Kaiping's
Kaiping's best places to visit - Diaolou
Today I came to Kaiping. The weather was cool, which was perfect for outdoor activities. So I visited one of the world cultural heritage sites in Kaiping - Diaolou.
Kaiping Diaolou and Villages (English: Kaiping Diaolou and Villages, French: Diaolou et villages de Kaiping) is famous for its Diaolou and related villages. It is located in the countryside of Kaiping City, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. There are 1,833 existing Diaolou. Kaiping Diaolou and Villages were rated as one of the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO at the World Heritage Committee meeting held in Christchurch, New Zealand on June 28, 2007. Among them, Yinglong Tower (located in Sanmenli Village, Chikan Town), Zili Village and Fang's Lantern Tower in Tangkou Town, Jinjiangli Village in Xingang Town and Majianglong Village Group in Baili Town are the four nominated sites for Kaiping Diaolou and Villages to be listed as World Heritage.
Brick buildings are mainly distributed in hilly and plain areas. There are three types of bricks used: one is the red brick fired by traditional methods in the Ming Dynasty, the second is the blue brick fired locally during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, and the third is the modern red brick. Diaolou built with red bricks fired using early traditional methods are now rare in Kaiping. The early part of Yinglong Tower is an extremely precious relic. There are three types of blue brick towers: mud inside and blue brick outside, cement inside and blue brick outside, and blue brick masonry. A small number of towers are built with modern red bricks, with a layer of cement applied on the outside. There are currently nearly 249 brick buildings in Kaiping, accounting for 13.6% of the total number of watchtowers.
Concrete buildings are mainly distributed in plain and hilly areas. They are also called "concrete buildings" or "stone-rice buildings". Most of them were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They were designed and built by overseas Chinese who absorbed the different characteristics of buildings from all over the world. Their shapes best reflect the architectural features of the combination of Chinese and Western styles. The entire tower is built with cement (generally imported from Britain, called "red mud" at the time), sand, gravel and steel, and is extremely sturdy and durable. Since the building materials at that time were imported from abroad and the cost was relatively high, in order to save materials, the inner floors of some blockhouses were made of wooden pavilions. There are currently 1,474 existing concrete buildings in Kaiping, which are the largest number among Kaiping’s watchtowers, accounting for 80.4%.
According to their functions, Kaiping Diaolou can be divided into three types: public towers, residential towers, and watchtowers:
The buildings were built behind the village with funds raised by the whole village or several households. Each household was allocated a room for temporary shelter from bandits or floods. Its shape is closed and simple, with little external decoration and strong defensiveness. Among the three types of Diaolou, Zhonglou appeared the earliest, and there are 473 existing ones, accounting for about 26% of Kaiping Diaolou.
Most of the residential buildings were built behind the villages and were solely funded by wealthy families. They well combined the two functions of the towers: defense and residence. They were tall, with relatively open spaces, complete living facilities, and convenient living. The shapes of residential buildings are quite diverse. They are beautiful and have strong external decorative features. On the basis of meeting the defensive function, they pursue the formal beauty of the building and often become the symbol of the village. The largest number of residential buildings, with 1,149 existing, accounting for about 62% of Kaiping's diaolou.
Watchtowers are mainly built at the entrance of the village or on hills or river banks outside the village. They are tall and have a wide field of vision. They are often equipped with searchlights and alarms, which make it easy to detect banditry in advance and warn the villages. They are a product of the joint defense needs of surrounding villages. Watchtowers appeared the latest, and there are 221 of them still in existence, accounting for about 12% of Kaiping's watchtowers.
#Holiday good places #Autumn good places #Kaiping #Diaolou