Longchuan Huangling Diaolou in Guangdong

The Huangling Diaolou, located in the northwest of Huangling Village, was built in the 30th year of the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1850). It covers an area of 420 square meters and has a building area of 2100 square meters. The layout is a standalone courtyard style, with the tower standing 14 meters tall, comprising five floors and 72 rooms. There are four wooden staircases, leading from the first floor to the top floor, with corridors inside connecting each room. The external walls are made by tamping a mixture of lime, sandstone, and glutinous rice paste to the top, with the wall base being 80 centimeters thick and the wall body maintaining a thickness of 60 centimeters all the way to the top (commonly known as lime zang walls). The internal wall bases are tamped with ash and sand, about 2 meters high, and the wall bodies are built with mud bricks, with tiles covering the roof. The main gate is made of stone and wood, facing from north to south, with three round holes above the center of the gate and on both sides (three different directions). The diaolou was built by Ye Dezhen, Ye Lianchang, Ye Xiantang, Ye Xipei, Ye Tianxiang, Ye Tianyan, Ye Chaoyuan, Ye Mingxi, Ye Yuanyi, Ye Jingyi, and other ten people who took the lead in using public compensation, rent grain funds to build the diaolou with a grey sand brick wood structure on a small hill with a good view in the western part of the village, commonly known as the cannon tower, named Shuiqian Tower. It is a key cultural relic of Longchuan County.