Location: Kaiping
Top Things to do in Kaiping
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Top 10 Sights & Landmarks in Kaiping, Guangdong
Kaiping (開平), formerly romanized in Cantonese as Hoiping, is a county-level city in Guangdong Province, China. It is located west of the Pearl River Delta and administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Jiangmen. The surrounding area, especially Sze Yup (Cantonese romanization: 四邑), is the ancestral homeland of many overseas Chinese, particularly in the United States. Kaiping has a population of 699,242 as of 2010 and an area of 1,659 square kilometres (641 sq mi). The locals speak a variant of the Toishan (Hoisan) dialect.
Restaurants in Kaiping
1. Jinjiangli Village
2. Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 145 reviews
Known locally as the Kaiping Diaolou, these unique, multi-story watchtowers were used as fortifications in the 17th century. Now a world UNESCO Heritage site, they are some of the most fascinating historical and architectural artifacts in China.
Reviewed By AZCasualTraveler - Mesa, United States
The Kaiping region has clusters of Diaolou structures that were solidly built with masonry and/or reinforced concrete so that they are strong enough to prevent break-ins by local bandits that roamed this area back in the early to mid 1900's. The Kaiping region is very meaningful to me in that this area was where my parents were born and raised, but not in the "luxury" areas. Around about 1930 to 1950 time period, many of the residents of the Kaiping area had "abandoned" the area for a "better life" elsewhere. Many of these Kaiping residents had moved to the USA - including my parents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The Chinese government (along with UNESCO) had recognized the historical significance of this area and the unique architecture of the Diaolou buildings. UNESCO had designated four (4) different Diaolou clusters in Kaiping as UNESCO recognized historical sites - including the Zili Village which I had visited for this review. Upon entering the Zili Village area, there is a nice scenic pond with a colorful wooden walkway that needs to be crossed to reach the Diaolou buildings. There are quite a few buildings in this area, some single level while others are multi-level luxury structures. The largest and nicest building in this area is the "Yinonglu Villa" which is a six (6) level structure. The "Yinonglu Villa" is impressive inside and especially the view from the top level - you can see for miles - great view! The Kaiping Diaolou's and Villages are a very worthwhile areas to visit - especially when you know what happened to the residents of these areas.
3. Ma-Xianglong Towers Group
4. Kaiping Garden
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 51 reviews
Reviewed By AZCasualTraveler - Mesa, United States
The Kaiping region are clusters of Diaolou structures that were solidly built with masonry and/or reinforced concrete so that they are strong enough to prevent break-ins by local bandits that roamed this area back in the early to mid 1900's. The Kaiping region is very meaningful to me in that this area was where my parents were born and raised, but not in the "luxury" areas. Around about 1930 to 1950 time period, many of the residents of the Kaiping area had "abandoned" the area for a "better life" elsewhere. Many of these Kaiping residents had moved to the USA - including my parents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The Chinese government (along with UNESCO) had recognized the historical significance of this area and the unique architecture of the Diaolou buildings. UNESCO had designated four (4) different Diaolou clusters in Kaiping as UNESCO recognized historical sites - however, the Kaiping Garden (or Liyuan Garden) Diaolou clusters did not received the UNESCO designation which is a shame because It is probably the most colorful and photogenic of the different clusters of buildings. Upon entering the Kaiping Garden (Liyuan or Li Garden) Diaolou cluster area, there is a very nice Visitor Center and Museum. The Museum has interesting information about the history about the Kaiping area and it people. It also has information about various families who had migrated from Kaiping to the USA and/or Canada. After exiting the Museum, the pathway leads to a very lovely Garden area that is beautiful and relaxing to walk through. Past the Garden area is where the Diaolou buildings are located - some single level and some multi-level. The multi-level structures are much larger in size and are for the "wealthy" families of the area. This area is very nice to walk around and explore - go inside the open Diaolou buildings to see how they look like back then. Very worthwhile and interesting to visit the Kaiping Garden area - especially if you know what happened to the people who had once lived in this area.
5. Watchtower Group of Zili Village
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 71 reviews
Reviewed By JJ_TravelExpress - London, United Kingdom
The site is reachable by bus 617 from Kaiping city centre (one every 20 mins or so), the journey is about 40 mins. Taxi will cost you around 65yuan. We bought the combo admission costing 150yuan per person, it gave us access to Zili village and the nearly Li Yuan. Shuttle bus between the sites was included in the price of the ticket (check the bus timetable at the entrance). Zili village was a fascinating place to visit, full of culture and history. We had a great time exploring the different towers. The villagers were friendly and welcoming. Many of the smaller buildings offered lunches (around 20-30 yuan per dish), overlooking the lotus pond. We'd have loved to eaten there but unfortunately we had a tight schedule and had to catch the shuttle to Li Yuan.
6. Jiangmen Zili Village Watch Tower
7. Yinglong Lou
8. Chikan European Style Street
9. Fengcai Ancestral Home
10. Chikan Building
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