I have seen a documentary introducing the Kaiping Diaolou on TV long time ago, and I've been wanting to take a look. On May 2nd, our whole family including our daughter, son-in-law and little grandson drove to Kaiping City in Guangdong Province for a trip, especially to visit the Diaolou. We set off from Zhuhai, took the Zhuhai Avenue, crossed the sea bridge and entered the Jiangzhu Expressway, then through the Western Coastal Expressway and connected to the Guangzhu Expressway, finally went up to Kaiyang Expressway and got off at Tangkou exit. After turning left, we drove for several kilometers and arrived. The total distance was about more than 150 kilometers. The Kaiping Diaolou and Villages Scenic Area includes Zili Village Diaolou and Village, Majiulong Diaolou Group and Village, Chikan Film City. The full package ticket is 190 yuan, but we chose the Majiulong Diaolou Group and Village. The recommended ticket price for Guangdong Science Center during National Day holiday is fifty yuan, with half-price discount for seniors over sixty years old, and free tickets for those over seventy.
Standing at the entrance of the village, you can see a large area of lush bamboo forest, with only the tops of a few diaolou towering above the bamboo. That's probably where we're going to explore today. Once we enter the village, we are surrounded by dense bamboo forests. The small road leading to the village twists and turns, with bamboo as thick as bowls growing three or four stories high on both sides. Each bamboo stands tall pointing to the sky, with dense and green bamboo leaves shading us from the sun. Walking on the quiet bamboo path, all you hear is the chirping of birds and the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the bamboo leaves. At this moment, I am far away from the noise of the city, enjoying rare tranquility. The heart that has been tormented by noise and chaos for so long and feeling restless, finally finds a bit of peace. On the winding bamboo path, all you see is bamboo, and you don't know where the diaolou is. Only the road signs guide you forward.
The diaolou are hidden in an endless sea of bamboo. When you get close, you can only see a corner of the diaolou. Due to the small open space in front of the diaolou, it's impossible to view them from a distance. Generally, the diaolou are six or seven stories high. Standing under the building and looking up, you can't clearly see the entire structure. There are thirteen diaolou in the village, but only a few are open to tourists. We visited one of them called Junlu. It's a five-story European-style concrete building. The exterior walls of the building are brick gray with almost no decoration, except for the neatly arranged small windows which particularly catch attention. Outside each window, there are protective panels made of thick steel plates. The reason it's considered a European-style building is reflected in the top of the tower. Each corner or what we call the parapet wall is built with Roman columns or church bell towers, or ancient Roman-style pediments, American castle-style, and European villa-style designs. The indoor area is about the size of three rooms. On the first floor, there's a hall to the left which serves as the kitchen and sink, with two rooms used as the kitchen and storage room. To the right of the hall, there's a square skylight on the ceiling, and there's a skylight at the same position on each floor. You can see straight up to the top floor skylight from the first floor. Each skylight has a sturdy iron grille welded with thick steel bars and can be locked. This can prevent bandits, and also allow for the transmission of items and food. There are solid steel security doors at each staircase entrance, making it difficult for bandits to break in. This building has four floors, with eight rooms on each floor above the second floor. These rooms include bedrooms, living rooms, guest rooms, storage rooms, and even kitchens in case the food, grain, and water stored inside can last for a long time. The interior furnishings reflect a typical South Yue style, but not overly extravagant. The rooftop is spacious with a good view, making it an excellent place for enemy observation. Notably, every room on each floor has shooting holes at various angles and positions, indicating the owner's meticulous planning.
There are also a few communal diaolou in the village, which were funded by the villagers and used to hide from bandits. The most famous one is Tianlu Tower, built in 1925, which was constructed with funds from 29 households in the village and stands seven stories high at 21 meters. Since it's not open to the public, we couldn't go inside.
Another feature of the village is the villagers' residential area. The villagers' houses are tightly connected together. Looking down from above, all the roofs are connected, and each house faces outward through a very narrow passage. This gives me the impression of an ancient military formation known as the "iron bucket array," considering the anti-bandit purpose, showing the wisdom of the villagers.
In 2007, the Diaolou and villages of Kaiping City successfully applied for World Heritage status and were officially listed on the World Heritage List. At its peak, Kaiping had more than 3,000 diaolou, and currently, there are 1,833 remaining. Kaiping City is well-known as a hometown of overseas Chinese and also as a hometown of architectural art, and a modern architectural museum.
Relevant information about the Diaolou and villages of Kaiping:
The rise of Kaiping Diaolou is closely related to the geographical environment of Kaiping and the social order of the past. Kaiping has low-lying terrain and a dense network of rivers. In the past, due to poor water conservancy maintenance, it often suffered from floods caused by typhoons and heavy rains. Moreover, the jurisdiction of the area was originally the remote border intersection of XinHui, TaiShan, EnPing, and XinXing counties, often referred to as "the land of four regardless." The social order was relatively chaotic. Therefore, since the early Qing Dynasty, local residents began to build diaolou for flood prevention and protection against bandits. After the Opium War, the rule of the Qing government deteriorated further, and people in Kaiping were forced to seek livelihoods overseas due to economic pressures. Through one or even several generations of hard struggle, they gradually accumulated some wealth. By the Republic of China era, wars became more frequent, and banditry was rampant. Kaiping, with its integration of mountains and water and convenient water and land transportation, along with the relatively comfortable lives of repatriates and their families, became a hotspot for bandit activities. Prominent bandit groups within the county included Zhang Shao, Zhu Bing, Hu Nan, Hou Wan, Tan Qin, Wu Jinfa, Zhang Zhan, and Huang Bao, who carried out numerous robberies and committed countless atrocities. According to rough estimates, between 1912 and 1930, there were approximately 71 major bandit attacks in Kaiping, resulting in over a hundred deaths, the theft of more than 210 oxen, and countless other property losses. The county seat of Cangcheng was attacked three times, and even the county magistrate Zhu Jianzhang was abducted. Even slight disturbances would cause people to gather their valuables and flee, often causing sleepless nights. Overseas Chinese returning home often dared not stay overnight in their own homes, instead opting to stay in towns or relatives' homes, frequently changing accommodation locations; otherwise, they risked losing everything. From the first year of the Republic of China (1912) to the fifteenth year (1926), schools were raided eight times, and over a hundred teachers and students were abducted. Among these incidents, in December of the eleventh year of the Republic (1922), when a group of bandits attempted to raid the Kaiping Middle School in Chikan, they were illuminated by the searchlight of the Yingcun Diaolou, and timely interception by local militias resulted in the rescue of the principal and seventeen students. This event shocked the entire county, and overseas Chinese abroad heard the news with great joy, realizing the effectiveness of diaolou in preventing banditry. Consequently, they practiced frugality abroad, pooled funds, and sent money back home to build diaolou. Later, some overseas Chinese, for the safety of their families and to protect their property, built various types of diaolou-style buildings when constructing new houses upon returning home. Thus, the widespread construction of diaolou became a prominent feature of the overseas Chinese hometown of Kaiping, reaching a peak of over 3,000 structures, with currently 1,833 remaining.
The Kaiping Diaolou uniquely embodies the extensive exchange of modern Sino-Western cultures in rural China; it integrates traditional Chinese rural architectural culture with Western architectural culture, becoming a unique architectural art form. It serves as a commemorative monument to Chinese overseas culture and a powerful historical witness to the cultural interaction, fusion, and promotion of common development among different ethnic groups during that historical period in China. It also prominently reflects the process of Chinese overseas Chinese and the masses actively accepting Western culture. Simultaneously, the rich and varied architectural styles of Kaiping Diaolou encapsulate the architectural achievements of many countries and regions throughout different periods of Western architectural history, forming a unique architectural art form that greatly enriches the content of world rural architectural history and changes the local human and natural landscape. Within Kaiping City, diaolou are scattered like stars in a chessboard pattern, visible everywhere in towns and villages. Some villages have more than ten diaolou, while others have two or three. Stretching dozens of kilometers continuously from Shuikou to BaiHe, and from Tangkou to YanGang and ChiShui, it presents a magnificent sight. These diaolou are witnesses to the political, economic, and cultural development of Kaiping. They not only reflect the history of the hardworking overseas Chinese people striving to protect their homeland but also serve as a living modern architectural museum and a distinctive artistic gallery. One could say that the characteristics of Kaiping as a hometown of overseas Chinese, architecture, and art are vividly embodied in the diaolou. Protecting and exploring diaolou resources holds significant positive meaning for studying overseas Chinese history and architectural art, developing tourism resources, and conducting collective, patriotic, and socialist education.
Kaiping...