Xiamen's new immersive heritage park brings Minnan culture to life

Gulangyu Island has long been Xiamen's signature attraction.

A new cultural park nearby has wooed visitors with a different kind of immersive experience, offering tourists a chance to step back in time and discover the rich heritage of southern Fujian.

Singer Teresa Teng's I Only Care About You has been a familiar tune across the Chinese-speaking world.

At Xiamen's new immersive cultural park, the timeless classic has taken on a new meaning.

The finale of the half-hour performance ends with a giant banner reading "Come Home", as a nod to the shared cultural roots across the Taiwan Strait.

The deputy general manager of the park says they hope these familiar melodies evoke a sense of connection and remind people of the close cultural ties shared across the Strait.

Taiwanese visitors may also recognise performances inspired by the colourful electric-techno performance.

Opened only last year, the attraction recreates historic Minnan life, allowing visitors to experience traditional intangible cultural heritage, from making handcrafted oil-paper lanterns to wandering through recreated old streets in period costume.

The park says it welcomed more than 40,000 inbound visitors in the first half of this year.

Around half came from Taiwan with many of the rest arriving from Hong Kong.

Built on the site of a former cruise terminal, the attraction sits just minutes from the ferry pier serving Gulangyu Island.

Just a ten-minute ferry ride away lies Gulangyu Island -- Xiamen's UNESCO World Heritage Site, where history speaks through colonial villas, churches and former consulates.

The island became an international settlement after the Opium War and has since transformed many of its historic buildings into museums and cultural venues.

One of its best-known landmarks is the Bagua Mansion, built in 1907 by the wealthy Lin family from Banqiao -- or Panchiao of Taiwan.

Now home to the Organ Museum, it also houses a towering six-metre British pipe organ dating back to 1909.