My recent China adventures have been wide, varied and definitely “off the beaten track”. The Kaiping Diaolou Tour covers historic buildings in China’s Guangdong Province and all the Kaiping Diaolou are included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Site series.
How to get to the Historic Town of Chikan
For the purposes of my entire posts on the Kaiping Diaolou Tour, I based myself in the city of Kaiping. You should do this too – we stayed in the Milan Hotel in the city centre and you can organize all your tours from there. Other hotels will offer the same service. Don’t book anything in advance before you arrive in Kaiping.
The Historic Town of Chikan
The big difference between a town such as Chikan and Shaoguan (for example) is the lack of commercial advertising. In Chikan, you won’t find any Sony or Panasonic signs lit up at night and the local shops sell fish and fruit rather than iPhones and Kindles! Leave your modernity at the door please. This is a place where you will be taken back in time.
Chikan was established during the Qing Dynasty, governed by Emperor Shunzhi. The streets and buildings of the current Chikan Town were built at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries. Despite being Asian to the core, the residents of Chikan did something slightly unusual for the Chinese.
They modeled their buildings on what they call “Western Architecture” and this is clear to see. The three storey buildings alongside the river give us reminders of parts of Europe somehow. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but these buildings are unique. They are a rarity in Asia and the local people in Chikan and in the Kaiping Diaolou have certainly been creative and inventive in their design.
Things to see and do in the Historic Town of Chikan
For me, admiring the design of the buildings overlooking the river was my high point but here’s a quick top 5 things to see and do there.
1. Meet the Locals
If you are foreign and have a “western face” the locals will be intrigued.
2. Visit the Library
As someone who used to love libraries (before the internet took over), the library in Chikan is something else. Old books and magazines, dusty shelves and no sign of any computers of internet – it’s definitely worth seeing.
3. Walk by the Tanjiang River
The river that runs through Chikan is called the Tanjiang and there is one main bridge across it. You can just walk along it on both sides, admiring the view. Or stop for a tea or a cold drink and relax. This place is miles from the commercial world.
4. Visit the “Newer” Part of the Historic Town of Chikan
What? Go all the way to an Old Town and then see the new town? Yes, mainly so you can see the difference. You can walk a few streets up and see places selling Coca Cola and with a few advertising boards around you – it’s a sublime difference.
5. Sample local street food
There are loads of outdoor stalls in Chikan selling local street food – mostly dried fish and dried mandarin skin.
I stuck to eating dried fruit, of which mandarin skin was the nicest. Sweet and tasty.
For a bonus point you can also possibly enquire about a short cruise on the river on one of the boats.
On the edge of town, crop fields keep the local employed as does the impact that tourism has on the community. The locals are extremely friendly and this is a safe place for you to visit.
Chikan, Kaiping Diaolou Tour
Chikan, Kaiping Diaolou Tour Part 3:
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
