Hai Tian Tang Gou Mansion (海天堂构)

Hai Tian Tang Gou Mansion was built by Philippine Chinese Huang Xiuliang and Huang Nianyi between 1920 and 1930. The mansion is a complex of five villas in symmetrical styles laid out on both sides of the Middle Villa, which is the complex’ central axis. The mansion is regarded as a perfect marriage of eastern and western […]

X-Readspace (Xiao Xue Tang Chong Dong Shu Dian 晓学堂虫洞书店)

The Chinese name of this masterfully renovated two-story brick mansion, adjacent to Hai Tian Tang Gou Mansion, literally translates to “Worm Hole Bookstore.” But this business is hardly just a bookstore: the core belief of the founders is that globally disparate civilizations can interact with each other across time & space…beginning right here. The Worm Hole Bookstore claims inspiration […]

Big Mama’s Home-Cooked Sichuan (Pang Ma Si Chu 胖妈私厨)

Don’t be confused by the “Kapok” logo on the glass or the advertisements for Western dishes on the outside of the restaurant’s entrance, which is set in a few steps from the street: this is actually a creative Sichuan-influenced fusion noodle house, run by a native Kulangsu woman who loves to smile. Her spicy pork noodles […]

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

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 […]

Christian Cemetery (Fan Zai Mu Yuan 番仔墓园)

There are four separate cemeteries spread out around a single rolling hill in Nei Cuo Ao. All of them are beautiful, lush, mysterious, and overgrown with centuries’ worth of vegetation, and are well worth exploring and photographing. Christians were mainly buried in the graveyard near Anxian Hall, especially Chinese Christians who lived on Kulangsu. The cemetery […]