{"id":6275,"date":"2017-07-16T04:00:37","date_gmt":"2017-07-16T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=6275"},"modified":"2017-07-15T13:34:58","modified_gmt":"2017-07-15T20:34:58","slug":"my-husbands-hometown-named-a-world-heritage-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/my-husbands-hometown-named-a-world-heritage-site\/","title":{"rendered":"My Husband’s Hometown Named a World Heritage Site."},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Eugene in Kulangsu, 1983<\/p><\/div>\n

Kulangsu is known for its beaches, its mild climate, and its longstanding prohibition on the use of wheeled vehicles. They don’t allow cars or even bikes on the lanes of Kulangsu (also known as Gulangyu).<\/p>\n

But UNESCO had something else in mind when they named Kulangsu a World Cultural Heritage Site. They were thinking of its history as an International Settlement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Amoy Harbor, 19th century<\/p><\/div>\n

For centuries, Kulangsu and nearby Xiamen (a.k.a. Amoy) were centers of shipping, sometimes piracy. During the Nineteenth Century, Amoy was China\u2019s main port for exporting tea.<\/p>\n

At about the same time, British merchants began trafficking in opium. When the Chinese emperor tried to stop them, the British insisted that their reputation, honor, and commitment to free trade were at stake.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Battle of Amoy, 26 August, 1841<\/p><\/div>\n

The resulting Opium War lasted three years and ended with the British victors taking control of Hong Kong and gaining access to several treaty ports including Amoy (Xiamen).<\/p>\n

The merchants, missionaries, and diplomats who came to Amoy, chose to build their homes on the scenic little island of Kulangsu, a short boat ride from Amoy. In 1903, when Kulangsu was officially recognized as an International Settlement, there were thirteen consulates on the island.<\/p>\n

All this history sets the stage for what interested UNESCO: Kulangsu\u2019s role as China\u2019s major gateway in early-stage globalization. They call the island \u201can important window for Sino-foreign exchanges (and) an exceptional example of the cultural fusion that emerged from these exchanges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNESCO specifically cites the architectural styles that can be seen on Kulangsu, including \u201cTraditional Southern Fujian Style, Western Classical Revival Style, Veranda Colonial Style \u2026 and Amoy Deco Style, which is a synthesis of the Modernist style of the early 20th<\/sup> century and Art Deco.\u201d Today, 931 historical buildings and gardens in various styles remain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

European-inspired Gulangyu mansion, 1983<\/p><\/div>\n

When we visited in 1983, I didn\u2019t take many pictures, but you can see dozens of fantastic photos of Kulangsu here<\/a>. The island was in disrepair when we visited in 1983. I understand it has changed a lot since then.<\/p>\n

I’ve written quite a few posts about Kulangsu (Gulangyu). Among them are:<\/p>\n

Gulangyu, an Island with a Storied Past<\/a><\/p>\n

A Chinese Island Retains Its Old World Charm<\/a><\/p>\n

Pearl Harbor Wasn’t the Only Target on Dec. 7, 1941<\/a><\/p>\n

All the Tea in China<\/a><\/p>\n

Remembering … Being Remembered<\/a><\/p>\n

You Can’t Go Home Again<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fall of the Bamboo Curtain<\/a><\/p>\n

No Cars Allowed<\/a><\/p>\n

A Mother’s Ashes and a Chinese Soldier<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kulangsu is the setting for my novel, Tiger Tail Soup.\u00a0<\/em>The action in the novel takes place during the Japanese invasion and occupation of World War II. Tiger Tail Soup<\/em> is available on Amazon<\/a>, barnesandnoble.com<\/a>, and Apple iBooks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 Kulangsu is known for its beaches, its mild climate, and its longstanding prohibition on the use of wheeled vehicles. They don’t allow cars or even bikes on the lanes of Kulangsu (also known as Gulangyu). But UNESCO had something else in mind when they named Kulangsu a World Cultural Heritage Site. They were thinking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,1587,16,1442],"tags":[195,1589,27,229,1588],"class_list":["post-6275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china","category-kulangsu","category-visiting-gulangyu","category-xiamen","tag-gulangyu-china","tag-international-settlement-on-kulangsu","tag-kulangsu","tag-opium-war","tag-unesco-world-cultural-heritage-site"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-1Dd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1014,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/gulangyu-a-chinese-island-with-a-storied-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":0},"title":"Gulangyu, a Chinese Island with a Storied History","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"March 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Western-style houses on a Chinese island. In 1983, my family visited my late husband\u2019s hometown in China. We arrived by ship from Hong Kong. After a small kerfuffle about our reservations, we checked into the Hotel for Overseas Chinese in Xiamen. The next morning we boarded a ferry for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/china\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/640px-18th_Royal_Irish_at_Amoy.jpg?fit=640%2C462&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/640px-18th_Royal_Irish_at_Amoy.jpg?fit=640%2C462&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/640px-18th_Royal_Irish_at_Amoy.jpg?fit=640%2C462&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2974,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/pearl-harbor-wasnt-the-only-taget-on-dec-7-1941\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":1},"title":"Pearl Harbor Wasn’t the Only Target on Dec. 7, 1941","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"December 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 For most of my life, I thought the only country the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941, was my own, the United States of America. In my defense, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was an enormous event for the United States. Within the short period of ninety minutes,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/china\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pearl Harbor, photo courtesy of lefatima ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/3610994085_1a6dc87a6e_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/3610994085_1a6dc87a6e_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/3610994085_1a6dc87a6e_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3564,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/visiting-gulangyu\/location-location-location\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":2},"title":"Location, Location, Location","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"April 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Francis Guenette is a novelist and a blogger. I met her online, and for the past few months I've been following her warm and thoughtful blog, Disappearing in Plain Sight. On it, she writes about writing, country living, her grandchildren and the construction of a new greenhouse. She posts gorgeous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "blogging"","block_context":{"text":"blogging","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kulangsu, mansion 001","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Kulangsu-mansion-001-e1383683836365-1024x817.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Kulangsu-mansion-001-e1383683836365-1024x817.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Kulangsu-mansion-001-e1383683836365-1024x817.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7455,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wwii-in-china\/december-7-1941-attack-and-a-declaration-of-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":3},"title":"December 7, 1941, Attack and a Declaration of War","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"December 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Seventy-seven years ago today the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. A day later the United States declared war on Japan. By then, my future husband and his family in China were already in the middle of a Japanese invasion and occupation. Six months after the Declaration of War, on his 18th\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "World War II"","block_context":{"text":"World War II","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/world-war-ii\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pearl Harbor, photo courtesy of lefatima ","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/3610994085_1a6dc87a6e_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/3610994085_1a6dc87a6e_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/3610994085_1a6dc87a6e_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4551,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/vanuatu-vanuatu\/mystery-of-the-translators\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":4},"title":"My Translators Live in China.","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"January 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0They show up on my computer screen every day or two with a question or a series of questions, and I answer them. But I\u2019ve never met my translators. I picture them as three young Chinese men, but I could be wrong. In Ethan\u2019s profile picture, small as it is,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chinese brush painting by Nicki Chen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/kung-fu-painting-by-Nicki-Chen-e1397269721787.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/kung-fu-painting-by-Nicki-Chen-e1397269721787.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/kung-fu-painting-by-Nicki-Chen-e1397269721787.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2262,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/favorite-excerpts-from-author-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":5},"title":"A Few Short Excerpts from My Novel","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"August 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Tiger Tail Soup: A novel of China at war by Nicki Chen \u00a0 \u201cThis washed-out road, like the mountains themselves and the tigers that hide in their shadows, is all beauty and treachery.\u201d p. 2. \u201cKulangsu. Island of pianos they call it, drum-surf isle, egret island\u2026.My beloved home, and for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/china\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"batik painting by Nicki Chen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_0508-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6275"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6326,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275\/revisions\/6326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}