Following the signing of the 1842 “Treaty of Nanking,” Xiamen stood among China’s first ports opened to foreign trade. Soon after, the island of Gulangyu began to attract foreign settlement, where consulates, churches, and trading houses gradually took root on its slopes and shores and left their early marks of diverse architecture on the island.
However, while Gulangyu’s geography allowed these foreign structures to survive, the island itself failed to draw a true spiritual core from them. Its cultural foundation and unique character would only be forged with the return of a large overseas Chinese community in the early 20th century. They brought back not only accumulated wealth but also an inclusive global vision — the tropical passion of Southeast Asia, the pragmatic ideals of the West, and the elegant heritage of the East converged here. In this 1.88-square-kilometer islet, all the collisions and fusion of diverse influences finally merged into a creative force that shaped Gulangyu’s unique architectural identity and chronicled the humanistic epic of its overseas Chinese.
Building Dreams upon Return: The Overseas Chinese Foundation of a “Historic International Settlement”
In 2017, at the 41st Session of the World Heritage Committee, “Kulangsu: a Historic International Settlement” was officially inscribed on the World Heritage List. The evaluation report specifically pointed out that “This Island gives us hope that the coexistence of architectural styles can inspire us and lead us to the peaceful coexistence of cultures. It offers physical proof of intercultural richness, and we need this message more than ever today.” The core of this century-spanning “physical proof” and “hope” resides in the eclectic architectural complexes built by returning overseas Chinese and the wisdom of cultural integration behind them. It was precisely this wave of homecoming dream-builders that laid the spiritual foundation for Gulangyu’s inscription on the World Heritage List.
The year 1902 saw Gulangyu designated as an international settlement. The subsequent establishment of the Municipal Council in 1903 as its administrative body marked the introduction of a modern urban governance model. Exhibit: Selected regulations of the Municipal Council displayed in the Gulangyu Historical and Cultural Museum
Among those who defined that transformative era, Huang Yizhu (Ik Tjoe OEI), known as the “Sugar King of Indonesia,” stood as a towering figure. After returning to China and settling on Gulangyu in 1920, he meticulously crafted the Huang Family Villa Complex. Hailed as the “First Villa of Gulangyu,” it became a paragon of architectural artistry and aesthetic fusion for its time. More significantly, Huang deeply understood how to serve the country through industry. He invested in and founded the China & South Sea Bank, initiated the formation of a telephone company, and financed a waterworks, dramatically advancing the modernization of Xiamen’s infrastructure. He also funded educational endeavors, providing critical support for the development of institutions like Xiamen University and Tongwen Middle School, kindling the flame of learning that illuminated his hometown’s future.
Lin Erjia’s manuscripts from the “Shuzhuang Poetry Society” period
Equally prominent among the overseas Chinese elite was Huang Xiulang, another magnate and contemporary of Huang Yizhu. He financed the Haitian Tanggou Villa Complex, which emerged as a new island landmark with its unique fusion of Chinese and Western styles. Meanwhile, businessman and literati Lin Erjia devoted himself to designing Shuzhuang Garden, a masterpiece of landscape art and cultural resonance that came to embody Gulangyu’s poetic soul. Within its gardens, he founded the “Shuzhuang Poetry Society,” allowing the rhythm of poetry to flow through the island’s fabric and infusing it with lasting cultural vitality.
Between 1928 and 1930, overseas Chinese Wang Ziru and Wang Qihua constructed what was then the most modern market in Southern Fujian on Gulangyu, which remains in use today.
The legacy left by the overseas Chinese community extends far beyond their exquisite villas. The vast capital they brought back acted like a vital current, deeply nourishing Gulangyu. They led the first wave of large-scale development, driving the construction of public utilities like roads, water, and electricity, and extending modern conveniences to all residents. They generously funded schools, sowing the seeds of education across their homeland. They formed chambers of commerce and invested in industries, energizing the economy of Xiamen and the wider Southern Fujian region. It was precisely this commitment to “serving as a bridge and giving back to their homeland” that transformed Gulangyu from an early “foreign settlement” into a “historic international community” led by Chinese people, where diverse civilizations coexisted and thrived. This transformation ultimately set the stage for its eventual recognition as a World Heritage Site.
Crafting a Solidified Symphony: The Overseas Chinese Wisdom behind the “Xiamen Deco Style”
If overseas Chinese capital provided the structural framework for Gulangyu’s development, it was the creative wisdom of this community that gave the island its unique cultural vitality. While absorbing Western architectural techniques of the modern era, they masterfully fused the genetic code of Minnan culture into every brick and tile. Through a continuous process of collision, adaptation, and innovation, they eventually forged the distinctive “Amoy-Deco Style,” a new architectural expression that turned buildings into a “solidified symphony” that transcends East and West.
(Huang Rongyuan Mansion, the “Most Romantic Villa” of Gulangyu)
Built by Huang Zhongxun, a returning overseas Chinese from Vietnam, the Huang Rongyuan Mansion is acclaimed as the “most romantic villa” on Gulangyu and now houses the China Record Museum. The building’s main facade employs the grand order of the classical West, featuring imitation Tuscan giant columns and a bow-shaped portico that exudes a sense of solemnity and order. In contrast, the pointed pavilion at the southeast corner, the twin circular pools nested in the courtyard, and the Taihu Rock standing at the center all subtly evoke the refined aesthetics of an Eastern garden. Today, the melodies from the old records within the museum create a fascinating dialogue with the cultural narrative of the architecture itself, allowing Eastern and Western civilizations to resonate ceaselessly between musical notes and masonry.
(Shuzhuang Garden)
Shuzhuang Garden, created by Lin Erjia, exemplifies a vivid microcosm of this cultural fusion. Rather than replicating a traditional Chinese garden, it reinterprets the classical design philosophy of concealment and compensation within a coastal landscape. The technique of “hiding the sea” (Cang Hai) uses embankments to accentuate the ocean’s vastness by partially obscuring it, while the “Twelve Grottoes” rockery captures the intriguing idea of “seeing the grand mountain within the small.” At the same time, structures within the garden, like the Tide-Listening Pavilion and Meishou Hall, carry the elegant pursuits of literati listening to the tides and contemplating by the sea. The addition of China’s first piano museum introduces a fusion of Western piano melodies with Eastern artistic conceptions, making Shuzhuang Garden a spiritual space that harmonizes both classical tradition and an international perspective.
(Visitors at the Piano Museum)
The “Amoy-Deco Style” nurtured by the overseas Chinese extended its influence far beyond Gulangyu itself. It spread across the coasts of Southeast Asia along the footsteps of overseas Fujianese, becoming a vital symbol of Minnan heritage abroad. This wisdom continues to thrive in contemporary Xiamen. Drawing inspiration from Gulangyu as a “Historic International Settlement,” Lianfa Group has inherited the core philosophy of diversity and openness from the “Amoy-Deco Style.” By combining it with modern lifestyle needs and craftsmanship, they have innovatively developed the “New Amoy-Deco Style.” This effort deeply integrates the aesthetic code left by the overseas Chinese into the city’s developmental DNA, achieving a seamless integration between historical culture and contemporary life.
Forging a Soul with an Overseas Heart: The Enduring Values of Gulangyu Nurtured by the Overseas Chinese Spirit
The imprint left by the overseas Chinese on Gulangyu extends far beyond tangible architecture, penetrating deep into the core of the city’s development and social ethos. Through the shared bond of their overseas identity, they profoundly participated in and shaped the island’s modernization process and social structure. They established Xiamen’s first modern real estate company, initiating the systematic development of the island. They invested in the Xiamen Waterworks Company, bringing clean running water to thousands of households and improving public welfare. They donated funds to support educational institutions like Xiamen University and Tongwen Institute, cultivating talent for the cultural and social growth of southern Fujian. They formed chambers of commerce and invested in industries, promoting trade between Xiamen and overseas markets and bolstering the regional economy’s rise.
In this process, people of different ethnicities, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds converged and coexisted on Gulangyu. It was the overseas Chinese community, with their open-minded inclusiveness and pragmatic, innovative wisdom, who built the bridges for cultural communication. They respected the uniqueness of foreign cultures while steadfastly holding to the roots of their own heritage. This ultimately allowed diverse civilizations to evolve from mere “coexistence” to a state of “symbiosis,” giving rise to what is often called the “Gulangyu temperament”—a gentle, harmonious spirit of cultural inclusiveness. This temperament vividly reflects the overseas Chinese’s synthesis of the patriotic sentiment and a global perspective, and represents the intangible essence of Gulangyu’s heritage that transcends the physical and material realm.
Sustaining an Eternal Beacon: From Gulangyu to the “Gateway of China”
Today, the eclectic architectural clusters on Gulangyu are far from being static historical specimens. They are the crystallization of the aspirations, wisdom, and ideals of the overseas Chinese community, and more importantly, they serve as an eternal beacon that conveys to the world the vision of “civilizational symbiosis.” Every ornately carved window lattice tells the story of an overseas wanderer’s sincere devotion to their Chinese roots; every polished stone step bears silent witness to the active interplay between Eastern and Western cultures being “harmonious yet different”; and every century-old building embodies humanity’s shared pursuit of “peaceful coexistence.”
Gulangyu and Xiamen Island, separated by a narrow strait, present a continuous developmental narrative from Gulangyu’s century of overseas Chinese history to Xiamen Island’s contemporary prosperity.
This spiritual wealth forged by the overseas Chinese continues to inject vitality into Xiamen’s development. When the 9th Gulangyu International Poetry Festival (2023) followed the cultural legacy of the “Shuzhuang Poetry Society” in Shuzhuang Garden; when the “Overseas Chinese” exhibition at the Overseas Chinese Museum, founded by Mr. Chen Jiageng (Tan Kah Kee), attracts compatriots from home and abroad to trace their ancestral roots; and when Xiamen has been named one of the “Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Expats” for many consecutive years, we can clearly see that, as the “Gateway to China,” Xiamen has continually traced its spiritual lineage to Gulangyu. It has actively transformed the overseas Chinese values of respect for diversity and appreciation of difference into a living practice that drives Xiamen’s high-quality development, aesthetic excellence, modernization, and global outreach.
From the century-old overseas Chinese legacy of Gulangyu to Xiamen’s contemporary journey, the overseas Chinese culture has remained the city’s unique foundation and core advantage. It not only bears witness to the deep emotional bond between the overseas Chinese and their homeland but has also become the spiritual cornerstone for Xiamen’s opening up to and embracing of the world. It guides this city to continuously write new chapters for our era in the ongoing dialogue and mutual learning among human civilizations.
