Diaolous or Gold Mountain Houses

The "Gold Mountain Houses" of the Wuyi counties are archetectural oddities, an ecclectic blend of the occidental and the oriental, where they are known as Diaolous or literally "Watchtower Houses".

Off the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang highway in Kaiping County, they appear like clusters of fortresses in many different sizes and styles ... so fantastic, that they have been nominated for inclusion on the Register of the World's Cultural Heritage, for which, Kuang Jikang, an official of the Kaiping County government, has been largely responsible.

According to Kuang Jikang, their construction began during the late Ming (1368-1644) and early Q'ing (1644-1911) Dynasties, and may be attributed to the local geography and economy, especially in Kaiping County, where most of them were built, but also in the neighbouring Counties of Taishan and Xinhui.

These counties lie around the mighty Tan River and its tributaries, and so are low-lying and subject to floods, and, in the past, were infested with bandits. In order to protect themselves and their families, more prosperous villagers built these fortress-like houses.

Then during the Gold Rush Era of the 19^th century, a great number travelled abroad to seek their fortunes. Many of those who were successful, returned, bought land, built houses, got married and raised families. Their homeland had been subjected to the repeated horrors of war, pestilence and famine, breeding the desperation that grows a dangerous crop of bandits. The comparative prosperity of these returnees attracted these bandits like a moth to a flame, and the construction of these fortress-like houses boomed.

During the 1920s and 1930s when construction peaked, there were more than 70 serious robberies in Kaiping County alone. One night in December 1922, a group of bandits kidnapped the headmaster and 17 students of Kaiping Middle School. Troops of the local warlord finally found and rescued them with the help of search lights from a Diaolou in Yingcun Village. This incident alone caused a sensation throughout the county, and some overseas Chinese remitted money to build more.

After World War II with the Revolution of 1949, overseas remittances finally stopped, and the construction of Diaolous also came to an end, with the last one in Kaiping built in 1948.

Once there were over 3,000 of them in Kaiping County alone, but now only 1,833 are left. Many are vacant, their residents having moved elsewhere.

These vacant houses combine both Chinese and Western architectural elements, and are generally three or four storeys high with thick walls and embrasures. The outer walls are decorated with detailed carvings or murals of seas, junks and/or ports reflecting the foreign adventures of their builders and their individual personalities.

Their grey brick walls and rusty old-style doors and windows almost hide a bewildering variety of architectural styles, including Greek, Roman, Gothic, Islamic, Baroque and Rococo. Often the building plans were drawn up overseas and returned with the owner.

Consequently, it is not surprizing that the architectural style often reflected the culture of where the owner had lived overseas, though sometimes only a more generalized "American-European style" or "Nanyang or Southeast Asian style" can be identified.

The iron and concrete used in their construction were bought abroad and imported through Macao, at significant expense. Only the blue bricks and wood were local, as was the labour.

When the foundation of a Diaolou was dug, a big awning was usually established on the whole construction site to prevent weather damage.

They are now the favourite study of Zhang Guoxiong, a professor of Jiangmen Wuyi University, from Beijing, who is the acknowledge expert.

One place of note is Xia Village, which is better known as the Canadian Village, because all the Diaolous here were built in a Canadian style, and afterwards all the villagers emigrated to Canada, except a "village head", Guan Xinsen.

This 68-year-old "village head" stayed with his mother, who did not wish to emigrate to Canada. Now he lives alone, raising some 500 chickens and planting rice, with about ten Diaolous, all closed and empty.

To prevent vandalism and looting, the Kaiping County government retains some of the locals to guard them, and carry out regular inspections. Guan Xinsen is one such guard.

Another place of note is Zili Village, which has the most Diaolous of any village in Kaiping County.

According to Wu Jiuliang, who was the editor-in-chief of the county gazetteer and is now an offical of the Kaiping County government, there are 63 households and 175 villagers living in Zili, as well as 248 living in the USA, UK, Malaysia, Philippines, Fiji, Hong Kong and Macao. Most of the latter work in the food and clothing industries, and their remittances are a major source of income.

When the village was founded, there were only two houses surrounded by a wilderness which was reclaimed as more houses were established.

During the early years of the 20^th century, many of the villagers went abroad to seek a decent living. Some of them returned, and, in the 1920's, they began to build Diaolous as a defence against a growing crop of bandits. These were named after their owners or their most deeply held desires. One is named Yangxian Bieshu (i.e. Leisurable Life Villa) and another Ju An Lou (i.e.Safe Dwelling Building).

One of particular interest is Mingshi Lou (i.e. Stone Building), which was built in 1925, and is five stories high of reinforced concrete. Every storey consists of one sitting room and four bedrooms, each luxuriously furnish by the standards of the day.

The owner's suitcase, thermos bottles, gramophone, and box of whiskey are all still there. On the walls hang black-and-white photos of the owner and his family. The handrail of the staircase is steady and exquisitely constructed.On the top there are towers at each corner, known as "swallow nests", each built with embrasures and stocked with cobble stones and an alkali water sprayer for use against bandits.

According to Wu Jiuliang, the owner, Fang Runwen did business in the USA. He had three wives, and all his offspring lived abroad. When Fang got rich from his business, he spent a huge amount of money building his home, using local labour.

After he died in the USA in 1948, his concubine, Yang and children preserved his body, and shipped it back to Zili. After burying him in a small hill outside the village, his family slipped away with the jewellery and other valuables.

After half a century, his descendants returned to Zili, and were pleased to see their ancestral home maintained by the Kaiping County government and open to the public as part of China's National Heritage.

There are now 15 Diaolous in Zili Village, all under national heritage protection. Their owners have all emigrated, and entrusted management of their properties to the county government.