UNESCO World Heritage

Introducing UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Xiamen
Xiamen & its surrounding areas have two cultural and natural places inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as of 2020. 46 Tulous were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in the name of Fujian Tulou in 2008. Kulangsu (Gulangyu Island) became a World Heritage Site in 2017. If you happen to be in Xiamen or anywhere else in Fujian province, be sure to drop by these amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Xiamen. Each of Xiamen's UNESCO World Heritage Site has a tale to tell. Book GoGrandChina tour packages to learn the tales of Xiamen's UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the most affordable prices.

Fujian Tulou
Fujian Tulou is a property of 46 buildings constructed between the 15th and 20th centuries over 120 km in south-west of Fujian province, inland from the Taiwan Strait. Set amongst rice, tea and tobacco fields the Tulou are earthen houses. Several storeys high, they are built along an inward-looking, circular or square floor plan as housing for up to 800 people each. They were built for defence purposes around a central open courtyard with only one entrance and windows to the outside only above the first floor. Housing a whole clan, the houses functioned as village units and were known as “a little kingdom for the family” or “bustling small city.” They feature tall fortified mud walls capped by tiled roofs with wide over-hanging eaves. The most elaborate structures date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The buildings were divided vertically between families with each disposing of two or three rooms on each floor. In contrast with their plain exterior, the inside of the tulou were built for comfort and were often highly decorated. They are inscribed as exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization, and, in terms of their harmonious relationship with their environment, an outstanding example of human settlement. Get more about Fujian Tulou.

Kulangsu, a Historic International Settlement
Kulangsu (Gulangyu Island) is a tiny island located on the estuary of the Chiu-lung River, facing the city of Xiamen. With the opening of a commercial port at Xiamen in 1843, and the establishment of the island as an international settlement in 1903, this island off the southern coast of the Chinese empire suddenly became an important window for Sino-foreign exchanges. Kulangsu is an exceptional example of the cultural fusion that emerged from these exchanges, which remain legible in its urban fabric. There is a mixture of different architectural styles including Traditional Southern Fujian Style, Western Classical Revival Style and Veranda Colonial Style. The most exceptional testimony of the fusion of various stylistic influences is a new architectural movement, the Amoy Deco Style, which is a synthesis of the Modernist style of the early 20th century and Art Deco. Get more about Gulangyu Island.