The Ruins of the Heyi Foreign Firm Warehouse on Gulangyu Island

The Ruins of the Heyi Foreign Firm Warehouse on Gulangyu Island

The Ruins of the Heyi Foreign Firm Warehouse on Gulangyu Island are a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Fujian Province.

The Ruins of the Heyi Foreign Firm Warehouse on Gulangyu Island are located on Gulangyu Island in Siming District, Xiamen City, dating back to the Qing Dynasty.

Introduction: From the 25th year of the Daoguang reign to the 3rd year of the Xianfeng reign (1845–1853), Xiamen became the largest hub for Western colonizers trafficking Chinese laborers in China. At that time, British merchants established the Heyi Foreign Firm in Hong Kong and set up a branch in Xiamen, directly participating in the trafficking of Chinese laborers. In 1845, they built six storage sheds here for stacking goods and detaining laborers. The site has a roughly rectangular layout, with a slightly curved southern edge. The remaining ruins consist of fragmented walls constructed from granite strips, with the surviving walls about 2–3.8 meters high and approximately 0.4 meters thick. The southern wall originally had two gates, which have been sealed; the eastern wall retains one window and one gate, while the northern wall originally had one gate, also sealed.

Protected area: Extending east and south to Sanming Road, west to Guxin Road, and north to 10 meters beyond the boundary of the architectural ruins.

In 2018, the Ruins of the Heyi Foreign Firm Warehouse on Gulangyu Island were designated as part of the ninth batch of provincial-level cultural heritage sites by the People’s Government of Fujian Province.

Further reading:

· Ninth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Sites in Fujian Province