Former Japanese Consulate, Police Station, and Staff Quarters (Ri Ben Ling Shi Guan Jiu Zhi 日本领事馆旧址)
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, […]
Kulangsu Gallery of Foreign Artifacts from the Palace Museum Collection（Gu Gong Gu Lang Yu Wai Guo Wen Wu Guan 故宫鼓浪屿外国文物馆）
This spectacular new branch of the Palace Museum in Beijing’s Forbidden City opened in May 2017, after a long, ambitious renovation of a foreign hospital from 1898 (jiu shi yi yuan 救世医院). The museum showcases 219 beautiful, unique, and interesting treasures from foreign countries that were moved here from the Palace Museum. It’s the first branch […]
Yin Cheng Zong 殷承宗
In 1941, Yin Cheng Zong was born on Kulangsu (Gulangyu) Island. In spring 1950, Yin Cheng Zong hosted his first “9-year-old piano solo concert” at the [A.R.C.M. Girls’ Middle School]. Yin Cheng Zong showed his gift for music at a very young age. In 1962, he won the second place in the prestigious Second Tchaikovsky International Piano […]
Catholic Church (Tian Zhu Tang 天主堂)
Catholicism came to Kulangsu in 1850. In 1912, the Spanish Catholic priest Manuel Prat became the bishop of the Xiamen Parish and the church was moved into the Spanish consulate. A new Catholic Church was built to the west of the consulate in 1917. This church governed religious affairs of 80 catholic churches in Fujian […]
Street Ukeleles (You ke li li jietou yiren 尤克里里街头艺人)
These two licensed street artists provide some of the street-music atmosphere for which Kulangsu Island was once famous. Two colorful men hang out near the Marine Garden Hotel, on opposite sides of the dramatic typhoon-struck tree, playing and selling cheap ukeleles. Music includes a variety of Chinese folk songs, plus frequent renditions of “Gulangyu Zhi […]