At its peak, Kaiping Diaolou reached more than 3,000, with 1833 existing. On June 28th, 2007, "Kaiping Diaolou and Village" was successfully declared as a world cultural heritage, and was officially listed in the World Heritage List at the 3rd1session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, becoming the 35th world cultural heritage in China and the first in Guangdong Province, and the only one in Guangdong Province so far.
Why doesn't Kaiping Diaolou stand? The direct reason is to fight against bandits and defend their homes. It can be said that every watchtower may be accompanied by an earth-shattering and touching story. During the period from 19 12 to 1930, there were 7 1 robberies in Kaiping, killing more than 100 people, capturing more than 2 10 cows and plundering them. If there were no towers like this, it would be more difficult for Kaiping villagers and their relatives to resist the looting from time to time by bandits.
At present, the most well-preserved and luxurious watchtower in Kaiping is Shiming Tower in Gigi Lai Village, Tangkou Town. There are 15 watchtowers with different styles and exquisite shapes in Gigi Lai village, most of which were built by local overseas Chinese to protect their relatives in their hometown in the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, bandits were rampant and floods were frequent, and these watchtowers, which were able to live and keep, became powerful guardians of local villagers. Now the natural environment is beautiful, and ponds, lotus ponds, rice fields and bamboo forests are scattered among them, which are in harmony with the scattered towers.
When you look up at the "Great Wall" that has stood for years, you will be amazed at the exquisite architecture of Shiming. Built in 1925, a six-story building with a spectacular appearance. The interior is very luxurious in the east, with a spacious colonnade on the front, eight Austrian columns, deformed Roman railings around the platform, baroque mountain flowers in the middle of the front, and a plaque of Shi Ming Building on the top. The furniture and daily necessities in Shiming Building are complete, rich and interesting. Although it is inevitable that people will feel lost when they leave the building, the watchtower is surrounded by fertile land and Wan Li, and there are bursts of fragrant rice, which is quite a paradise.
When you walk lightly in the village where birds are singing and flowers are fragrant, you will be intoxicated by the gift of nature, and you will be moved involuntarily by the great labor of the people in the hometown of overseas Chinese. Especially when you stroll in Majianglong Village, which is known as "the most beautiful village in the world", the green bamboo forests stand side by side and are full of vitality, which will definitely make you linger.
Diaolou culture is profound and rich in connotation. The feelings of defending the country and defending the country, the magnanimous and tolerant mind, the spirit of bold innovation and the characteristics of harmony between man and nature embodied in the watchtowers and villages have stood proudly in the past years, stepped forward in today's trend and extended in the future history. "Kaiping Diaolou and Village" will also "fly higher and higher" with the help of the power of "bullets"
The second part: Kaiping Diaolou guide words source:
Hello everyone! I am very happy to be your tour guide today. Now I'd like to introduce Kaiping Diaolou to you.
Kaiping Diaolou has arrived. Please take all your luggage and get off. Please see: Kaiping Diaolou is a special type of local building in China. It is a multi-storey tower building integrating defense, residence and Chinese and western architectural arts. On June 28th, 2007, the project of "Kaiping Diaolou and Ancient Villages" applying for World Heritage was approved at New Zealand 3 1 World Heritage Conference. This is also the first world cultural heritage project in Guangdong.
Why build Kaiping Bunker Building? It was a time when bandits were rampant. In order to prevent thieves, Kaiping villagers and overseas Chinese raised funds to build a watchtower in the village.
There are many kinds of watchtowers in Kaiping, which can be divided into stone buildings, rammed earth buildings, brick buildings and concrete buildings according to building materials. According to the use function, it can be divided into three types: multi-storey building, living building and changing building.
Kaiping Diaolou is very distinctive.
Unique shape, combination of Chinese and western. The upper shape of Kaiping Diaolou is the most expressive. People make a big fuss about the dome, mountain flowers, columns and other architectural elements in foreign buildings, forming a thousand-layer architectural style.
It has a strong defense capability. Kaiping Diaolou is a multi-storey building, much higher than ordinary houses, which is convenient for command and defense. The wall of the watchtower is thicker and stronger than ordinary houses, and it is not afraid of bandits digging the wall or artillery attacks; The windows of the watchtower are smaller than those of the residential buildings. They all have iron bars and window sashes, and the outside are iron doors and windows. On the four corners of the upper part of the watchtower, there are generally fully enclosed or semi-enclosed turrets that protrude from the eaves. Corner fort has forward and downward shooting holes, which can counter the enemy who enters the village from the commanding heights; At the same time, there are shooting holes in the tower wall, which increases the attack points of residents in the building.
Kaiping Diaolou is really a spectacular cultural landscape and world cultural heritage in Kaiping countryside.
The third part: the beauty of diaolou diet
Kaiping is called "the first hometown of overseas Chinese". If you come here, you must see the old watchtower. Kaiping Diaolou is not only beautiful in architecture, but also beautiful in food.
Although you can't eat the delicious food of big hotels here, you can eat a lot of natural delicious food. It can make people experience the feeling of being a countryman and breathe fresh air that can't be smelled in the city.
Here, many people will come to see it every day, and after watching the watchtower, they will also taste farm dishes. The specialty here is roast magang goose with potatoes. Magang goose is a specialty of Kaiping, and then stewed with potatoes produced in Kaiping. It has a special taste and is an out-and-out farm dish; There is rabbit meat in the soup, fresh, cool and sweet. Many places often stir-fry, roast and stew, but here it is stewed with Chinese herbal medicine, which has a unique flavor and high nutritional value. Steamed chicken is also a special dish, which sounds nothing special. But it's made of chickens that have been raised for 150 days. It is an authentic ground chicken, which has been raised for a long time. Chicken is delicious and firm. It is necessary for the guests here. There is also firewood braised rice, but this is the most characteristic of this farm. Regardless of its taste, just looking at the cooking place will make you feel interested and your index finger move.
In addition to these special farm dishes. There are ten beauty spots in Diaolou, the first one is the best, but it is nothing more than jiaozi, the green white rabbit. Put some white rabbits jiaozi on the green "grass", which is lifelike, smooth and delicious. The second best is the honey powder set meal, which is golden in color, crisp and fragrant, soft outside and firm inside, making people want to eat. The third best is wild mugwort, which is made by Kaiping Aiteng juice and rice flour. Not greasy, with authentic Kaiping flavor. There is also a gold medal durian crisp, which fell into the trap with the fruit king durian. It has the characteristics of durian fragrance and a little heart-shaped, fragrant in four miles, and the index finger moves greatly. Jin Siyan Bird's Nest, Crystal Pumpkin Fruit, Winter Melon Soup Pills, Thousand-silk Papaya Crisp and Double-flavor Wazi Cake are all special delicacies of Diaolou.
Here, you can eat delicious farm dishes, truly environmentally friendly and healthy organic vegetables, and delicious snacks with different characteristics. The beauty of diaolou food will make you memorable.
Article 4: Kaiping Diaolou
Today, we drove to Gigi Lai Village in Kaiping, where there are many distinctive ancient buildings called Diaolou. There are many furniture and basic necessities used by ancient people. Through these, we can gradually understand how the local people lived long ago. Dad told me that there is a movie in this village that makes bullets fly. I have never seen it. The watchtowers in this village are all tall and beautiful. Each building is above six floors, and the stairs are very narrow and steep. I should be very careful when climbing the mountain, or I will fall down accidentally. I stood on the roof and looked around with a telescope. Surrounded by buildings and farmland, I seldom see people. It is said that many towers have been abandoned. What impressed me the most were two crooked buildings, which were close to each other and seemed to be warming each other. I think it's strange that their crooked angle doesn't collapse!
Chapter 5: Visiting Kaiping Diaolou
In my endless mind, there is a colorful music box, but there is a note deeply imprinted in my memory, that is, visiting Kaiping Diaolou.
In sunny summer, I came to visit the charming Kaiping Diaolou with great interest. The design of the watchtower is unique, combining Chinese and western. The watchtower is very vast. There is a kitchen on each floor, and each watchtower is never less than two floors. Every door is beautifully designed, it is an iron gate, and every door has dozens of bumps. From this point, the beauty and extravagance of the watchtower can be reflected. The highest height of each watchtower is the sixth floor, and the seventh floor is the rooftop. Most of the rooftops are hexagonal and quadrangular, and there are stones of different sizes on the rooftops, which are used to throw and attack the enemy. There is a prominent defensive building called "Bird's Nest". Bird's nest has various shapes. At that time, not only Kaiping, Canadian Village, Chikan Ancient Fill and Liyinglong Building in Gigi Lai Village were places where watchtowers gathered. The watchtowers are all over the country, and naturally a sentence called "no village, no watchtower" has formed. The interior decoration of the watchtower is very beautiful.
At present, my deepest building is Fangshi Lantern Building, which is located on the hillside north of Tangkou Town, Kaiping City. Its original name was "Gu Xi Lou", and later generations changed it to Fang Shi Deng Lou. This building has five floors, reinforced concrete structure. The fourth floor is the open gallery of the pottery platform, and the fifth floor is the pavilion of the western dome. Inside the building, there is a western warning light on duty. The gun room is a typical bunker. Later, instead of setting up a generator on the first floor, searchlights were installed on the roof, all imported from Germany. If bandits come to rob, the guards will illuminate the bandits with searchlights and then inform the villagers to take countermeasures. Robbers never dare to move around here again. Fang's lamp room is also playing well.
The above is my introduction to Kaiping Diaolou, followed by Liyuan, which is Mr. Xie Weili's contribution to the country. The Diaolou built back to the motherland is Liyuan, which is very vast. At that time, the protective net was very large and was invaded by the Japanese army, but there was no loss of property, because the buildings were very dense at that time, and the pear garden had a basement, which was to put the property in the basement. Let me tell the story of Mr. Xie Weili's wife. The first wife helped Mr. Xie Weili have several children, six of whom were boys. Some people suspect that she has been drinking water from the well. People call this well "Shengzai Well". Xie Weili planted a tree next to the pear garden, which was very enlightening. As a result, he soon died of cancer. Mr. and Mrs. Xie Weili helped Mr. Xie Weili give birth to a child, and she died in childbirth. Mr. Xie Weili married another wife. She has everything, from piano to chess to books and paintings. Xie Weili married another concubine, and she remarried someone else. The third wife died in 2003, and then the diaolou was returned to the country.
In fact, there is another story about the pear garden. Mr. Xie Weili died from his first wife, and his business was not very smooth, so he hired a feng shui master to test the feng shui here. The Feng Shui master said that this mountain is called Tiger Mountain, facing you, so I want to buy some children to shake the tiger. Xie Weili bought two lions from America. Feng Shui master also said that the lion's mouth was bleeding, but the material was not good. Feng shui master also said to buy it.
The watchtower in Kaiping is very special! Come and play in Kaiping and Liyuan when you are free! They will certainly welcome you!
Article 6: Kaiping Diaolou
"Kaiping Diaolou is going to declare the world cultural heritage!" Hearing the good news, I couldn't help cheering. According to the teacher, this is the only place in China that applied for the World Cultural Heritage in 2007. As a Wuyi person, I am extremely proud of it.
Today, as a small tour guide, I will introduce you to a fascinating place-Kaiping Diaolou, and unveil its mysterious veil for you.
Gigi Lai Village is one of the four nominated sites for Kaiping Diaolou and Village to declare World Cultural Heritage. The natural environment in the village is beautiful, and ponds and lotus ponds are scattered among them, which are in harmony with many watchtowers and are beautiful.
There are 15 watchtowers with different styles and exquisite shapes in Gigi Lai Village, such as Shiming Building, Leisure Villa and Juan Building, which were built by local overseas Chinese to protect the lives and property of their loved ones, and are mainly used for preventing bandits, waterproofing and living. The complete furniture and daily necessities are still preserved in the diaolou, which is the historical witness of overseas Chinese culture at that time. In the watchtower, all the things are still the same as before. Here, you will find yourself so close to history.
When we entered the Shi Ming Building, what caught our attention was four big portraits hanging on the front of the hall, which were pictures of the landlord and his three wives. There are 9 screens in the hatchback of the hall, inlaid with dark blue glass. The glass is covered with calligraphy and painting written by famous artists, and the whole hall is filled with thick books. The daily necessities in the building are still well preserved, and it seems that years have never left traces on it.
Strolling through the countryside, buildings crisscross and wild flowers are everywhere. The idyllic scenery around the watchtower is fantastic poetry.
When you leave the beautiful and lovely place of Kaiping, you may have too many regrets, but we believe that Kaiping Diaolou will unveil her mysterious veil to the world with the spring breeze of applying for world cultural heritage, and present it to us with the most beautiful face!