Diaolou (watchtowers) of Kaiping and Taishan

[David Wong]

I've been wanting to write about this fascinating topic for a long time. Heck, I had even prepared a section (over a year ago...but no content yet) on my personal website for this amazing building.

What is a diaolou? from Wikipedia ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiping ) :
The diaolou are fortified multi-storey towers, which were constructed in the Kaiping area from the early Qing Dynasty, reaching a peak in the 1920s and 1930s, when there were more than three thousand of these structures. Today, approximately 1,800 diaolou are still standing. The diaolou served two purposes: housing and protecting against forays by bandits.

Kaiping has traditionally been a region of major emigration abroad, and a melting pot of ideas and trends brought back by overseas Chinese made good. As a consequence, several watchtowers incorporate architectural features from China and the West.

I recall, as a young knee-high, listening to my grandma, stories about these "very tall structures". Not knowing what the heck she was talking about, I thought of skyscrapers in our village (!) Having forgotten about them until my first trip to my ancestral village in 2005, Grandma's stories came flooding back into my mind when I arrived at our ancestral village.

On the drive there from Guangzhou, I kept seeing these tall grey structures like sore thumbs placed within the rambling one to two storey buildings. I took a pile of photos of the dialou (no plural form, as dialou is both a singular and plural form of the noun) I happened to view on the journey.

Arriving back home, I started some on-line queries. It was then I realized that these were "hybrid" buildings built by oversea sons who had went to North America, New Zealand, Malaysia and other locales at the turn of the 1900's to earn their living. Their contributions back to their ancestral home had made their families targets of bandits and other perverts...thus built were these dialou to shelter the young men (not women, as I learned) from creeps who wanted to kidnap the young men for ransom.

Diaolou are found all over the Siyi counties - including Taishan, Enping, Xinhui and Kaiping. The largest concentration of these buildings are in Kaiping (1,833 count), followed by Taishan ( around 300 count). As a result, the Kaiping government adopted as their logo, the dialou. In 2001, the Chinese government recognized the important heritage aspects of these dialou and made an application to UNESCO as a Cultural World Heritage Site.

Here are some weblinks (that work as of Chinese New Year's eve Jan.28, 2006):
www.icm.gov.mo/exhibition/tc/kpintroE.asp (this one by the Macau government)
community.travelchinaguide.com/forum2.asp?pp=4&i=2590
www.newsgd.com/pictures/scenery/200507010008.htm (this one by the Guangdong government)
www.supernaut.info/2004/09/the_watchtowers_of_kaiping_dia.html
www.geoexpat.com/forum/thread2355.html (this site organizes tours to view dialou)
www.china-fpa.org/hpa2002/2002b/e-index7.htm
chikan.kaiping.gov.cn/ (this one in Chinese, all about Chikan town)
www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=375 (the Georgia Straight is a Vancouver based newspaper)

There are also a number of well written books on the topic (most in Chinese). I have acquired a number of them through mailorder in collaboration with my local University.

One last interesting footnote - a reporter at the South China Morning Post had located me through my digging about dialou, and flew from HK to Vancouver to talk to me about it. Apparently, there is a lot of interest on these fascinating dialou. Stories of how they were built, how their names were assigned, how they were "designed", stories of the role they played during the Japanese invasion and stories from the descendants like myself.

I'd like to hear your stories on these buildings or any other neat buildings you've seen in your roots search. Once I have uploaded the photos of dialou onto my website, I will place a note on this Siyi website.

[helen]

Interesting story Vancouver. The Wong clan of New Zealand contributed money to build ones in Gualian, Junseng province. They were high up, and just enough room to poke your gun through.
www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/tungwah_article.htm Tung Wah News selections 1898-1901

Another article complained of too many tolls, 20 taels levied at each customs point, not always official ones, on goods transported by water.[19] Such transport by water was essential in the Pearl River Delta counties, particularly in Xiangshan before the building of good roads in the late 1920s and 1930s. Such transport, however, was vulnerable to more than the tolls of officials. One of the common features of life in the Pearl River Delta at this time, as it was in the republican period, were bandits and attacking boats was a favourite method of such bandits, even attacking boats tied up at the Shekki jetty itself. Often bandits simply practiced a form of extortion, forcing passing boats to pay money, at one point taking so much from the boats transporting fish that the city fish shops were forced to close.[21]
The Tung Wah News has numerous reports of bandits operating in the Pearl River Delta but these were not always a case of helpless villagers waiting in fear to be attacked.[22] Guns were seemingly plentiful, as when bandits in 1898 killed the Liu's, husband and wife, despite their both being armed.[23] Guns were also used by villagers later that same year to drive off bandits after they made a second attack in two nights on Bailigang village in Xiangshan.[24] Villagers could call on soldiers to help and when these came, villagers would join with them to attack the bandits in their mountain locations.[25] Bandit life was a dangerous one, as when officials and villages pursued a group who had robbed a boat in the early months of the new Australian Commonwealth, they killed 21 and captured another 9 after a one day battle.[26]

[helen]

Bandits were not the only source of unrest for the villages and the families of those working in Australia. China at this time had significant numbers of people not attached to the land, some of which were known as 'liu min' or 'wandering people'.[27] These appear, as their name suggests, to have been people always on the move and willing to take what they could get. A former Hawaiian consul found his house under siege by such a group who continued to try and enter the house even after they had been given $20 in silver.[28] Within the villages themselves disputes could turn violent, as in that between the Chen and Zhang families of Nanshan village referred to at the beginning of this article. Feuds could include people of whole counties such as in 1898 when severe fighting broke out between the Siyi and Sanyi peoples, involving 'swords and guns' and disrupting business.[29] This is a dispute that may have begun among their fellows in America, in any case they were closely enough involved that an official was sent to explain to those in the United States about the need to live peacefully.[30]

[David Wong]

I just posted a bunch of photos of diaolous I snapped on my latest ramblings through Kaiping.

As I lay awake at 3 in the morning from my jetlag, I reflect on a nice lunch I had with a respected colleague yesterday. We talked politics and other intrigues… but then the topic turned to the famous diaolou. A project that I’d been working on over the past number of years. Anyways, I’m tired of tapping out negative things on my newly hatched blog.

Apparently, my luncheon friend and his MLA colleague had made an important visit to southern China last July, helping pave the way for our recent visit with our Premier. And during that earlier summer trip, the topic of the historic diaolou was recognized … historic in the sense that THIS was one of the physical and tangible legacies left by many of our head tax paying ancestors here in Canada and in the U.S.

So as I lay awake, thinking about my small little intro to the diaolou I prepared on my personal website four years ago, I feel it’s time for an update. So having just completed part one of the diaolou on my site, I am now inviting all of you to see some of the photos I’ve prepared and some of the interesting stories I gathered during my sojourn in China.

Stories of how a Mother committed suicide to prevent some perverted bandits from holding her son ransom - thus giving the name “diao” (to throw) for the diaolou. Pictures of an artillery pocked up tower, courtesy of Japanese soldiers blasting away at a group of villagers who managed to successfully defend their village, and a picturesque leaning tower that almost rivals the leaning tower of Pisa. I’ve prepared a few of these as a beginning of a intro to these buildings that connect our pioneer Chinese Canadians to present day China - of our historic ties and the life that was then. I’ve got over 300 photos of diaolous… time for a book I guess. Where’s the government funding I can tap into???

Here's the link to my personal website: www.generasian.ca/diaolou.html

[twoupman]

It should be pointed out that the Chinese character for "diao" 碉 in Dialou 碉樓 means "a stone house", whereas the character for "to throw" 掉 is quite different.

[David Wong]

Yes, Twoupman is correct. According to Ricci’s Dictionary, diao means a “house made of stone”, and diaolou is a military term which could be translated as a watchtower or fort with more than one storey (sheltering a small troop to guard a frontier).

My reference to "throwing off" came from the book "Old Houses-diaolou and Folk dwellings in Kaiping" by Zhang Guoxiong in which he indicated that the reference to the diaolou was built in honor of a mother who had committed suicide. The legend goes that during the early reign of the Qing Dynasty, a man named Xu Long, in the Longtian village of Yueshan town, Kaiping, had a mother that jumped off a cliff rather than to surrender the information to bandits (who had wanted to kidnap the man and his son).

Thanks for the clarification.

[laohuaqiao]

Hi there,
First I want to say how happy I am to discover this site. I've been interested in my own family history for a long time.

I was born in Taishan Shuibu area, but left the village when I was 2. I visited the village several times before, but never more than a day or so. This past summer I spent almost 3 weeks in Taishan and staying for most part in our family house in the village.

I too have been fascinated by the diaolou. While in Taishan I bought a bicycle, did some research and went around to different villages to look for dialou and to take photos of them.

Folks at Taishan Museum in Taishan City are in the process of compiling a list of diaolou in Taishan. So far, over 900 are on record (I went the photo album myself). Perhaps it's just regional pride, they think by the time it is finished Taishan may have more diaolou than Kaiping.

One bit of trivia is the tallest diaolou is in Sijiu (Four Nine) township Tangtian (Pond Field) village with 9 stories. Tangtian is very close to the high mountains that separate Taishan from Xinhui, presumably where the bandits used to hide out, one can see the importance of that dialou.

Another interesting bit about some diaolou, which were constructed outside the villages, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, they in fact were built jointly by villages in the area because of the strategic location.

[David Wong]

Hi laohuaqiao,

I'd be interested to hear more about your quest on visting and stories of the diaolou in Taishan. I'd like to document as many of these buildings as possible. It really intrigues me to learn that these buildings were put together at the turn of the last century by rural people - who had little access to quality material and even less engineering knowledge. I guess many of these diaolou design came from outsiders - people who may have built structures for the europeans who had colonized parts of China...including Hong kong.

Really fascinating history.

Do you presently still reside in China? Perhaps we can catch up during one of my next visits to China.

Right now I am trying to help inform Canadians (Chinese and non-Chinese ancestry) to support the UNESCO heritage application of designating the diaolou as a world heritage site.. This application comes up for review this year (June 2007). More info can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaolou

Any one else who are interested in the Diaoluo can contact me. Thanks.

[laohuaqiao]

I found this article from the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China (located in Hong Kong):

www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=6601

"The Diaolou of Kaiping (1842-1937) Buildings for dangerous times "
Patricia BATTO
China Perspectives n°66, july - august 2006, page n°2

It's a very interesting read, some historical perspective, why some diaolou were built during the dangerous times, role of lineage and clan in buiding them, and material and structures of the diaolou,

[David Wong]

We just received news that the Kaiping / Taishan Diaolou application as an UNESCO World Heritage site has been approved

Through the dedicated efforts of heritage buffs, descendants of Siyi pioneers around the world and community leaders like former Washington state Governor, Gary Locke and Province of British Columbia MLA, Jenny Kwan, the application has been successful!

This is wonderful news. As the diaolou was a product born and realized through the efforts of the early Siyi emigrants who had travelled abroad to Canada, USA, Australia, Peru, Cuba and New Zealand at the turn of the last century.

Our link to our past and truly a memorable tribute by our forefathers.

David

[David Wong]

We had a nice Media conference this morning on the UNESCO approval of the Kaiping diaolou as a world heritage site. Here is a link to the UNESCO site: whc.unesco.org/en/list/1112

The diaolou are found all over Siyi - in Zhongshan, Taishan, Kaiping, Enping and Xinhui.

So to all of you Siyi descendants out there... I bet your ancestors had contributed to the building of these structures. Our link to our Chinese Siyi heritage... so congratulations to all of us.

[laohuaqiao]

I would like to see Taishan and other regions in Siyi apply for an extension of the Kaiping World Heritage region. If anything it would mean commitment from the local and Beijing government to the preservation of diaolou in these areas.

Mission statement of UNESCO World Heritage:
*encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;
*encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;
*encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;
*help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;
*provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;
support States Parties' public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;
*encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;
*encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.

[David Wong]

For many of you diaspora ... uprooted folks with Chinese roots - in particular, those whose ancestors hailed from the four counties [Say yap (Siyi)], I'd bet dollars to donuts that your family had some involvement on the construction and/or appearance of the diaolou. Castles in the Sky.

Whether your family's diaolou was realized physically or through money donations, or just celebrating the notion... many of you have a direct family connection to this history.

You probably never heard of it, as this all happened almost a century ago, and our elders don't make such a big deal of it. And besides, you weren't around when it happened.

I've finally gotten around to updating my family website -sharing this tres cool event, with some info and photos. Here's a link to it: www.generasian.ca/diaolou.html

I will be working on a book on this fascinating piece of Chinese - North American history... and would love to hear from any of you. thanks.

[helen]

These are also in the Wong village Gualing, and some other Zengcheng villages. They were built with New Zealand money.

www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_curiosity/2004-09/28/content_61469.htm

[David Wong]

Yes Helen, you're correct. Thanks for helping expand on this important notion.

A large number of diaolou and village halls, homes, village infrastructure were built with remittances from all over the world.

Large numbers of Chinese pioneers travelled the world at the turn of the last century - going to Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Cuba, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

And everyone of them sent funds back to their original homes to assist in the welfare and well being of their families and relations.

So if any of you are lucky to have living relations from this period, ask them about the important buildings in your ancestral village.