Fish bone artist Lin Hanbing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Not my island anymore

As an artist, Lin said he doesn't want his paintings to appear too grim, and he tried to make the paintings intrinsically beautiful. In fact, most of his paintings, with colored backgrounds and fish bones placed in the right places - create a poetic atmosphere usually found in Chinese poems.

But he said it is not the place he lived in that bestowed him such inspirations. On the contrary, he is turning to those poetic depictions to avoid confrontation with the brutal reality.

"Gulangyu is no longer what it used to be 15 years ago," Lin said. According to Lin, during the past decade or so, many residents moved out, and were replaced by outsiders instead, turning this once tranquil beautiful island into a bustling destination for tourists and cash cow for businessmen.

"A lot of the residents in Gulangyu moved away, especially those who do art," Lin said. "So far, my fish bone art gallery is the only gallery that exhibits artworks on Gulangyu," he said.

Lin told China Daily Website that almost all the pianists have moved away, because it is no longer a good place for creation – what's left are only pianos – which cannot make music by themselves.

As for Lin himself, he said he doesn't know how long he can persist.

"The rent for my art gallery rose from 200 thousand yuan per month to the present 600 thousand yuan, which is barely affordable for me – I have to make ends meet," Lin said.

"This is not the Gulangyu I used to know," he said.