Diaolou, fortified multi-storey tower built mainly for protection against bandits - Kaiping County.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Zili

Top choice in Guangdong


Zili, 11km west of Kaiping, has the largest collection of diāolóu historic watchtowers in the area, though only a few of the 15 are open to the public. The most stunning is Míngshí Lóu (铭石楼), which has a veranda with Ionic columns and a hexagonal pavilion on its roof. It appeared in the film Let the Bullets Fly. Yúnhuàn Lóu (云幻楼) has four towers known as ‘swallow nests’, each with embrasures, cobblestones and a water cannon.

Next to the village is Fang Clan’s Dēng Lóu (方氏灯楼), aka Light Tower, named because of its powerful searchlight.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Guangdong attractions

1. Li Garden

1.65 MILES

About 15 minutes by taxi west from Kaiping in Tangkou town (塘口镇, Tángkǒu zhèn), Li Garden has a fortified mansion built in 1936 by a wealthy Chinese…

2. Chikan

3.45 MILES

The charming old town of Chikan, 10km southwest of Kaiping, has streets of shophouses with arcades on the ground floor flanking the Tanjiang River (潭江)…

3. Nánxìng Xié Lóu

6.48 MILES

In Nanxing village, Nánxìng Xié Lóu was built in 1903 and tilts severely to one side, with its central axis over 2m off-centre.

4. Fēngcǎi Hall

6.98 MILES

Not a typical ancestral hall, this compound built in 1906 retains an exquisite southern Chinese architectural style, but with Western elements…

5. Ruìshí Lóu

8.46 MILES

One of the most marvellous of the towers around Kaiping is located behind Jǐnjiānglǐ Historic Village, 20km south of Kaiping. Built in 1923, the privately…

6. Jinjiangi Historic Village

8.5 MILES

The highlights in this village, 20km southwest of Kaiping, are the privately run Ruìshí Lóu and Shēngfēng Lóu (升峰楼). The former (c 1923) is Kaiping’s…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "china/guangdong/kaiping/attractions/zili/a/poi-sig/1240909/355941",
      "destination": "Guangdong",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "China",
      "region": "Guangdong",
      "position": "superzone"
    }