Gulangyu Island joins hands with Bashbaliq City in Xinjiang

Two world heritage sites -- Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, Fujian province, and the Site of Bashbaliq City in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region -- established friendly world heritage site relations in Jimsar county in Xinjiang on July 18.

Gulangyu Island offers a unique combination of Eastern and Western values while Bashbaliq City has integrated various ethnic groups in China's border areas since the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The two sides will strengthen exchange and cooperation in cultural heritage protection and tourism resource sharing and carry out cultural exchange activities for locals.

Bashbaliq City was once an important transportation hub and trade transit station in northern Xinjiang. It is one of the six sites of the world heritage -- Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor -- in Xinjiang.

Gulangyu Island, with its outstanding cultural diversity, joined the World Heritage List in 2017.