[2024 Kaiping Attraction] Travel Guide for Zilicun (Updated Nov)
Villages
Address:
Tangkou Zhen
Opening times:
Opens at 09:10-17:50Open
Recommended sightseeing time:
0.5-1 day
Phone:
(0750)2679078
In a few days, Guangdong will welcome the most beautiful golden rice fields.
Autumn in Guangdong can be so romantic! In a few days, Kaiping will welcome golden rice fields, and harvesting will begin in mid-to-late November, so you should enjoy the autumn scenery while the rice fields are at their best and visit the World Heritage Site - Kaiping Diaolou.
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There are now more than 3,000 diaolou in the Wuyi area, with the most concentrated in Kaiping. The diaolou are witnesses to the political, economic, and cultural development of Kaiping. They not only reflect the history of the hard work of the people of the hometown of overseas Chinese, but are also a living museum of modern architecture and a unique art gallery.
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Zili Village has 15 diaolou and houses with different styles, exquisite shapes, and rich connotations. The diaolou are tall, mostly four or five stories, with standard floors of two to three stories. It is understood that the earliest building in Zili Village is Longsheng Building, built in the eighth year of the Republic of China, and the latest is Zhanlu, built in the thirty-seventh year of the Republic of China. The upper structures of each diaolou are different, with four sides cantilevered, four corners cantilevered, and rear cantilevered, with different architectural styles.
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📸Zili Village is the filming location of the movie "Let the Bullets Fly". The diaolou in the movie can be visited up close, and you can also see traces of the original owner's life, with many household items left intact. Liyuan and Zili Village are also the filming locations of the TVB drama "Short End of the Stick".
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Next month's golden rice ears will be as tall as half a person. Walking through the fields is like entering a dreamlike scene from a Hayao Miyazaki animation. The rice will turn golden in early November and will be harvested around mid-November, so you can only experience the golden autumn diaolou scenery for half a month each year, which is very different from the lush green scenery of summer.
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📍Zili Village, Kaiping City, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province
🚗 Genghua Village, Kaiping City, Jiangmen City
🎫 Zili Village 78/person, half price for seniors and children
VictoriaMcDermott00
The Years of Diaolou, Li Garden
Before coming here, most of the online guides highly recommended Li Garden for its splendor, nobility, and beauty. It stands out from other diaolou and is said that visiting just Li Garden is enough when coming to Kaiping Diaolou.
Visiting only Li Garden once became my travel goal.
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Among the four ticketed scenic spots of Kaiping Diaolou, the other three are natural villages, while only Li Garden is a self-contained garden. The Xie family, after three generations of hard work abroad, returned home as the richest family in Kaiping and built this first garden of Kaiping, blending Chinese and Western styles.
Here, there are not only diaolou villas but also garden layouts, water town scenery, self-developed artificial canals, and walls that separate the villa area from the large and small gardens. There are archways, bridges, pavilions, corridors, and scenic spots at every step. The independent water supply system and modern sanitary facilities, with villas equipped with flush toilets and bathtubs, indeed set Li Garden apart from other diaolou.
However, this is just a manor of the Xie family, telling only the story of their own heritage. As a cultural heritage, it requires a multi-layered and multi-dimensional perspective to seek common ground while reserving differences. Thousands of diaolou on this land interpret the historical origins of the overseas Chinese culture, a grand view of the fusion of various exotic architectural styles such as ancient Roman, ancient Greek, and Islamic, showcasing a splendid diversity.
Residential buildings can also portray the epitome of an era.
Although Li Garden is good, just seeing this one is far from enough.
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I entered Li Garden at dusk. Although the staff urged that the diaolou was closing and we couldn't enter for an internal visit, the gray-blue windows on the milky yellow exterior walls were closing one by one. But at this time, the sunlight was the gentlest of the day, with light yellow and hazy blue, and dark green. The Chinese dougong and flying eaves with Roman columns presented a unique elegance and noble beauty that blended Chinese and Western styles.
The fiery red bougainvillea was in full bloom, with Li Garden's exclusive labels on the flower pots. A glance back revealed a quiet place with small bridges and flowing water, the water town scenery remained the same, only missing the sound of women washing clothes by the river and the hustle and bustle of household life.
There were very few tourists. A father with an eight or nine-year-old girl was entering and exiting the diaolou one by one, patiently explaining and listening attentively. This father-daughter affection was precious. Even though this was the home of the richest family in Kaiping, with the first wife having six sons and three daughters, and three wives giving birth to five sons and five daughters, with a large family and many descendants, I wonder if there was ever a moment of such unique fatherly love?
Or perhaps, it was just the construction of the 'Yunmei' residences in a row, indicating equal treatment for each son.
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I didn't walk through every corner of the garden, nor did I see every pavilion and building, nor did I enjoy the leisure of setting off in a small boat to drink tea.
Leaving at closing time, the father and daughter were still at the entrance. The father wanted to take another look nearby, but the daughter didn't want to go. One was calling, the other was hesitating, back and forth, just like the growth of life, always with a sense of familial attachment and separation.
The descendants of the Xie family, far away from their homeland, looking back at their old home, would probably have the same mindset.
💡 The four scenic spots joint ticket for diaolou is 180, valid for two days. Visiting only Zili Village and Li Garden is worth the price, making this ticket cost-effective.
💡 Although the evening sunlight is beautiful, it's backlit for shooting Panwenlou and Panlilou. Morning should be better.
💡 On the way from Zili Village to Li Garden, you can see many diaolou in the villages along the roadside.
💡 There are no dining facilities in the park, it's convenient to eat in Tangkou Town.
2024.8
irisia_6578
Kaiping | Aerial view of Zili Village for a thrilling flight
⛰【Travel Tips】
📍Detailed address:
Kaiping Diaolou Cultural Tourism Area - Zili Village Scenic Area
🚗Transportation tips:
There is a parking lot with a fee of 10r and charging stations
🕙Opening hours:
9:10-17:50
💰Ticket price:
78
🌟Highlights:
Kaiping Diaolou
The drone returns automatically when the signal is lost 😭
(Although it's a bit cloudy and drizzling ☔️)
The Kaiping Zili Village Diaolou cluster, located in Tangkou Town, Kaiping City, Guangdong, is one of the World Cultural Heritages. It consists of 15 diaolous with different styles, built in the 1920s and 1930s by local overseas Chinese to protect their hometown. These diaolous integrate Chinese and Western architectural cultures and have become a monument to the culture of overseas Chinese. The interiors of the diaolous are preserved with complete furniture and daily necessities, bearing precious testimony to the culture of overseas Chinese.
rhysa_2739
Jiangmen | Two-Day One-Night Self-Driving Tour Guide
|Two-Day One-Night Self-Driving Tour Guide.
We mainly enjoy a leisurely tour for two days and one night
Self-driving🚗: About 1.5 hours' drive from Guangzhou to Jiangmen
Hotel🏨: Near Diwang Plaza (close to various scenic spots in the city center)
We went during the Qingming Festival, and it was crowded! I suggest you can pick any weekend~
Day1 Route:
📍Thirty-Three Sigh Street (popular photo spot) ➡️ Qiming Lane ➡️ HEYTEA original store ➡️ Hotel🏨 rest ➡️ Eel claypot rice🥢
At Thirty-Three Sigh, we tried the same pig's trotter noodles🍜 as Brother Qiang, which were just so-so haha
Qiming Lane is like a creative park, with many beautiful ☕️ shops and photo spots📷
✅Thirty-Three Sigh and Qiming Lane are next to each other, and the HEYTEA original store is also nearby, exclusive to the original store: Cheezo Citrus Pu'er Tea🍹 (a friend tried it and said it was very good) worth checking out~
🍽Eel claypot rice: We went to the Xili Ji Taishan eel rice on Shengli Road,
the taste was pretty good, but it was super crowded during mealtime, and the service was slow. By the time we finished eating, there was still a dish that hadn't been served
Day2 Route:
📍Hotel🏨 ➡️ Kaiping Diaolou🕍 ➡️ Chikan Ancient Town🏘 ➡️ Return trip🚗
Slept in until waking up naturally in the morning, then set off to Kaiping Diaolou, about an hour's drive from Pengjiang District. You need to buy a ticket for 78💰/person to enter Zili Village, which is the filming location for 'Let the Bullets Fly'🎬
Then we went to Chikan Ancient Town, about 15-20 minutes' drive from the Diaolou. It's somewhat similar to Yongqing Fang in Guangzhou haha, 🎫ticket price 60💰/person.
Overall, it's quite suitable for a two-day weekend city walk~
TechnoKnight
Kaiping Diaolou
Located in Zili Village, Jiangmen City, the Kaiping Diaolou are mostly residential and defensive architectural complexes built by overseas Chinese who returned from abroad during the Ming Dynasty and the Republic of China era. The majority of these buildings belong to the Fang family. There are various formats, including individual households, private courtyards, brotherly arcade buildings, joint buildings by two families, and combined buildings by several families. The basic architectural features are walls that go straight up and down without any handholds, doors and windows flush with the wall surface, the top floor serving as a watchtower, and the other floors as living quarters.
Mingshi Lou is the filming location for 'Let the Bullets Fly' and is the only diaolou open for public visits. It has a flat entrance hall that serves as a kitchen and storage for agricultural tools, and there are also residential areas, with a small courtyard, totaling six floors in height. The first floor is a reception hall with bedrooms, from the second to the fifth floor the middle is a hall with bedrooms on both sides, and there are also kitchens, suggesting that each floor is occupied by one family. The sixth floor is the ancestral hall, and above that is the watchtower and observation deck, offering a panoramic view of the entire Zili Village.
Chr.st.@n B@k3r
National Geographic didn't lie to me! This is really an ancient town in Guangdong with a strong New Year atmosphere
🚩In order to provide everyone with a real travel experience, I specially recommend the ancient towns around Guangzhou with a strong New Year atmosphere, which are niche, good for shooting and fun🎊
✨I really love the city of Kaiping, which is directly accessible by high-speed rail and only 1h+ away from Guangzhou🚝
🤩Kaiping Diaolou, as a World Cultural Heritage site and one of the representatives of Lingnan culture, every visitor will be shocked by the architectural complex here! Zili Village is a typical representative~
🎈In addition to the Diaolou, I also highly recommend Chikan Overseas Chinese Ancient Town! The retro arcade old street, dressed in national style, takes pictures with a strong sense of crossing the Republic of China📸
🧨If you can only go to one ancient town during the Spring Festival holiday, I would definitely recommend here! A 2-day and 1-night itinerary full of New Year's atmosphere🎊
Day①🎈
Guangzhou→Kaiping South→Chikan Overseas Chinese Ancient Town→Check in at Meitang Hotel (The tourist service center can directly transport luggage to the hotel, which is super convenient)→Start to visit the scenic area
11:00 Rong'an Building🎇 The big spring couplets really have a New Year atmosphere
11:30 Station Square🎊 You can see the same intangible cultural heritage flower cards without going to Hong Kong! You can also encounter lively lion dance performances
12:00 Niuxi Road Snack Street🥘 Specialty charcoal pot rice, tofu corner and other delicious snacks are waiting for you to taste! In this century-old arcade, there are also New Year's big calendars, spring couplets, wealth walls and other New Year scenes, eat and stroll, enjoy leisurely slow time
14:00 Dragon Year Tram🚃 Riding a 30min tram through the century-old street, as if crossing to 'Blooming' in a second🎞