Kaiping "Diaolou" - Location of "Let the Bullets F

[helen]

english.cri.cn/6566/2010/12/03/1881s608371.htm

The famous western-style defense fortresses of Kaiping in southern China's Guangdong Province will be featured in director Jiang Wen's soon-to-be-released film "Let the Bullets Fly", Sina.com reports.

[mugenpower168]

[douglaslam]

Thanks to mugenpower168 for the Youtube clips on Hoiping's magnificent diaolous. I took advantage of my visit to Hoiping earlier in June this year, and found time to see for myself this unique blend of architecture up close. In fact I did see most of the diaolous featured in the clips.I typed up a detailed report, twice, but they both vanished in cyberspace ( see page 2 of my thread My Excellent Adventures in China, under Share Tales). In the end, I gave up.

The date was June 9, 2010, I was in a small group of three that brave the wet weather to tour the diaolous. The cost was 118RMB, which included lunch. At one stage I thought the tour was not going to procede because I was the only one paid up the day before. On the morning we had two more persons, which made the tour viable for the China Travel Service people.

We were picked up in a small passenger van, with a driver and a young female guide. The two were from the local area. Naturally, the guide conducted the tour in Cantonese. It was a very cosy, friendly and informal atmosphere throughout the tour.

It is a fact, the people of Hoiping aren't too curious about the diaolous because they see them every day. For those of you thinking of visiting them in a guided tour, look for the CTS in Hoiping, because no other travel agents offer the service. CTS operates one tour daily, and two on weekends, with a slight variation in the itinerary. Most people join tours, in bigger groups, some with English speaking guides, departing from Guangzhou.

I had a good day out. It was an educational experience. I highly reccommend it. I love to go back a second time to reenforce what I had learned.

[laohuaqiao]

Some scenes were shot in Taishan Duanfen Town Moy/Mei Family Garden 端芬镇梅家大院 and Shuibu Town Gangning Village
水步镇岗宁村. The former is well-known for its western-style houses surrounding a rectangular courtyard and the latter is a smaller version of that, located not far from Kaiping.