The day
A century ago, Cantonese emigrants who had made their fortunes abroad sent money home to Kaiping — and their villages built diaolou: fortified towers mixing Roman columns, Islamic arches and Baroque domes with rice-paddy pragmatism and anti-bandit gun slits. Nearly two thousand still stand, and UNESCO lists the best of them.
This day covers the essential trio — Zili Village’s tower cluster, the gardens and stained glass of Li Garden, and Majianglong’s towers hidden in bamboo — plus Chikan old town, whose riverside arcade streets look like a film set because they frequently are.
Good to know
Hour by hour
Westward out of the delta — breakfast en route if you like.
The signature cluster: fifteen towers rising from the fields, their rooftop loggias scanning for long-gone bandits.
A returned emigrant’s private fantasy — canals, follies and diaolou with stained glass and imported tilework.
Home-style Cantonese in a farmhouse restaurant — free-range chicken, river fish, seasonal greens.
Towers half-swallowed by bamboo groves — the quietest and most atmospheric stop.
600 metres of continuous riverside qilou arcades from the 1920s — southern China’s best-preserved streetscape.
Straight run to Guangzhou against the light.
A lost world, back in time for dinner.
This is a private trip — every timing above flexes to your pace, your appetite and your energy.
The fine print
Keep exploring
Tell us your date and hotel — we confirm your driver within hours. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup.