The Moving Story of Martyrdom at Nan Lou

The theme of security and protection has been prominently featured in the diaolou’s that I have visited in Kaiping. But Nan Lou is perhaps the only diaolou that came with an official history in the defense of the nation.


From afar, the Nan Lou stands tall and proud as a testament of war history in a dedicated garden space. While its appearance does not stand out from the rest of the diaolou’s I have seen, it breathes history in a wholly different manner, as shown in the permanent scars on its exteriors. These are the bullet holes inflicted on the building by the invading Japanese troops of World War II. The moving heroism of the Situ brothers that defended this tower is what makes the Nan Lou a must-see diaolou in Kaiping.


Like so many of the diaolou’s in Kaiping, Nan Lou was meant to guard against bandits. Built in 1912, Nan Lou stood at a location of critical strategic value, ashore the Tanjiang River and the neighboring road network into Chikan. The Situs built this 7-story reinforced concrete tower. Nan Lou was fortified. On each floor there were gunholes, observation decks, machine guns and searchlights.



Situ Xu, leading six other members of the Kaiping Situ Self-Defense Forces, raged a staunch resistance here in Nan Lou against the onslaught of the Japanese into Chikan. Situ Xu was an overseas Chinese himself. He lived in Nanyang (Southeast Asia) for a long time, and returned to his homeland specifically intending to organize the resistance movement against Japanese invasion. He set up the Kaiping Situ Self-Defense Forces, who managed to stall Japanese advances in this area by winning a few battles in 1944 and 1945.

On July 17, 1945, the Japanese forces had closed in on Chikan. They surrounded this area with additional troops arriving on the Tanjiang River. They ambushed the Nan Lou at night. The team led by Situ Xu vowed to fight to their deaths.




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Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Mar 14, 2025