【Guangdong】Kaiping Diaolou

The Kaiping Diaolou complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Tangkou Town, comprises 1,833 fortress-towers blending Eastern and Western architecture. In Zili Village, Ming Shi Lou’s Byzantine pavilion overlooks rice fields, its Swiss clock still chiming precisely. Rui Shi Lou’s Roman colonnades frame Chaozhou gold-lacquered wood carvings, reflecting overseas Chinese nostalgia. The film location Li Gardenlinks six villas via canals, where Italian fountains meet French jasmine hedges. Chikan Old Town’s 600 arcade buildings stretch 3km, housing herbal tea shops and century-old "Guan’s Tofu Corner" simmering clam sauce with dace bones.

The immersive play "Diaolou Code" at Szeto Clan Library features Republican-era actors dramatizing family sagas, while visitors decode hidden defense mechanisms like Rui Shi Lou’s double-layered bullet holes. During Mid-Autumn Festival, molten iron splashes against the night sky in the Tanjiang River "Fire Dragon Parade," illuminating Baroque frescoes as returning diaspora steam taro cakes to saltwater folk songs. New in 2025, lighted boat tours recreate the 1930s port scene of "Little Wuhan".

📍Location: Tangkou Town, Kaiping City, Jiangmen

💰Ticket: ¥78 (Zili Village), ¥180 (4-site combo)

🚗Transport: 1.5hr drive from Guangzhou via Shenhai Highway; shuttle bus from Jiangmen Coach Station

🍲Must-try: Eel claypot rice (wild eels from Tanjiang River), Chikan tofu triangles with clam sauce