CHN: Shamian Island
Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Shamian Island is a small sandbank island with an area of 0.3 square kilometres that's separated from the mainland by an artificial river dug by the British and the French in 1859. Literally meaning 'sandy surface', the island is gazetted as a historical area that sees the preservation of quite a number of colonial buildings.
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Have a look at an old map of the island from Wikimedia Commons.
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| Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Shameen_Canton.jpg |
The island is walkable from Huangsha metro station.
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| The artificial river is now called Shajichong. |
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| There are actually two primary schools on the island, but none for higher levels. |
To be frank, I don't have lots of photos, but hopefully they can give you a sense of how interesting the island is.
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| Too lazy to take down the Christmas decoration? I was there in March. |
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| Had I known about the existence of the hotel earlier, I would've tried to stay there for a night. |
There are also some 20th century buildings there, such as the former Bank of Taiwan.
I suppose the tranquil island is a popular spot for wedding photoshoot.
The French government built Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel on the island in 1890.
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| At the point of writing, the last renovation of the church was done before the 2010 Asian Games. |
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| Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~ Matthew 19:14 |
The church was forced to cease all religious activities during the ten-year Cultural Revolution launched by Mao Zedong from 1966 to 1976. It was officially reopened to the public in late 1982 after the Chinese Communist Party decided to adopt a national policy of free religious belief.
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| Less than 1% of the entire population of China are Catholics. |
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| Did you know that stained glass started gaining popularity from as early as the 4th century? |
The island used to house at least ten consulates, but it seems like only the Consulate of Poland is still there.
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| Who can pee the farthest? |
I wonder if the Orient Express restaurant is still around.
For a while, I really thought I was in Europe.
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| "The sturdiest pillars of human morality are compassion and a sense of justice." ~ Frans de Waal |
Scattered around the island are various bronze statues depicting life as it was on the island in the past. I guess I didn't take any photos of those.
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