III. Architectural Layout and Scenic Area Structure: Detailed Explanation of the Four Core Villages
The World Heritage 'Kaiping Diaolou and Villages' consists of four independent yet interrelated areas, each showcasing the perfect symbiosis of diaolou, villages, and the natural environment.
1. Sanmenli Village, Chikan Town: Yinglong Tower and Ming Dynasty Legacy
Sanmenli is the oldest diaolou village in Kaiping, with the core building being Yinglong Tower. Built during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1522-1566), it faces south, is about 11.4 meters high, three bays wide, and two bays deep, with three stories. The walls are made of Ming-era red clay rammed earth, 0.93 meters thick, with no windows on the ground floor, only narrow shooting holes. The roof is a traditional hard mountain style covered with gray tiles. Yinglong Tower is an early example of the transition from 'defensive gun towers' to 'residential diaolou,' and its simple form contrasts sharply with the later ornate diaolou. The village layout follows the traditional Lingnan comb-style layout, with neat lanes, surrounded by ponds and bamboo groves, reflecting the feng shui concept of 'pond in front, mountain behind.'
2. Zili Village and Fang's Light Tower, Tangkou Town: The Peak of Diaolou Clusters
Zili Village is the most concentrated and exquisite representative of Kaiping diaolou. There are 15 diaolou in the village, with Mingshi Tower, Yesheng Residence, and Guansheng Residence being the most famous. These diaolou were mostly built in the 1920s and 1930s, 4-6 stories high, with footprints ranging from 80 to 150 square meters. Mingshi Tower is about 18 meters high, with a Roman dome pavilion on the top floor, Western columns and Chinese glazed railings at the four corners, and the interior retains many pieces of furniture brought back by overseas Chinese, such as phonographs, iron beds, and colored glass screens. The layout of Zili Village centers on the diaolou, with residential houses distributed around them, forming a pattern of 'stars surrounding the moon.' The pond and threshing ground at the village entrance, along with the diaolou cluster, form a harmonious pastoral picture.
Fang's Light Tower is located in Tangkou Town near Zili Village. It is an independent watchtower (alert tower), built in 1920. It is about 15 meters high, square in plan, with a lookout platform and searchlight on the top floor, and shooting holes all over the walls. Its architectural style is a blend of Chinese and Western: the lower part is made of Chinese blue brick walls, and the upper part features a Western dome and arched windows. Fang's Light Tower is the best-preserved and most typical watchtower in Kaiping, serving as a living specimen for studying modern rural defense systems.
3. Majianglong Village, Baihe Town: A Diaolou Hidden Realm Amidst Bamboo Groves
Majianglong Village consists of seven natural villages, including Yong'an, Nan'an, and Qinglin, backed by Baizu Mountain and facing the Tanjiang River. The village is densely covered with bamboo groves and crisscrossed by streams. There are 13 existing diaolou, with Tianlu Tower, Bao'an Tower, and Hui'an Tower well-preserved. The diaolou in Majianglong were mostly built in the early 20th century, 4-5 stories high, with walls made of a mixed structure of blue bricks and reinforced concrete. Their greatest feature is the deep integration of architecture and the natural environment—the diaolou are hidden among dense bamboo and banana groves, making them almost invisible from a distance, reflecting the overseas Chinese wisdom of 'hiding wealth without revealing it.' Tianlu Tower is about 16 meters high, with a Western arched corridor and Chinese glazed tile roof on the top floor, and the internal staircase uses a Western cast iron spiral staircase, a model of Sino-Western craftsmanship.
4. Jinjiangli Village, Xiangang Town: Ruishi Tower and the First Tower of Kaiping
Jinjiangli Village is relatively small but boasts the tallest and most ornate diaolou in Kaiping, Ruishi Tower. Built in 1923, it is about 28.37 meters high with 9 stories, making it the tallest existing diaolou in Kaiping. Its architectural style is extremely elaborate: the lower part is a Chinese blue brick wall, the second to fifth floors feature Western colonnades and arched windows, and above the sixth floor are Roman domes, Islamic pointed arch windows, and Baroque gables, with a Western pavilion and Chinese glazed railings on the top floor. From bottom to top, Chinese and Western elements are layered without any sense of incongruity. The builder of Ruishi Tower, Huang Bixiu (courtesy name Ruishi), was an overseas Chinese in the United States. He hired a Hong Kong architect to design it, and all building materials (including cement, steel bars, and colored glass) were imported from overseas, costing about 30,000 Hong Kong dollars, an astronomical sum at the time. Ruishi Tower is not only an architectural masterpiece but also the ultimate expression of overseas Chinese wealth and status.
