In Kaiping City, watchtowers are spread all over urban and rural areas. There are more than a dozen watchtowers in a village, and there are at least 23. From Shuikou to Lily, from Tangkou to Qi Gang and Chishui, it's dozens of kilometers across, which is spectacular. These towers are the witness of Kaiping's political, economic and cultural development. They not only reflect the history of the people in the hometown of overseas Chinese who struggled hard to defend their motherland, but also are a living museum of modern architecture and a unique art gallery. It can be said that as a hometown of overseas Chinese, architecture and art, the characteristics of Kaiping are obvious on the watchtower. Protecting and excavating the bunker resources is of great significance to the study of overseas Chinese history and architectural art, the development of tourism resources and the education of collectivism, patriotism and socialism.
The diaolou combines Chinese and western styles, blending the essence of various architectural styles. At the peak of Kaiping, there were more than 3,000 watchtowers. At present, there are more than 800 watchtowers in Kaiping 15 townships and offices. These towers are the crystallization of the initiative of overseas Chinese and villagers in Kaiping in the last century to combine foreign architectural culture with local architectural culture. With a large number, exquisite architecture and diverse styles, it can be called the largest "Diaolou Museum" in the world.
In terms of building materials, there are early mud wall buildings (rammed layer by layer with a mixture of lime sand, sugar, salt, mussel shells and oyster shells), middle blue brick buildings (thickened with ordinary blue bricks), and finally reinforced concrete buildings (built with reinforced concrete according to modern building materials).
In terms of types, it can be divided into three categories: first, the night watchman's building or lantern building, which is usually built at the head or end of the village, and some are built on the mountain for the use of vigilante and night watchman, with searchlights and alarms inside. Once the thief is found, the police will be called immediately to prepare the villagers.
The second is a multi-storey building, which is built by more than a dozen households or several households. This watchtower has 3~6 floors, and each floor has 2~4 rooms. In case of bandits or floods, every family can live in a multi-storey building to avoid disasters.
Third, residential buildings, wholly owned by overseas Chinese, are used for long-term residence. Kaiping Diaolou combines Chinese and Western styles, and the Diaolou has various shapes.
The biggest feature is to integrate different foreign architectural styles according to their own wishes and form a whole. There are not only ancient Greek and Roman styles, but also architectural elements of Gothic, Islamic, Baroque and Rococo styles. It is difficult to classify Kaiping Diaolou as a certain architectural style in a certain period abroad. These architectural elements of different styles, schools and religions complement each other in Kaiping Diaolou, showing unique artistic charm.
The building structure fully embodies the defense function, with narrow doors and windows, heavy steel windows and iron gates, eyes on all sides of the top floor, watchtowers, searchlights and alarms on the roof, which have made great contributions to protecting the lives and property of villagers in history.