CeD in Shanghai

location : 2hrs by bus from Guangzhou

To the west of the Pearl River Delta, in villages nestling amid green bamboo and banana groves and surrounded by a patchwork of rice paddies, stand a number of incongruous dark towers bristling with battlements, fearsome fortresses full of arrow slits, and even the occasional elegant turret above an ornate mansion. All these buildings, in the middle of the Chinese countryside, look like faint reflections of a distant West. How did they end up on the banks of the Kaiping rice paddies?

Kaiping is situated in south-western Guangdong and, according to official figures, has 1,833 of these buildings or diaolou, most of which were built in the early twentieth century.

more infos :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaolou

Program to visit the Diaolous of Kaiping area (Guangdong Province)

Thursday night

Vol Shanghai-Guangzhou   (Ou train Shanghai-Guangzhou)  – arrival on Thursday night.

Night in Guangzhou

Friday

Early morning, Bus from Guangzhou bus station to Kaiping è 2 hours (there are buses every 30min).

In Kaiping, take a small bus to ………è 1hour

There, take motobikes to go around the countryside to Jingjiangli diaolou

Then motobikes to go to Jingjiangli Diaolous (obviously the most beautiful ones in the area) è 30 min

Then take thje motobikes to go to Majianglong è 15min

Night in Majianglong in habitants’ house

Saturday

Morning finish to visit Majianglong

Walk to the main road and Take a bus to Chikan (small town) è30min

Visit city 1hour

Take a bus to Zili village

Night in Zili in habitants houses

Sunday

Go around the many diaolous in the area

Go back to main road and take a bus to Kaipingè 1hour

Take a bus to Guangzhou è 2hours

Way back to Shanghai (evening flight).