Ma Jianglong Diaolou Cluster

Ma Jianglong Diaolou Cluster is a renowned group of diaolous (fortified multi-story towers) that belongs to the Kaiping Diaolou Cultural Tourism Area in Kaiping City, Guangdong Province. It has been praised by United Nations experts as "the world's most beautiful village" and is one of the World Cultural Heritages. The Ma Jianglong village is situated southeast of Baihe Town in Kaiping City, about 20 kilometers northeast of the city center. It consists of five natural villages: Yong'an, Nan'an, Hedong, Qinglin, and Longjiang, built by the Huang and Guan family clans during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. Currently, the village has 171 households and 506 residents, with 80% being overseas Chinese mainly distributed in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

History of the Cluster

The Ma Jianglong Diaolou Cluster was constructed in the 1920s and 1930s when banditry and floods were rampant. To defend against frequent bandit attacks and flooding disasters, people built these sturdy and tall diaolous. These buildings blend local traditional living environments with advanced Western architectural techniques and cultural connotations. 

They range from 2 to 7 stories high and feature various styles, including traditional Chinese gable and hip roofs, English and German castle styles, and Western villa styles. The wall structures include mud-wood, brick-wood, and reinforced concrete. The doors and windows are made of thick steel plates, making them very strong. 

There are private towers built by overseas Chinese, Hong Kong, and Macau compatriots or residents, and public towers built through collective funding. The Ma Jianglong Diaolou played an active role in protecting the lives and property of local villagers. It is recorded that during the major floods in Kaiping in 1963, 1965, and 1968, the floodwaters submerged the rooftops of houses, and villagers took refuge in the diaolous.

Beautiful Ecological Environment

The village is backed by the majestic Baizu Mountain and faces the clear and mirror-like Tanjiang River. The five natural villages are distributed like a string of pearls amidst the green mountains and waters. The village is filled with lush bamboo, shaded trees, birdsong, and floral fragrances, making it feel like a paradise on earth. The villagers work hard and live happily, enjoying a beautiful ecological environment.

The village has 13 uniquely shaped and well-preserved diaolous nestled among dense bamboo groves, blending harmoniously with the surrounding houses and natural environment. From a high vantage point, the view resembles a mirage of ancient castles emerging from a sea of green bamboo waves.

Visiting Tips

For visiting, it is suggested to follow this route: Peiying Study Room（培英书室）- Tianlu Tower（天禄楼）- Yaolu（耀庐）- Junlu（骏庐）- Changlu（昌庐）- Baozhang Tower（保障楼）- Linlu（林庐）- Xinlu（信庐）- Minlu（敏庐）- South Gate Tower（南门楼）, and then return to the starting point. Along the way, you can enjoy the lush bamboo forests and greenery.

The first stop is the Peiying Study Room and ancestral hall, followed by the most representative Tianlu Tower in the diaolou cluster.

Tianlu Tower was built in 1925 through collective funding by 29 village households. The tower is 27 meters high with 7 stories totaling 21 meters, constructed with reinforced concrete. The first to fifth floors have 29 rooms, one for each funding household. In the evenings, the male members of the funding households would stay in the tower to prevent kidnapping by bandits. The sixth floor was for communal activities, and the seventh floor was a lookout pavilion. It was observed that during that time, bandits primarily targeted men and not women. To avoid bandits, villagers would send the men to Tianlu Tower after dinner. The tower's doors were locked promptly at 10 pm and only opened the next morning, allowing those inside to go out to work in the fields or attend school. Therefore, Tianlu Tower was also known as the "Men's Tower."

The third stop is Yaolu, which is relatively secluded with locked doors and is not open for visiting. The next stop, Junlu, is a residential tower built by a Chinese Canadian returning to his hometown. Changlu was built in 1936 and has four stories, notable for its elaborate window frames. Linlu is quite spacious, with many decorations on the exterior, and visitors can enter the tower and see the richly furnished interior. You can also climb to the rooftop for a panoramic view.

Xinlu and Minlu are in a closed courtyard with locked gates, only observable from the outside. The South Gate Tower, inscribed with "Qinglin Li," has the village entrance on the first floor and a lookout platform on the second floor, with shooting holes on all four exterior walls.