Unlike cities like Beijing or Nanjing, did not expect to see too historical stuff in Guangdong. Indeed, based on some research, there were... nevertheless, did not make a conscious effort to uncover them this time.
The highlight for this trip - as what tourist would do - is the UNESCO site - Kaiping and its cluster of Diaolou (碉楼群). It dated back to the recent history... approximately one to two centuries ago.
Diaolou and mansions - It's a hybrid - in terms of the design, which shows signs how the Chinese are good at adopting and adapting ideas from the west, even into its architecture. Of course, the size is what made it very impressive. The rich could not wait to show off their wealth. The plan of the village was a very well thought-through, from the facilities and amenities around. The contrast between the wealthy and poor was obvious.
It was a petty that Chikan has been renovated... I prefer to be immersed in its original state - the atmosphere would definitely be different; just like what I saw in Majianglong cluster. Nevertheless, the plus point was, the village was not crowded. Think there were more working personnel around than visitors to the town.
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Got the opportunity to walk into 2 Diaolou. The concepts and layout were similar. On the other hand, the concept of Chinese culture is definitely very prominent in some aspects, though there are some parts that I do not quite understand. The Diaolou that I visited, I suspect have a space constraint - hence, it's not really the mansion type... but to gain space by building more levels.
It's pretty interesting to note that the main entrance was a mini-kitchen area, which had 2 entrances, one leading to the master bedroom and one to the living room at the first floor. Again, from there, it leads to a kitchen. What I thought was very well thought-through with science in mind was having an 'air hole' build on the floors - to allow circulation of air across the various floors in the building. Each Diaolou was like a bungalow with 3 to 4 levels, I guess, the number of floors was a reflection on how wealthy the family was.
No doubt, on the top floor is the open area where family can spend time there. Something notable is, the highest level was also where the altar was set-up. It's about respect to the gods the family prayed to.
It's definitely worth visiting the Majianglong Diaolou cluster - when one could imagine and visualise how a multi-generation family would have lived there - it's about culture and history.
More photos and details in the pallet
