Xiamen's makeover adds to its appeal

Local authorities in Xiamen are endeavoring to make it "a place that Xiamen residents will miss when traveling", said a senior planning official of the city in East China's Fujian province.

"Our ancestors have left us many precious buildings that constitute an important part of the childhood memories of people born in the city and we are working out plans to preserve them," said Ren Guoyan, chief planner of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Planning.

Ren said the city government will promote efforts to protect traditional residential buildings, western-style buildings on Xiamen's satellite islet of Gulangyu, some of the university buildings, as well as the arcades, known as qilou, that line the Zhongshan and Datong roads.