By Sun Li ( China Daily USA )

Gulangyu Island, just off the coast of Xiamen in Fujian province, and nine other Chinese cultural relic sites are competing to be China's candidate for the World Heritage Site list in 2016.

Just a short ferry ride from downtown Xiamen, Gulangyu is home to 14,000 people and about 1,000 historic buildings.

Known for its sandy beaches, winding lanes, and diverse architecture, the island started the application process in 2008. In 2012, Gulangyu was listed in the Preparatory Directory for World Cultural Heritage Sites in China. According to the rules laid down by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, which state that any site wishing to apply for World Heritage Site status must first be listed in the directory.

In March, island authorities submitted their final application to the administration, and are now waiting anxiously to see if Gulangyu will be chosen as China's representative on the UNESCO list. Every previous place of cultural interest in China that has been put forward has eventually gone on to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are more than 40 sites on China's UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, and 10 of them, including Gulangyu, the Liangzhu Archaeological site in Zhejiang province, and the Huashan Rock Paintings in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, are seeking to become China's representative on the World Heritage Site list.

In June, China gained its 46th and 47th listings when the World Heritage Committee approved the inclusion of sections of the ancient Silk Road and the Grand Canal, at a UNESCO conference in Doha, Qatar.

China has the second-highest number of World Heritage Sites in the world - after Italy - despite only making the list for the first time in 1987, 10 years after the first session of the World Heritage Committee.