Kaiping Diaolou and Villages feature the Diaolou, multi-storeyed defensive village houses in Kaiping, which display a complex and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western structural and decorative forms. They reflect the significant role of émigré Kaiping people in the development of several countries in South Asia, Australasia and North America, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are four groups of Diaolou and twenty of the most symbolic ones are inscribed on the List. These buildings take three forms: communal towers built by several families and used as temporary refuge, residential towers built by individual rich families and used as fortified residences, and watch towers. Built of stone, pise , brick or concrete, these buildings represent a complex and confident fusion between Chinese and Western architectural styles. Retaining a harmonious relationship with the su
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
Kaiping Diaolou and Villages feature the Diaolou, multi-storeyed defensive village houses in Kaiping, which display a complex and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western structural and decorative forms. They reflect the significant role of émigré Kaiping people in the developmen
Collections featuring Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
More UNESCO sites in China
- Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains
- Ancient City of Ping Yao
- Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun
- Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City
- Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes
- Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital
- Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom
- Chengjiang Fossil Site