawn tennis court and cricket field. It was subsequently used primarily for playing soccer. In 1910, the court was an important venue for the reception ceremony for the AmCham delegation. This historic, sprawling soccer pitch serves as an informal divider between the Kulangsu Town and Southern Parks + Beaches neigh...

Continue Reading →

Yanwei Hill Time Cannon (Yan Wei Shan Sheng Tai Gong Yuan 燕尾山生态公园)

Leave a comment
The Yanwei Hill Time Cannon Emplacement was set up by Xiamen Customs toward the end of the nineteenth century. The cannon used to fire once at twelve noon every Saturday so customs officers and passing vessels could synchronize their timepieces. The time cannon adopted the standard time in accordance with the clock on the Xiamen customs house. Today, items related to the time cannon are stil...

Continue Reading →