Jiangmen

The World Heritage Kaiping Diaolou blend Chinese and Western styles, alongside Chikan Old Town – a filming location for Let the Bullets Fly – and the overseas-Chinese hometown of Taishan with its Chuandao beaches; a showcase of Lingnan diaspora culture.

Jiangmen lies in the western Pearl River Delta and is one of China's best-known ancestral homes of overseas Chinese, nicknamed 'China's No. 1 Hometown of Overseas Chinese'. It administers the county-level cities of Kaiping, Taishan, Enping and Heshan and the districts of Pengjiang, Jianghai and Xinhui, and millions of overseas Chinese trace their roots here. In the early 20th century, emigrants brought Western architectural elements back home and built thousands of diaolou (fortified watchtowers) and lu villas mixing Chinese and Western styles. In 2007, 'Kaiping Diaolou and Villages' was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the film Let the Bullets Fly was shot in Kaiping.

Areas to explore: Kaiping is the core. The four World Heritage villages are Zili Village, Majianglong, Jinjiangli (with Ruishi Lou) and Sanmenli, and there are other sights such as Li Garden and Nan Lou. The Diaolou cultural tourism combo ticket costs about ¥180 (covering Zili Village, Li Garden, Majianglong and Jinjiangli, valid for 2 days), and a single ticket to Zili Village is about ¥78. Chikan Overseas Chinese Old Town is a restored arcade-street (qilou) resort town; admission is about ¥150 and it stays open into the evening, making it ideal for a night visit. In urban Jiangmen, Xinhui has Bird Paradise (the banyan-tree bird island described by Ba Jin) and the Former Residence of Liang Qichao; Taishan has island beaches on Shangchuan and Xiachuan islands, plus local food such as Taishan eel rice. Ticket prices are subject to official announcements.

Seasons: Spring and autumn are best. Oct–Dec is dry and comfortable for cycling among the diaolou and fields; in Mar–Apr the rapeseed fields turn gold; summer is hot with frequent typhoons, so check the weather before island trips.

Getting there: High-speed or intercity trains run from Guangzhou South to Jiangmen, Kaiping South and Taishan stations in about 1 hour. Kaiping's diaolou villages are 10–20 km apart; sightseeing buses link the sites, but driving, hiring a car or cycling is more flexible. Suggested stay: 2–3 days – 1 day for Zili Village, Li Garden and Majianglong, then check into Chikan in the evening for a night stroll; 1 day for Jinjiangli plus Xinhui's Bird Paradise and the Former Residence of Liang Qichao; add 1–2 days for Shangchuan Island. Local specialties include Taishan eel rice, Kaiping chicken-and-crab pot, Xinhui dried-tangerine-peel duck and Magang goose.

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Where to eat

Itineraries