In the Footsteps of Overseas Chinese — The Diaolou's of Kaiping

On the way to the Zili village, there were views of many Diaolou’s, and the scenes were exceedingly pleasing. The structures inside the Zili village serve as museums with introduction and illustration of the owner’s stories and lifestyle.

The Zili Village showcases the largest, most concentrated clusters of Diaolou’s in Kaiping. There are 15 Diaolou’s in Zili Village, the largest of Diaolou cluster in any given village in Kaiping. Therefore, if you have limited time, certainly visit the Zili Village. Allow for at least 1.5 to 2 hours in Zili Village if you would like to climb these towers and take a thorough look at the museum exhibitions.

As a vernacular architectural form, the Diaolou’s have existed since the Ming dynasty. The Chinese eclectic style is broad and accommodating in its practical expression. For example, the Diaolou’s feature a wide array of western architectural styles, including the renaissance, byzantine, gothic and more. The general features that define the Diaolou’s are their multistory tower-like structures incorporating western architectural elements, such as rooftop pavilions, elaborate window adornment, arcades, arches, balconies, and roman columns etc.

In Kaiping, the popularlity of the Diaolou’s reached its height in the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of the buildings in the Zili Village were built in the 1920s to 1930s. The overseas Chinese returnees built these structures to protect and provide for their families in China.

Needless to say, the construction of western style materials also required the technology of making these western features and incorporating them into the structures. Therefore the Diaolou’s also stand for the technology transfer that these overseas Chinese returnees have enabled, besides the funds, investment and the ideas that were introduced to the architecture industry of China.

#kaiping #southchina #guangdong #jiangmen #diaolou #electicarchitecture #history #overseaschinese
#历史古迹#世界遗产

Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Feb 3, 2025