RIDING THE WAVE
Reform and opening up enables private entrepreneurs to kick-start family inns on Kulangsu Island
As the ferry slowly approaches Sanqiutian Wharf on Kulangsu Island off Xiamen in southeast China’s Fujian Province, the excitement is palpable. From the distance, amid the patches of lush vegetation, rows of impressive, century-old European-style buildings and villas, restored to their former architectural glory, stand proudly scattered over the idyllic landscape.
Those villas and buildings on Kulangsu were built by foreigners during the mid19th century, and later were abandoned or converted into apartments.
As the signal for reform and opening up spread all over China in 1978, economic development became the priority. The seeds of entrepreneurship were sown and Xiamen was on the frontlines, becoming one of the first four special economic zones in 1979.
After three decades of tremendous economic growth and increasing prosperity, and with the prospect of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, China decided to pull out all the stops for the development of the tourism and cultural sector. Private entrepreneurship kicked in with support from authorities and was encouraged to cater to the Chinese people’s inexhaustible appetite for culture.
From strength to strength
Kulangsu became a major domestic tourist destination soon after it was listed as a National 5A Tourist Attraction in 2007. Hordes of day-trippers and tourist groups would spend several hours roaming the main alleyways before leaving the island. The hotel business was in its infancy.
“There were just 12 family inns back then, compared to 278 now,” explained Dong Qinong, Chairman of the Kulangsu Family Inns Association. The former professor at Xiamen University grew up on the island and witnessed first-hand the rapid transformation in the tourism industry over the last decade. In 2010, he embarked on a mission: converting decayed and abandoned architectural wonders from the past into quaint, modern family inns. This indefatigable academic-cum-entrepreneur also played a large role in promoting and defending Kulangsu’s bid with UNESCO. His efforts paid off when the island became a World Cultural Heritage Site on July 8, 2017.
Initially, this ambitious mission seemed at odds with UNESCO’S selection criteria in terms of sustainability and preservation. “Some even worried that the development of family inns would be detrimental to our UNESCO bid,” said Dong.
To that effect, the Xiamen Government published a set of rules and regulations regarding the establishment of family inns on Kulangsu for the first time in 2008, while requirements were constantly upgraded and reinforced to protect and preserve the island’s venerable buildings as well as its natural environment.