Kaiping 开平
Kaiping in a few photos
Presentation of the Kaiping Diaolou
Scattered in the villages of the countryside around the city of Kaiping, 150km southwest of Guangzhou, the diaolou, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are fortified houses built on several floors. Their original construction testifies to a varied and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western architectural styles. The first diaolou were built in the early Qing dynasty as defensive towers, in response to local brigandage. But the peak of their construction dates from the 1920s and 1930s, during which time they were enhanced with foreign details brought by the Chinese diaspora.
There are nearly 2,000 Diaolou towers in the region, most of them abandoned, standing with closed shutters above villages, hamlets and sometimes alone on the edge of a field. Harmoniously integrated into the landscape, in the middle of a patchwork of rice fields and bodies of water, the Diaolou deserve a good day of visits, or even two if you are a photography enthusiast or if you want to explore the villages and the surrounding countryside in more depth.
Some villages, restored and enhanced, have a paid entrance and opening hours. They are distinguished by a greater number of Diaolou and by the architectural quality of its towers. Here are the main ones:
Zilicun (自力 村 Zìlìcūn).
A village with several beautiful diaolou in the middle of rice fields and lotus ponds. The towers are no longer inhabited but their interior has been restored with period furniture and personal objects. A few villagers still live there, in a kind of collective “hutong”, where you can have lunch (high prices). This is the village with the most Diaolou.
Liyuan (立 园 Lìyuán).
This is not an ancient village but an elegant garden that includes neoclassical and baroque buildings with ornamental Chinese roofs, and a colorfully decorated and beautifully restored Diaolou. The walk in the garden is relaxing and beautiful even if the whole may seem a little too “renovated” and artificial.
Majianglong (马 降龙).
In the middle of a bamboo forest, a large gray tower rises above a sleepy village, with rows of black brick houses, crisscrossed by paved paths and chicken coops. Few villagers and even fewer tourists walk here. It’s like discovering archaeological remains in the middle of the jungle.
Jinjiangli (锦江 里).
In this village is the largest Dialou, impressive in shape with bulbous cantilevered upper floors. Other diaolou are nearby, but often in a state of advanced disrepair. This village is more lively than Majianglong and you can feel some of the atmosphere of Chinese rural life here.
South Tower (南楼 Nánlóu).
A tower built in 1912 where seven Chikan soldiers fought and died in 1945 in the war against the Japanese.
Chikan (赤坎).
A town with many arcaded buildings built on the river bank in the mixed Western and Eastern style by overseas Chinese in the early 20th century. N.B. Since 2017 the old town of Chikan has been undergoing renovation, which is expected to last several years (still ongoing in 2020).
Sanmenli Village (三门里).
An old village, close to the 4-lane highway that crosses the suburbs of Kaiping, but which remains authentic and lively. It has the oldest diaolou in Kaiping, the 3-storey Yinglong Lou built in the Ming dynasty (16th century).
Kaiping Presentation Video
Accommodations in Kaiping
Kaiping City is a fairly standard modern Chinese city where most hotels are located. To date there is very little accommodation in the countryside near the Diaolou (hotels and restaurants are prohibited in the restored villages). If you want to take your time and spend a night there we recommend a well-located hotel 500 meters as the crow flies from the village of Zilicun, with a view of the village at sunrise (Quanling Hostel 3/4*) There are small lawns and lotus ponds behind the hotel. Good breakfast, with real coffee. Very comfortable rooms. Children’s pool on the roof. A good place to spend a relaxed weekend with the family.
