UNESCO bid for Gulangyu

Xiamen's charming island seeks cultural heritage listing, Hu Meidong and Lu Ting report.

A popular tourist destination renowned as the "garden on the sea", Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, Fujian province will compete with nine other Chinese cultural sites to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2016.

Covering an area of 1.88 square kilometers, the island is famous for its sandy beaches, winding lanes, and diverse architecture and culture. Gulangyu first applied to become a World Heritage site in 2008.