Gulangyu Island is located in the southwest of Xiamen City, covering an area of 1.87 square kilometers, surrounded by the vast sea with reef rocks and meandering coastline. It is the Mother Nature itself that creates the bright and timeless inland sceneries, and the main scenic spots in Gulangyu Island are the Sunlight Rock, Shuzhuang Garden, the Piano Museum and Bright Moon Park.

With the transmission of Christianity in the middle of 19th century, western music was introduced into Gulangyu Island gradually, combing with the graceful living atmosphere and forming the traditional music style on the island. There are many world-famous musicians from Xiamen such as Lin Junqing, Yin Chengzong and Chen Zuohuang.

Gulangyu Island is accredited with “Hometown of Music” and "Island of the Piano" in 2002 by Chinese Musician Association because almost each family has a piano on the small island.Gulangyu Island is also very rich in cultural relics, among which the best-preserved one is the relic of the national hero Zheng Chenggong’s. The Cliffside Inscriptions in the island are still well-preserved after long years’ exposure to wind and rain.

It separated from the main island by the 500-metre-wide Egret River, with an area of 177 square kilometres, enjoys a lauditory title "Garden on the Sea." .In the Ming Dynasty £¬it was named Gulang, meaning ''drum waves", because the holes in the southwestern reefs hit by the waves will make sounds like the drum.

On the island, The Dragon Head Hill, Hoisting Flag Hill and Hen Hill stand in a line in the islet. Overlapping peaks foil the blue water, white clouds, green trees and bright flowers. The air in the islet is fresh. The entire place is free from any sorts of vehicles and is particularly quiet. All these render an atmosphere of a fairyland.The architecture in the islet varies greatly in style, Chinese and foreign. Thus the islet has a laudatory title "the World Architecture Museum" The residents here love music very much, and the number of the pianos possessed is in the leading place in the nation, though there is only a population of 20,000 people. Thus the islet is praised as the "Piano Islet".

Today, Gulangyu is listed as one of the nation's major scenic spot. The main sites of interest here include the Sunlit Rock, Shuzhuang Park, Gangzihou Bathing Beach and Memorial Hall to Zheng Chenggong, which are visited annually by millions of people from all parts of the country and the world.