碉樓 Diaolou: Chinese Castles in the Sky

Diaolou 碉樓
a selection of some famous Diaolou:	Pages: 1 .. 2 .. 3 .

The Diaolou that resisted the Japanese
Located near the market town of Chikan, stands a physical testiment to some heroic efforts made by the Seto Clan against Japanese soldiers during the second World War. The pock marked Diaolou bears gunfire and artillery damage caused by Japanese Imperial army soldiers during their unsuccessful attempt to penetrate this area of Kaiping. The tower stands next to a bend in the river where according to the locals, several Japanese ships tried to make it's way down pass the river fronting the Seto village. The men in the tower and on the ground fought back and held the invading soldiers for several weeks. Today, the tower with it's wartime scars, has numerous commemorative plaques, a Chinese arch and a heroic statue of men in arms fronting the entry to the diaolou. The diaolou here is a proud icon here for the people of this region - and to this day, many tourists and visitors come to this famous diaolou to relive the history. A special building housing more iconography and documents has also been built close to the tower...too bad for me, it was written in Chinese, thus I couldn't understand a single word. But the photos and pictures explained it all. It was an interesting visit for me, as the relatively large parking facility reserved for visitors and tour buses had been covered with a more practical use - the drying of rice grains over the entire concrete surface! So there you have it... a more practical use of space ...yeah, cars and tour buses were not welcome, but were relegated onto the narrow road outside the historic site.

The Leaning tower of Kaiping
The diaolou on the right, from one of my relation's village, has remained in this precarious lean over the past 70+ years. Like the leaning tower of Pisa, the soil conditions weren't just ready for such a heavy mass placed upon it. And seeing the pond in front of it, I would guess that the close proximity of water made soil conditions soft. Thus, although the knowledge for reinforced concrete structures may have been available at the time, knowledge of soil conditions and geotechnical support may have been absent. Nonetheless, this handsome structure has remained, watchful over it's tranquil surroundings - a beautiful structure, almost romantic in setting. At the peak, the diaolou count numbered over 4,000 throughout Kaiping, and another thousand more throughout the neighbouring counties of Enping, Taishan and Xinhui. There are now only 1,880 diaolou remaining. Many of them succumbing to the ravishes of time and nature – weather, water and vegetative (chemical) erosion. Initial building design, placement and planning perhaps determined a diaolou's longevity. Those with inadequate foundations, weak structures, etc. saw an early demise. Other diaolou disappeared as villagers took them apart for building materials after the diaolou had served their original purpose.

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some weblinks:

UNESCO site on the Kaiping application and background

http://www.icm.gov.mo/exhibition/tc/kpintroE.asp (Macau government)

http://www.newsgd.com/pictures/scenery/200507010008.htm (Guangdong government)

http://www.china-fpa.org/hpa2002/2002b/e-index7.htm
http://chikan.kaiping.gov.cn/ (in Chinese, about Chikan town)

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Huang village Diaolou in Kaiping	Mah village Diaolou in Taishan	Seto village Diaolou in Kaiping

Huang village Diaolou in Kaiping	Guan village Diaolou in Kaiping	Huang village Diaolou in Kaiping

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Wong Family Genealogy ... going back 1,000 + years

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