Good example why we shouldn’t generalise China is Gulangyu. China is a very big and diverse country and should not be judged as a whole; the architecture, food, culture and people vary from region to region.
Chinese history can be divided according to the different dynasty rules. When referring to a time in history, it’s easier to mention the name of the relevant dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, after the loss in the Opium War, Gulangyu Island was opened for foreign settlement.
Churches, schools, hospitals, police stations were built by foreign communities, which explains why the architecture is mostly European.
Like in Italy.
Or like in Germany, except the swastikas on the facade represent something different to what they represented in Nazi Germany.
In addition to the rich selection of food, the Chinese love snacks. Even those who have been to Europe or America can still be surprised by the number and variety of snacks. Tourists in Gulangyu are offered everything from stinky tofu and marzipan to chicken feet and oil sticks.
Despite the fried food, the Chinese are mostly slim, healthy and long-lived.
Today Chinese tourists come here to look at the European colonial architecture, to enjoy the local seafood, to buy souvenirs and to get married.
One way to get here is by ferry, the other is by food delivery boat.
Due to the fact that the Chinese come here in large numbers to Gulangyu and walk along the main streets, another place to explore is the old alleyways.
A common stereotype about the Chinese is that they are a people of short height, and it follows that they have small houses and eat small food portions. In fact, this is partly true; the whole trick is in the geography, where the height of a person changes from north to south – tall and light to short and dark. Food ingredients vary from region to region but that doesn’t effect food portions. Portions are so large that they are often left unfinished.
Compared to sticking chopsticks upright in your rice, sticking your chopsticks upright in your noodles is acceptable.
With the growth of the personal wealth of the Chinese people, domestic tourism has sky rocketed and it has become hard to find shops or streets that aren’t busy.
There are no cars on the island, it makes Gulangyu very calm and quiet.
