China’s Gulangyu Island was issued a certificate of the world heritage site by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova on Sept 4, making China the country with the most world heritage sites worldwide.

The moment was celebrated with a photo exhibition themed on world cultural heritage in the five BRICS countries, which also accompanied a folk concert at Gulangyu Island, Xiamen city of East China’s Fujian province.

The 41st session of the World Heritage Committee on Sept 2 decided to put China’s Gulangyu historic international settlement on the prestigious World Heritage List as a cultural site. So far, China has 52 sites inscribed to the list.

A former international settlement, the island features 13 consulates, as well as many churches, hospitals, schools and police stations, built by foreign communities from the middle to late 19th century.

In the early 20th century, the island attracted overseas Chinese elites, who returned and built private residences on the island, often with a mixture of eastern and western architectural styles.

Gulangyu has more than 2,000 intact historical buildings, making it one of the best-preserved international settlements in China.