introductionofgulangyuislet.docVIP

Gulangyu, separated from Xiamen by the 500-metre-wide Egret River, with an area of 1.77 square kilometres, enjoys a lauditory title Garden on the Sea. The original name of the islet was Yuan Zhou Zi. In the Ming Dynasty it was renamed Gulang, meaning drum waves, because the holes in the southwestern reefs hit by the waves make sounds like the drum beating. 　　Overlapping peaks foil the blue water, white clouds, green trees and bright flowers. The air in the islet is fresh. The entire place is free from any sorts of vehicles and is particularly quiet. All these render an atmosphere of a fairyland. 　　The roar of the waves breaks on the rocks. Impressive melodies surrounding and lingering on this island make famous for its piano-laden past. As a place of residence for Westerners during Xiamens colonial past, Gulangyu is famous for its architecture and for being home to Chinas largest piano museum. It is known as the piano island because people here love the piano. As early as 1913, students in schools run by foreigners started learning the piano. The enthusiasm for music later spread to more ordinary people on the island. Many piano families have since then come into being and produced accomplished musicians. And the number of the pianos possessed is in the leading place in the nation, though there is only a population of 20,000 people. 　　No tourist can afford to miss one attraction located on the island —— the nations largest piano museum. Divided into two exhibition halls, the museum guides visitors through a vivid history of the instrument with displays and illustrations. All different types of pianos such as miniature pianos, automatic pianos, accordion pianos and round-shaped pianos, are on display. 　　The architecture in the islet varies greatly in style, Chinese and foreign. Thus the islet has a laudatory title the World Architecture Museum Covered in green all the year round, its charming, elegant, secluded and serene. A great variety of villas stand shrouded by