Diaolou and Villages of Kaiping

Hours & Admission Price Peak Season
Jan.-Dec.
8:30-17:30
150 Low Season
Jan.-Dec.
8:30-17:30
150 Address & Phone Kaiping City, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province Transportation Take a bus or taxi there. Notes

Diaolou is built to prevent the flood and banditry by returning Chinese immigrants that reflects their strong economic strength, aesthetic taste and the impact of external culture.

Diaolous in Kaiping in Guangzhou not only witness the development of local politics, economy and culture, but also reflects the architectural style of the home town of returning Chinese immigrants. They scattered in the villages as if the stars in the sky in the form of different styles of ancient Greek, ancient Rome and Islam. Diaolou is a unique type of vernacular architecture that combining defense and dwelling.

History

Since Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), locals began to construct Diaolou due to the flood and banditry. Kaiping was located in a low-lying region that suffered from the flood for a long time when the typhoon and rainstorm came. More over, the public order is chaotic because of its remote. As a result, local people wanted to build solid residences to protect themselves. Diaolous were built in a large number in the 1920s and 1930s when Chinese immigrants from America, Canada, Hong Kong and Malaysia returned their home town with abundant money. With the influence of western culture, they built Diaolou with a fusion of Chinese and Western decorative forms. More than 3,000 of these structures were constructed at that time. Today, there still remains 1,833 Diaolous in 16 townships of Kaiping.

Category

Mainly served in the purpose of defense and dwelling, Kaiping Diaolous are divided into three types: communal towers, dwelling towers and night watchtowers.

Communal Towers

The communal towers are built in the rear part of the village with the money collected by all villagers are several families. Each family can own one room to hide themselves when bandits' attack and flood come. They are the earliest built with a form of sealed and simple in the purpose of defence.

Dwelling Towers

Most of such towers are built by solely rich families at the back of the village combining the function of defence and dwelling. They display the tall body, spacious rooms and beautiful appearance as well as convenient for living. Of the total 1,883 Diaolous, 1149 are dwelling towers that usually be recorded as the symbols of a village.

Night Watchtowers

The last one is night watchtower which is placed at the entrance of the villages, on the hill or beside the river outside the village equipped with searchlights and alarms. Then dangerous coming, they can sound alarms to warning surrounding villages.

Attractions

Diaolou and villages of Kaiping was added on the World Heritage List in 2007, among them there are some must-seeing attractions: Ruishi Diaolou in Jinjiangli Village, the Diaolous in Zili Village, the Fang Clan Watchtower and Li Garden.

Ruishi Diaolou

Known as the No.1 Tower in Kaiping, Ruishi Diaolou in Jinjiangli Village is a well combination of western style and Chinese culture as well as the highest and prettiest tower in Kaiping. It was built in 1921 by Huang Bixiu and his two sons who earned a large deal of money abroad. They constructed the tower in 9 floors that amazed visitors since the project was completed. The outer appearance is western architectural style with Byzantine roof and a Roman dome; while the inner is arranged as traditional Chinese style with dragons and phoenixes carved on the doors and windows. The building reveals the owner’s confidence and brave that influenced by western culture and his open-mindedness.

Fang Clan Watchtower

The tower located on the hill north to Tangkou Town, about 11 kilometers east of Kaiping city. It was built in 1920 with the funds raised by Fang Clan lived in Zhaiqun and Qiangya villages. The watchtower takes 5 storeys with a total height of 18.43 meters. The first and second floors are the board and lodging places for operators on duty. The fifth floor is a pavilion decorated with a western dome and equipped with western generator, searchlights, firearms and son on. It is a typical night watchtower that early alarms villagers from the bandits’ attacks.

Guangzhou Culture