Kaiping Diaolou Watch Towers & Chikan Old Town in China 開平碉樓 & 赤坎古鎮

Diaolou, Kaiping
http://www.tanksboy.com/ws/
Proposed World Heritage Classification: Cultural Site
Location: Kaiping City, Guangdong Province

The diaolou or fortified watchtowers found in Kaiping, Guangdong Province, were first constructed in the early Qing dynasty (1644~1912). They reached their peak in the 1920s and 1930s when there were estimated to be more than three thousand of these structures and according to a recent survey carried out by the Kaiping City Government, there are over 1800 diaolou still standing. In 2001 the State Council declared the Kaiping Diaolou a Protected Cultural Relic in view of their special significance in China's vernaculararchitecture.

The Diaolou were fortress-like buildings constructed with a dual function in mind: for housing and as a defensive structure to provide protection against forays by bandits. The multi-storey towers had thick walls with slits for surveillance and their solid structure meant that they could withstand both enemy attacks and inclement weather such as flooding.

Since the fourteenth century, Kaiping has traditionally been a region of major emigration abroad, and a melting pot of ideas and trends brought back by overseas Chinese made good. This is also reflected in the plethora of influences seen in the architectural styles of the watchtowers, with the interesting feature that western details are produced with local bricks and materials.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiping

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Travel & Events

Tags:

• hoi
• ping
• Diaolou
• Kaiping
• qing
• fortress-like
• buildings
• china