Kaiping Diaolou: a tribute to overseas Chinese culture
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- Опубликовано: 22 авг 2024
- I've been wanting to visit the Kaiping Diaolou for so many years and was so excited to finally get the opportunity! These structures feature a fascinating blend of Wwestern and Chinese design, and the reason why will surprise you...
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I saw some of these near Shenzhen! They looked like they had an interesting story behind them, thanks for sharing😍
你们真的可以当姐妹俩，太像了，不知道什么时候来一期梦幻联动？XD
我擦 惭愧，在深圳长大也不知道这个
@兰州懂王 看来不是我一个人这样觉得！哈哈哈
Love both of your videos! Should definitely collaborate if there is a chance!
China RUclipsrs assemble.
Such a fascinating destination.
Hi Stu, I'm a huge fan and subscriber of both you and Amy. You both produce fantastic, insightful and enjoyable vlogs. I'm sure that you share some of the same followers. Now that Blondie is back in China, would it be possible at some point for you to make a cross-over vlog together? Sorry if this sounds presumptuous (I'm not sure how well you know one another or if the logistics are possible). However, I think the pair of you would be brilliant together. Just a thought. Oh, and I have asked Amy about this too.
you also watch blondie in China ?
@@xyz-pf1yz Sure do! I'm an Aussie like Amy. I just adore both Stu and Amy - seeing China through their eyes, I've learned so much about this wonderful country and her lovely people.
你好哈佛学霸
@@maxromanus4355 牛津学霸吧？、
I am an overseas Chinese myself, born and bred in Malaysia, same goes to my father too. My late grandfather came to Malaysia(then Malaya) in the early 1930s from Hainan Island. He actually did went back once in the 1940s I think but life back in China at that time was still poor and not much opportunities were there for making a better living. He decided to go to Malaysia again and eventually settled down here and obtained a citizenship and since then had never been able to return to China due to the anti-Communist sentiment at that time in South East Asia whereby some countries including Malaysia prohibited their citizens from visiting China until the 1970s.
He passed away in the 1980s whereby China were just at the early stage of Reform and Opening. If he is still alive today, I believe he will definitely be very happy and pleased with how far has China come. : )
Hainan Island here (American-Vietnamese-Chinese-Hainanese).
I've been there many times over the years. I remember once, when I was filming a television show there, I was riding a bike along the paths around the Diaolou buildings, and I was too focused on speaking to the camera and not focused enough on keeping my eye on the path... Of course, the wheel got stuck in a gap and I went head-first into a paddy field. I hope they kept that blooper - I would love to see that and have a good laugh at myself! Luckily, I was wearing a helmet! I think some of the tourists there on the day also had a bit of a giggle, so it added a little bit of hilarity to the trip! But yeah, I love this place, because it is so unique, and something that is very iconic in Guangdong.
Luckily you wear a helmet. Not only on the road, in daily life, when something momentum becomes high, we need more careful, even just peeling an apple using a knife. My father told me that.
I once been here a few years ago. An excellent movie "让子弹飞" also filmed here.
申遗
It was in Taishan (台山）
No wonder it looks so familiar to me.........
My mom grew up here! It's been over 22 years since she's been there. So I had to show my mom this video. Brought her a smile and great memories. I was a toddler so I don't remember much. Will need to go back soon!
JIANGMEN 江门 is a "Prefecture" that consist of Taishan 台山 county, Kaiping 开平 county, Enping 恩平 county, Heshan 鹤山county, and three districts (Xinhui 新会, Pj, Jh).
This arrangement was only established in 1988 but with Xinhui being a city. In 2002, Xinhui was further demoted into a district.
Historically, Jiangmen was a town under Xinhui county.
It is still quite common, especially among older Chinese, to consider Xinhui 新会, Taishan 台山, Kaiping 开平, Enping 恩平, and Jiangmen 江门 as different places.
In fact, Xinhui 新会, Taishan 台山, Kaiping 开平 and Enping 恩平 was collectively known as Siyi 四邑 (four cities), or Wuyi 五邑 (five cities) if Heshan 鹤山was included. Today's Jiangmen prefecture includes all of the fives cities.
It's nice to see Blondie is going deeper into the history and culture after enjoying the amazing food China can offer. Keep it up!
Kaiping is so unique and rich in history. Thank you for visiting my hometown area.
kaiping, a pretty town where i spent the first 15 years of my life
That’s the Chinese spirit; sacrificing yourself to bring comfort to your loved ones.
I am a fourth-generation overseas Chinese in Malaysia, and my great grandfather is from Jiangmen City
you must be hakka I supposed, by looking at your surname? I'm Malaysian too but of Hainan Island as ancestral home.
@@ELGtheMAN I do understand Hakka (Malaysians tend to understand multiple dialect), but I am a Xinhuinese 新會人 .
Though, my family currently speak Guangzhou Cantonese 廣府話 🤣 at home.
Awesome Video, My ancestors left Kaiping in the early 1920's and emigrated to America. My uncle use to tell us stories long ago how he came over when he was 14 y.o. in 1920s. But, these were some of the buildings that he talked about. Very Nice video! Thank you!
Thank you for your video. My ancestor come from Kaiping. I have never been there. Hope someday i can go there
My grandparents are from here. They left in the 1930’s. I never knew those homes are still intact, I thought for sure they were mowed down for new construction. Thanks for showing the area.
Those buildings look like castles at the top of the apartment building. Quaint looking. I wonder whether there are similar designs around the world?
You can take a look at Kellie's castle in Malaysia.
OK, very interesting in China because I've never seen this building before! Thanks for sharing and telling all about it, Amy and stay safe as well!!
I think China is the most safe place in this world nowadays…
@@genli4245 Not really!
@@tayyihcheung7450 it is true . i mean china is one of the most safe country in the world
@@fosterliu1979 No. Quite the opposite; China is the single, most dangerous country in the world! Your English is grammatically incorrect: 1) not most safe, but safest; 2) Not one of ... country, but one of ... countries. You are undereducated!
Undereducated comment for someone who speaks his/her 2nd language. You are really well educated. So are you really fluent in your 2nd language? If u r not, can we say ur undereducated?
Blonde! My hometown in ‘da old county! Thank you for showing as I left Kai ping in 1978 but only been back once 15 years ago. Your videos really are educational and a great reminder of our ancestral home.
Did'nt know there are even such houses in China. Beautiful, just beautiful. Perhaps they should renovate it and make it into a tourist spot.
By the way, I can imagine the ghost stories of these places.
Makes me shiver just thinking about it.
🤣🤣
This is a tourist spot, to preserve the historic value they can't renovate it anew though. You don't see people putting new marble on the surface of the pyramid do you?
Been to Kaiping before in 2018, the Diaolou was an absolute unique gem, thanks for taking us there again!
My brother-in-law mother’s family has own one of this building in Kaiping.
we own like 500
Love this!!! My entire family is from Kaiping, but everyone has since immigrated to Canada. I have so much fun every time i visit 🥰 Thank you for sharing!!!
This video is wholesome! I never got to know about Diaolou as a Chinese. Nice video mix with the Diaolou as well as the old Chinese immigration history! Keep it up!
Thank you Amy for another awesome video. Kaiping is where my dad was from. I was lucky enough to visit there with my dad just before covid to visit the diaolou. Your video sure brought back lots of memories.
Hope you can do more food videos in kaiping because the food there is awesome. Keep up the awesome job.
Thank you so much for making this amazing episode . Not just to learn about the history of Diaolou but also to realise the true and sad fact that many Chinese immigrants who tried so hard to earn a living overseas but never make it back home….
Fascinating. Never before have I heard of Diaolou even though I am from China originallly. Thank you for sharing this Amy.
I've been waiting on this! Living vicariously through Blondie.
WOW, Amy is in my ancestral town. I was just there 2 months ago. Kaiping was listed as the World's Material Cultural Heritage, and the countryside management is amazing. The local gov sent out cleaners every day, so you can't really find garbages even on the farmland. In 2018, the City gov just compensated an ancient town's resident and took it back to renovate for a conservation project.
That's good to know. Why were the diaolou abandoned? In WWII? Too expensive for upkeep? Who owns them now?
Kaiping and it's nearby counties are renowned to be migrations to the overseas. These migrations can be dated back centuries, but peek was in the late Qing dynasty, when China was particularly poor, and many choose to look for opportunities abroad. During the time, some of them became the rail roads construction workers in the US, and Canada.
These foreign working Chinese never forgotten about their home, so even some choose to become foreign citizens would still invest money back into their hometown and build what was consider a luxurious house, the "diaolou". My family had also became foreign citizens, but we migrated in a much later stage, in the 90s.
To conclude into a simpler answer for your question, the reason is mostly because the owning families had moved out of the country already, and some were decades ago.
@@MikeyDaHammer So most families abandoned those gorgeous buildings & went to the US & SE Asia (or perhaps HK/ Taiwan)?
@@Jumpoable I believe some of those building were built after they had migrated. In Chinese culture, we believe we must have our house back in our home town.
Now that I'm working and living in China, I see many of my friends will spend quite a lot of money to build their house back in their home town. They seldom live in their houses, maybe once or twice a year.
@@Jumpoable I also have a house which was built by my dad during the 90s. It costed him about 50k USD back in the 90s, which is a lot. My house had been idle for decades, but it's our belief to keep a house.
My wife is came from kaiping, I like this place when we went back to her hometown 2018, right now we both living in NY:) I hope we can visit this beautiful place soon with my 20 months old princess.
I was wondering whether Amy would visit my hometown. And she did. Yeah.
Thank you Amy, you introduce traditional Chinese culture for even Chinese like me…..
Wow. Your video are reaching the professional level quickly.
@Sadi Cardi I saw that like a million times already. But thank your effort anyway.
@Sadi Cardi What is your point here? If you send the link under some anti-China videos, you'll get many comments you want to see. We, as Chinese, have already know this from our News. So we don't need you to tell us the things we already knew under a tourism video. Save your time and do some more useful things.
@@l_sx8722 they get paid for doing things like that.
I know, more people watch it they get paid more. I sometimes watch the ad during video.
Thank you for taking the time to share this!!!
Hey Amy, there was a movie called "Let the Bullets Fly"(让子弹飞) it's a story about southern China in the early 20th century, a Diaolou is heavily involved in the storyline
公平 公平 还是他妈的公平！
Oh I love that movie. Didn't know it's set in Southern China
it is in Taishan
such an amazing movie~
@@paulcaistudio 让子弹飞的碉楼的确是在开平拍的
Hi Amy. Thank you very much for making vid about Kaiping. My grandfather and my ancestor came from that town. I've always been wondering how Kaiping looks like. And now I can see it thanks to you. Looking forward to visit it someday. Jia you, Amy !
As a Chinese, I learned about the history of Diaolou through an introduction by an Australian girl. Thank you for sharing. These legacy is a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Chinese ancestors who survived hardships.
Very interesting. I’m Chinese but I never knew these buildings existed. Thank you for showing us.
Most of these Diaolou were built by those who returned from Malaysia and the surrounding countries. They worked hard in the plantations or running a business and were able to save up loads of money. It would be interesting to know which several Diaolou were built by those who worked in North America.
Is it the Tang shan people?
@@medialcanthus9681 Most of those who came to North America around the 1900s came from Taishan. Those who went to seek opportunities in Southeast Asia came from various southern parts of China.
Totally saw that "ghost" coming XD
Kaiping is my hometown, which is a relatively special city and country in China. I live in Sydney now, and when I saw this video, I felt homesick.
My hometown! 🤗
I can even feel the blazing heat off the screen, you go Amy!! Keep exploring 💪🏻💪🏻
sincere respect to those immigrants, or pioneers who dared to see the bigger world at that age. so brave🙇🏻♀️ That reminded me of the day I stepped on plane for studying in australia alone several yrs ago. love blondie🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻
This is my mum's hometown! We are so happy to watch your video together during lockdown in Sydney ♡
Diaolou was a more recent version to Tulou found in Western Fujian Province. Both designs were linked to optimal security for their occupants due to frequent civil wars or against bandits
The Tulous are way more impressive than these western castle wannabes that look ridiculous and out of place. The Tuluos were built by the Hakka people, sub group of Han Chinese people who really love their heritage and culture, though like the Cantonese, they had ventured overseas but kept their building Original Chinese. As evidenced here, The Cantonese really love the West, so no wonder they raised Union Jack back in the HK protest.
@@glowndark1 Such a hateful comment lol
Love the channel , I live in the Uk and you actually captured a shot of my grandads old diolou which is now mine !😅 going back next week
Thanks Blondie for exploring Guangdong Province....and folks if you want more insight on this topic or region, a tv drama call 1.Fatherland 家在珠江; Fatherland 2 古都惊雷; Fatherland 3 金山夢. produced by ATV is a must watch.
Kai ping is less than an hour drive from my hometown Taishan. I went there to visit diaolou many years ago. They are beautiful. There are some diaolou in taishan too.
I was told by my father that theirs had ladders that they would pull up so that the bandits couldn’t get upstairs. They also had the hole to shoot things down. One thing though is that there wasn’t that sharp dividing line between common people and bandits.
Old Cantonese: We built Diaolou to defend our clan from the bandits
New Cantonese: It's so hot. I'm dying
global warming confirmed. KEKW
土匪就是红军吧
@@joeyjohn2843 了解下历史吧
@@brettli2657 去了解下 澎湃 的海陆丰 杀了多少人
华人华侨 是被国共害得最惨的一批人
I wish you have went to the museum in Kaiping, you would have know much more about Kaiping , Diaolou and much much more!
I have known about these buildings for a long time but thanks to you it is the first time I get to see the inside. My grandfather was in Toronto Canada and when he decided to retired with a bit of money.He boarded a vessel at Vancouver. While waiting for the vessel to sail he gambled and loss most of the money. So he got off the ship and returned to Toronto. About 30 years ago we found his grave at Mount Pleasant cemetery and that was an very interesting story by itself.
I'll bet my grandpa knew your grandpa, Toronto use to be a small tight community lol
Fantastic video! I'm from the northern part of China but it is the first time for me to know these architectures and the story behind them. I really enjoy it.
Blondie Amy, China now wants overseas Chinese to emigrate back to China, and your shows like this does a good job for that cause.
Send every single pro CCP back to China, NOW. We don’t want them spying.
@@stadinh Are you afraid of us stealing your kangaroo? I really don't know what's worth stealing in Australia
@@stadinh lmao u don’t know anything about China at all. In fact u just think about China only as ccp, pandas, Chinese ppl eat everything, and other bad stereotypes that aren’t even stereotypes at all and you only know the capital. How embarrassing that you didn’t know that China has over 300 dialects and 56 ethnic groups. No wonder whatever u say doesn’t make sense at all. Get a better job and a better education loser.
@@yanglan9604 Please don't think all Australians are rude like Boxing Kanga. Most Australians are more like Amy - friendly and nice. I and many other Australians are fans of Amy and we love learning about China and the Chinese people through following her blogs.
@@joycliffe266 The Australian government's recent series of operations have broken the hearts of the Chinese people. We just want to engage in trade quietly. Make a little money and improve our living standards. The Australian government is ideologically in command, attacking our domestic affairs for no reason. The Chinese have an old saying: "Harmony is the most important thing." I hope that more Australians will understand China and I am grateful to Amy for his efforts.
Another feature of some of the more recently abandoned places is that you will often find a corner or nook in the living area where they have stuck photos "sent home" from relatives living overseas. Over time, they become stained and/or mildewed but they will be left up there for all to see.
As Chinese , I'm getting to know China through a foreigner 😂😂😂
广东珠三角城市都有碉楼，但江门市开平县最具特色
CGTN and CCTV have a ton of documentaries on various topics available.
Me too
Exactly me 😂😂 and when Amy was in Australia going on her food adventures, I was learning about all the different Chinese cuisines, making me realise my parents only eat Yue cuisine
Same here...
This is the beauty of cultural communications. As a Chinese living in the US, I'm learning Chinese culture from an Australian!
Thank you
My mother actually inherited one of these. I remember she told me how she took a trip back to China and donated to the local government because they were too expensive to maintain.
I’ve been there before. It is worth a visit. 🤩 开平 means 开始平安。
very nicely filmed. there are also many diaolou's in taishan. i remember when i was a kid i entered a diaolou and there was a coffin in it.
Woah love the education that I'm receiving from your channel ♥️
I visited Li Yuan Garden in 2008 or earlier. Great to see it again.
Liyuan garden is very beautiful. I've been there once. I remember having to pay 2 times the regular admission because I was not a local, which I didn't mind too much. My wife's family live in Kaiping so we travel there every few years. Lovely city. You need to try the roasted goose if you ever visit.
This is such an interesting episode, thanks for educating us. Yes, it's hard to get used to 40C with 90% humidity.
My grandfather came over to Malaysia from this region. Hope to visit this place. Thank you Amy for the great video.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I'm from Kaiping😊 didn't expect Amy would visit Kaiping👍
wow, hope can bring my parents visit our Ancestor hometown one day, im from Malaysia
wish you everyday nice day, stay safe stay health
Next stop my hometown EnPing, not far from KaiPing. 2nd largest hot spring there in Asia.
i am not kidding-- watching the videos of Blondie could offer us more views and perspectives about chinese culture, though that sometimes very innovative and refreshing and even that i am a chinese who had studied and known so so more than others.
Thank you very much! Wonderful video!
Thank you for this video! My family is from there! ❤️
Thanks for introducing China, it's a tough topic to talk about pure culture though. Have a great time :)
I want one the roof would have a nice view and privacy and better air quality than ground level.
Every meter of land can be used for structure so maximum cost efficiency and you can still have a garden on the roof.
Most house rooves are actually wasted space if you think about it. They just deflect rain and sun it's a waste of real estate.
Roof garden utilizes the solar energy and the plants would have a cooling effect good for you electric bill.
Ohhh I was born in Kaiping. Thanks for the amazing content!
wow，this video is an eye opener for Chinese people too, great work!
It’s the lingnan岭南建筑 architecture influenced by the western‘s baroque architecture . my grandma's auntie owns the biggest diaolou in huadu guangzhou
Great video Amy (KUDOS) really appreciate how comprehensively you have covered these Kaiping Diaolou 开平碉楼 very informative educational and most of all, enjoyable to watch. Am sharing this and other content you're creating on RCN Asia and our Youth+ platform as well as in my WeChat groups. Do drop by when you're next in Shenzhen. Shenzhen has been my home since 1997. BTW I'm very much interested in learning how you are doing your subtitles - there's much for me to learn - Cheers :-)
I'm a Chinese but never know this Diaolou before, stuck in Sydney lockdown now, wish I can travel back to China again.
💖🌷💖🌷💖Love the channel !
I had been to one in Foshan. I guess the entire Guangdong must be hot and humid in summer. When we toured some cities and villages in Guangdong one August, we clambered back on the the a-c bus as soon as we could.
#Kaiping is my birthplace.
Beautiful video. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thank you Blondie for the video! I know that some of the Diaolous are transformed into 民宿 (bed & breakfast guesthouses?), it's one of the ways to preserve them.
Thanks a lot for sharing the culture and history of Jiangmen. My parents also left that area with me to go oversea when I was 1 year old and went back to live there, I'm so grateful for everything they did for me. (If there would be no pandemic) I visited every year and every time I would see the diaolou. Usually I see a lot of northern and central Chinese tourists there and haven't seen a lot of westerners, but ur video might spread to them and I will see some during my next visit. Cheers!
Purposed designed Mini castle to ward off bandits. Main features is height, built like a tank, plus 4 sides sentry style offensive shooting tower.
Many Hakka Chinese in ASEAN..our great grand fathers/mothers..from the southern China.
I've got to visit this place! The background explanation made the whole video so much more interesting! Quality production!
Thank you Amy for another fascinating video about this aspect of the Chinese culture that I'll probably never come across. Very informative, fun and your sense of humor; just love it. Thanks for sharing! And another random shout-out to your dad so he knows your viewers are thinking about him and your mum! ^_^
your videos are absolutely amazing
Thank you for sharing! I too always want to visit a Diaolou!
I had a tour 10 years ago. I went up to the rooftop. Very impressive buildings built almost 100 years ago.
Very interesting stories behind these buildings, China continues to fascinate me. Thanks for sharing x
Hi Amy, I'm a huge fan and subscriber of yours and enjoy your vlogs very much. You look so happy to be back in China. I've been a bit cheeky and suggested to Stu (China Traveller) in the comment section, that it would be great if the pair of you could do a cross-over vlog together at some point. I'm not sure if you know one another well enough or even if the logistics of it all would permit this, but I think the two of you together would be awesome. It could be a Brit/Australian co-production. You both have so much in common - love for China, a passion for travelling/exploring new places as well as informing and entertaining your respective audiences. Both of you are brimming with enthusiasm and have a great sense of humour.
I didn't know Diaolou before even I am a Cantonese! Thank you so much for your introduction!
拍的真好
活捉老马
哟 马哥
好家伙
老马！！！
是什么样的算法把老马推到了这里？ 我有一个大胆的设想 让Amy去参选峰女郎 你们来个联动一勺烩 指定全网顶流了
Another amazing video from Blondie in China...Good on you, Amy!
They are stunning. Thank you!
Interesting! Didn't know that such history about diaolou existed.
Tks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing Amy👍🙏