Yinglong Tower in Sanmenli - The Earliest Surviving Diaolou in Kaiping

Driving to Sanmenli in Chikan Town, you'll find Yinglong Tower, which is said to be the oldest surviving diaolou in the Kaiping area. Passing through the village's archway, you'll arrive at a small square in front of the ancient village. There's a pond here, with several lush ancient banyan trees in front of it. Standing by the pond, you can see the village houses arranged in neat rows, clearly showing careful planning during construction. The buildings in the village vary in height, and many are decorated with Western elements. At the visitor center at the village entrance, I met two children who told me the location of Yinglong Tower. Following their directions, I went through a mysterious alley, and after a few steps, Yinglong Tower stood before me. It stands tall and majestic with three floors - the bottom two floors are made of red bricks, while the top floor is made of gray bricks. Above the main entrance is an arch-shaped design with the characters "Ba Cui" embedded, flanked by couplets reading "Welcoming cat's auspiciousness, dragon and tiger's mighty spirit." The characters "Yinglong Tower" are inscribed above the central window of the top floor. Yinglong Tower was initially built during the Ming Dynasty's Jiajing period by the Guan family's 17th generation ancestor, Mr. and Mrs. Guan Shengtu. Previously, the village had a Ruiyun Tower, which villagers used to escape from bandits and floods. As the village population grew, Ruiyun Tower became insufficient, so Yilong Tower was built. Unfortunately, Ruilong Tower was demolished during the Republic of China period for water conservation projects. The tower faces southeast from the northwest, features a brick-wood structure, and covers an area of 152.7 square meters. Initially, it only had two floors - the red brick section at the bottom. The third floor, made of gray bricks, was added in 1920 during the Republic of China period, and the plaque "Yinglong Tower" was installed. The character "Yi" was changed to "Ying" as it was more commonly used. Walking around it, you can see protruding corner towers at all four corners, and shooting holes in the exterior walls. Yinglong Tower is not open to the public, so it's impossible to see its internal structure firsthand. According to information provided, its interior floors feature wooden beam construction, with the horizontal beams and floor boards being original structures from the Ming Dynasty, which explains why it bears the sign "National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit" at its entrance.