Location: Kaiping
Top Things to do in Kaiping
10 Things to Do in Kaiping That You Shouldn't Miss
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. Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
Overall Ratings
4 based on 123 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 Ondeh - Melbourne, Australia
Set amidst rolling paddy fields, the fortified diaolous dwarf over ancient low rise village buildings. This area, about an hour's drive south west of Jiangmen is so underrated. Its UNESCO protected status covers 4 separate villages - ZiLiCun, MaJiangLong, JinJiangLi and SanMenLi. You can purchase entry tickets separately at each village entrance, or purchase a cheaper combo ticket that gives you access to all the villages plus Li Garden, a sprawling private residence with beautiful Gardens built around the same time as the fortified diaolous in the 1920s and 30s.
As we had 2 older people in our party, we rented a car with private chauffeur from Jiangmen. The first stop is ZiLiCun which is the village with the biggest cluster of diaolous. We hired a guide at ZiLiCun who narrated the stories of rich Chinese emigres returning from the US with greater wealth to build these fortified towering residences to protect their wealth and families, After the buildings were completed, the men usually went back to the US, leaving their womenfolk and children behind. The guide also explained the incoporation of western design elements into local architecture; and the features that make the diaolous different to a villa. These include stainless steel front gates, high windows with thick iron grills, turret-like balconies with spy holes for shooting bandits.
We next drove to Li Garden, this place was built by 2 (or was it 3?) brothers for their families. Each sibling had a residential 3-4 storied tower but they all shared a beautiful meandering garden that featured a running brook, restful pavilions, and a small byzantine inspired structure that housed an aviary aptly named the bird's nest. This represented the owner's wish for his children to return back to their homeland. The stories are poignant.
Our last stop in the afternoon after lunch at ChiKan old town is MaJianLong village. Set amidst a thick bamboo forest, this is the most scenic diaolou village. It was beautiful, and I felt transported to a different place by the creaks and sighs of towering bamboos. The diaolous here are slightly different to the ones in ZiLiCun as they all feature an airwell on each floor to allow in more light, and for transport of heavy objects. I was however a little disappointed in not being able to capture a picture of the unique rooftops rising above the bamboo forest because the trees have now grown so tall they're higher than the towers.
We didn't manage to drop into SanMenLi or JinJiangLi but I was told the oldest diaolou dating back to the 16th century Ming Dynasty (the only one left from that era) is in SanMenLi and the tallest and most surreal looking diaolou is in JinJiangLi.
All in all, it was well worth the time, and a fascinating area to visit, to get transported to the turbulent times of the early 20th century and to feel the emotions of these rich Chinese emigres who struggled between their desire to return home (nationalism was high during this time) and the need to continue to build wealth abroad. This place is seriously underrated, a good thing too as there aren't many local tourists to jostle with.
Do hire a guide as the context will make you appreciate the place even more. It is possible to do all villages in one day, but you'll need a car and be very disciplined with how much time you spend at each site.
2. Watchtower Group of Zili Village
Overall Ratings
4 based on 62 reviews
Reviewed By Bitten_by_the_bug_10 - Hong Kong, China
Having visited a fair share of UNESCO sites across China, I was expecting this one to be no exception. No doubt the historic buildings would be stunning but the facilities provided for tourists, toilets etc, would be poor.
I was very pleasantly surprised. It is clear that the Guangdong government has spent a lot of money ensuring the main Kaiping sites are well maintained and modern.
Western style toilet facilities were plentiful and clean. Walkways, signposts and helpful staff. Even a coffee shop on site!
Ticket booth queue was efficient. We bought the 2 day ticket that covered the main sites, 180RMB each. There were some shops and places offering food.
Plentiful parking if you have a driver.
My only complaint is there is no real opportunity to buy decent postcards or a book in English about the watchtowers.
Highly recommended site to visit if you are in the south China area.
3. Jiangmen Zili Village Watch Tower
Overall Ratings
4 based on 36 reviews
Reviewed By Andrew_Alin - Greater Adelaide, Australia
This smaller cluster of diaolou sees less visitors than many other clusters located in bigger (and more modern villages. The end result? Less commercialization, less touts, less vendors of tacky souvenirs.
The entrance ticket is reasonable at 80RMB, and it is worth climbing up the diaolou open for public viewing for some nice views.
Allow yourself a couple of hours for just the diaolou, more if stopping in the village for lunch.
4. Chikan European Style Street
Overall Ratings
4 based on 58 reviews
Reviewed By SingaporeMatt - Singapore
I saw a beautiful photo of this street that took my breath away - night-time architecture illuminated by blue and green lights, old-style boats anchored along the water side, streets swept clean.
In reality, at night time, the streets are dark and full of rubbish, and the shopfronts obscured by rows of anachronistic umbrellas. I had expected to find a queue of photographers on the other side of the canal, aiming for the perfect shot, but they knew better and I was alone.
Worth fifteen minutes - there are better areas of old style shophouses (minus canal) in Kaiping central.
5. Ma-Xianglong Towers Group
Overall Ratings
4 based on 26 reviews
Reviewed By Mei L - Hong Kong, China
Home to a couple of diaolous, some of which are open to the public, and a small village, MaXiangLong makes for an enjoyable visit. Give yourself at least 1.5 to 2 hours to properly visit MaXiangLong. There are shaded pathways weaving through the bamboo groves and star fruit orchards of the village and connecting the various diaolous, making for a pleasant stroll.
Most of the village is empty, its inhabitants no longer living here. Also, since the village is a little further afield, it is free of tour groups. Most visitors either drive or hire a driver to get here so MaXiangLong lacks the chaos of ZiLi Village and Li Garden. We hired a minivan (¥300 for 7 hours) from the bus station to bring us to some of the further-flung sights in Kaiping.
6. Kaiping Garden
Overall Ratings
4 based on 41 reviews
Reviewed By sara2828 - Jerusalem
One of the important places to stop in Kaiping. Includes a visitor center that explains the story of the "overseas" Chinese. There is another exhibition about the "overseas" Chinese in the Chikan movie village that is easily overlooked. Has been declared a UNESCO Heritage site, so the government has invested money in restoring and maintaining the grounds and buildings. We did not pay an entrance fee as we are over 65. Bring your passport to prove your age. Also visited the Zili Village with the diaolou and Chikan. A worthwhile day trip from Guangzhou
7. Maxianglong Village
Overall Ratings
4 based on 10 reviews
Reviewed By DjangoDjango - Cologne, Germany
Not as pretty as the village of Zili, It is still worth to visit because it is way less visited as the Zili village and you can really enjoy the place more.
The thing I liked doing the most was renting a bike in the village of Chikan and bike to this village. It's only about 10 km and The surroundings are absolutely beautiful.
There are some signs to help you to get there (Also in English).
Maxianglong is one of the 7 sights included in the combo ticket of Diaolou's.
The combo ticket is 180 Yuan for the seven sights.
8. Jinjiangli Village
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7 reviews
Reviewed By DjangoDjango - Cologne, Germany
The village itself is not as beautiful as Zili village, But the surroundings of this village was our favorite of the Three villages we visited (Zili,Maxianglong, and this one)
We really enjoyed cycling to here and the village is about 10 to 15 km from the village of Chikan, where we rented our bikes.
From Chikan there are some easy roadsigns who will lead you to the village you can't miss it.
When we were there, we had a lot less visitor's as in the village of Zili which made it really nice to stroll around and enjoy the scenery.
This village is one of the 7 sights on the combo ticket for 180 Yuan.
9. Fengcai Ancestral Home
10. Yinglong Lou
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By Bitten_by_the_bug_10 - Hong Kong, China
This place is off the beaten track and not included in the multi site ticket you can buy from Zili Village or the Gardens.
It is worth seeing, however, due to its age if you are interested in historic buildings.
The main part of the building dates from the Ming dynasty. The darker coloured top floor is twentieth century. This makes it a great deal older than many other watchtowers you will come across in Kaiping.
You cannot enter the building so can only enjoy the view from outside.
It's towards the back of the Yinglong village. You can take bus 13 or 4 to get here. We took a taxi to the village and a bus back. You might struggle though as many taxi drivers don't seem to know where it is. My husband speaks Chinese so we were ok.
When we arrived there were no signs and you had to meander your way through the village to get to it. Only 1 bus tour group was there, no other tourists. Locals selling food stuffs on stalls around the tower.
Public toilet at back of village is truly hideous and avoid unless totally necessary.
Due to the difficulty getting here, lack of facilities and the fact you can't go inside, this place is only really for history buffs or culture vultures.
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