'Ghost island' between the sea of ​​Japan becomes a world cultural heritage of UNESCO

Japan's gruesome island is honored by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. To do that, of course is a constant effort.

Japan is a country of scenery, culture and cuisine, with countless elements that attract tourists. One of them is the location off Nagasaki, which was used as a backdrop for his movie "Agent 007" James Bond. It is "ghost island" Hashima - or Gunkanjima .

Ghost island is recognized as a World Cultural Heritage.

Perhaps many people have heard the name of the island associated with mystery and ghosts. However, the island itself is recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 2015. What is the reason, you will know immediately below.

The island is associated with a historical period

After about 50 minutes by train from Nagashaki station to the southwest, one will see a "battleship" floating in the middle of the sea.

The strange shape of the island is because it is an artificial island , the product of Mitsubishi Corporation created in 1887, with the aim of becoming a high-quality coal mine in the seabed.

The island once symbolized industrialization.

At that time, Gunkanjima was the main fuel supply for the giant steel plant Yawa, so a huge labor force was needed. The area is only 6.3 hectares, but Gunkanjima has 71 buildings, buildings, coal mine lines.

At its peak in 1959, the island was once the world's busiest, cramped to the point where more than 5,000 people were crowded into a building of about 0.16 square kilometers.

There is only one ruin left now.

With the aim of becoming a settlement of workers, Gunkanjima Island does not lack anything except the graveyard. Schools, playgrounds, gyms, cinemas, bars, restaurants . even pagodas and spiritual temples.

However, at the end of the 60s of the twentieth century, the Japanese economy suddenly jumped with the invasion of oil. Coal mines were gradually forgotten, and by early 1974, Mitsubishi announced to close the island of Gunkanjima.

The ruins only appear in horror movies.

On one day in the middle of April 1974, when the last island inhabitants returned to Nagasaki, the island was officially abandoned. Today, "ghost island" is the name most remembered when referring to this island.

An island has symbolic meaning

Before oil became the nation's energy pillar, coal was the main fuel and Gunkanjima was an important symbol of the age of miraculous industrialization.

In 2001, Mitsubishi donated Hashima island to Takashima town, then in 2005 officially belonged to Nagasaki.

Since that year, the city began implementing a tourism promotion campaign for the island: allowing journalists to go to the island, restore piers for tourism, and renovate some degraded areas. Old and unsafe buildings are prohibited from entry.

Guests enjoy the atmosphere at the ghost island.

And then their efforts also paid off. In July 2015, UNESCO officially recognized the "battleship" island as a world cultural heritage. It is a worthy recognition for a place associated with the history of industrial age and production.

The world needs to know Japan is an innovative and technologically innovative country. It is also a solution to motivate people to seek and innovate, like the way this country is still doing.