Diaolou

The diaolou (in Chinese zh 碉樓) are strengthened towers several stages, generally made Béton reinforced. One especially finds them with Kaiping, in Guangdong, but also with Enping, Taishan and Xinhui.

The first diaolou were built at the beginning of the Dynastie Qing, the apogee of their construction being the years 1920 and 1930, where there was more than three thousand. Today, it remains about it: 1833 in Kaiping and approximately 500 in Taishan.

Though they were useful especially like protection against the plunderers and robbers, some were used as dwellings.

Among most famous, one finds Ruishi diaolou (behind the village of Jinjiangli, Xianggang), built in 1921 and highest of all, on nine floors, then Fangshi Denglou , built in 1920 and high of five stages with a projector at the top, like a Phare, and Bianchouzhu Lou ( the tower which leans ), built in 1903 in the village of Nanxing beside a pond and high of seven stages.

Kaiping being a sector of emigration towards the foreigner, much of members of the Chinese Diaspora has their roots here; they influenced the architecture of the area, of which diaolou, by adding foreign details.

The diaolou of Kaiping and their surroundings are on the Liste of the world heritage of UNESCO since 2007.

References

External bond

diaolous of Kaiping (Center of French Studies on contemporary China)

Zh-yue: 開平碉樓

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