Defensive Village Houses in South China

By GUO ZHIDONG

Kaiping Diaolou is a special and unique architectural style of Chinese countryside dwellings. It is famous for the rare and complex fusion of Chinese and Western architectural styles. The Diaolou is also an important historic and cultural site as it shows Chinas embrace of foreign culture in a transitional period.

On June 28， 2007， Kaiping Diaolou was inscribed into the world cultural heritage list.

DIAOLOU is a fortified residential dwelling. It functions both as a house and a fortress. The city of Kaiping in Guangdong Province is dotted with all kinds of magnificent Diaolous. As they display a mixture of Chinese and Western architectural styles， they have therefore become a special kind of architecture in rural China.

The rise of the Diaolou is closely linked with specific social conditions. In the late Ming Dynasty（1368-1644）， as a result of rampant bandits in Kaiping， much social unrest ensued. Besides， frequent typhoons and heavy rainfall led to frequent flooding. To fight against these calamities， the locals began to build lofty Diaolous. In the late Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， those who had migrated overseas to earn a living came back with much wealth， which attracted the attention of local bandits. In order to stay safe， they chose to build fortified Diaolous as homes. Later， during the Republic of China （1912-1949）， the number of Diaolous in Kaiping expanded to as many as 3，000. Today， there are 1，800 left.

The Diaolous walls stand high and solid， with narrow windows. It gave the dwellers a commanding position from inside when there were invaders outside. Besides this， there are embrasures on the walls of each Diaolou， allowing retaliation from a safe， guarded position.

In terms of function， the Kaiping Diaolou can be classified into three kinds： watch towers， communal towers， and residential towers.

There are two kinds of watch towers. The ones built outside the village are called light towers， which were jointly built by several neighboring villages in response to local bandit activities and equipped with lights， guns， and other needed equipment.

The other kind of watch tower was usually built at the entrance of a village where men stood on guard in turn. They also set up surveillance day and night to protect villagers.

Besides watch towers， there are communal towers， which were built by several families or the whole village and used as temporary shelter.

Residential towers were a relatively new type built by individual rich families and used as fortified residences. In the early years of the Republic of China period， wealthy local families were particular about the living environment of the Diaolou. They wanted it to be not only defensive but also functional in daily life， as a result of which kitchens， bathrooms， and studies were added.