At first glance of the introduction of Kaiping, I was actually least interested in Liyuan. Somehow when the Diaolou’s are placed in a rich man’s manicured garden they seemed to lose authenticity to me. As it turned out, the Liyuan Diaolou’s were very engaging as historic structures. There were many buildings to visit there, plus a large garden to tour. I stopped by Yupei Villa in the garden and it was so cute that I did not want to leave.

A Brief History of Liyuan

The owner of Liyuan was Xie Weili, who had spent significant time living in the United States. The name of the property came from the last character of its owner’s name, Li. Construction for the property began in 1926 and it took ten years to finish all the structures. As will be discussed below, the buildings in Liyuan also came in the style of the Chinese eclectic. Some of them are properly Diaolou’s, serving both residential and defensive purposes.

On the way to the Villa Zone, there is a section that displays miniature Diaolou’s of different locations in Kaiping. It is called Miniature Diaolou Scenic Area.  You can take a look at some of the Diaolou’s that are of interest to you in this trip or the next. They are very realistic and I actually enjoyed this touristy display (miniature displays are considered tourist attractions in Southern China).

The general areas of tour interest in the Liyuan Garden are the Villa Zone, with clusters of structures with especially beautiful interiors. It is worth going in for a look. Then there is the gardens featuring beautiful buildings and structures, such as pavilions, bridges, manicured gardens, granite gateway, open air corridor and a very special Vine Pavilion.

Some Notable Diaolou’s in Liyuan Garden

The Panli Lou

The name of Panli Lou came from joining Xie Weili’s name with his father’s name, Xie Shengpan. It was built in 1926. The walls and the windows show western features, while the roof was built of traditional Chinese glazed green tiles.

All of the residential diaolou’s in the Liyuan Garden feature roman columns. Some of these columns support verandas. In Panli Lou, the roman columns feature prominently at the main entrance on the ground floor and in the central part of the verandas on the second and third floors.

Panli Lou is open for visit and I highly recommend a quick look into the beautiful interior, featuring elegant staircases and function rooms such as the kitchen. The tiled floor shows incredibly colorful patterns typical of that era.

The Panwen Lou

The Panwen Lou was built in 1926 and served as the residence for Xie Weili’s older brother Xie Weiwen and his wife. With 3 stories, Panwen Lou has a similar appearance as the Panli Lou.

The Letian Lou

Letian Lou is the “security center” of the Xie’s villas. Built in 1911 with the intention to provide a guarding post to the Xie property, Letian Lou is five story high with gunholes throughout. All of its windows and doors were built with iron. Furthermore, its walls are 30-inch thick.

Jiong Villa

A shorter building named Jiong Villa served as the residence for Xie Weili’s fifth uncle. The building was built in 1932 and also features the Chinese eclectic architecture style. Matching roman columns stand on the sides of the doorways of the arched balcony above and the main gate below. The lime sculpture on the top plaque in the middle of the structure is a classic rendition of Diaolou art.

Other Structures in Liyuan Garden

The Wanxiang Pavilion

Built in the typical style of a bridge pavilion, Wanxiang Pavilion stands elegantly over the Kuahong Bridge. Its name meaning “the nightly fragrance,” the Wanxiang Pavilion features glazed roof tiles, gravel stone walls, geometric designs and come in two stories high.

The Yupei Villa

The Yupei Villa is a tower type watchtower villa. As Xie Weili named this building with his own childhood nickname, it is a tower of love as the memorial built for Xie Weili’s second wife, Tan Yuying. Tan Yuying was a very talented woman that died giving birth the year after she was married to Xie Weili. The tower is four story high and open for visits. Its location being in the garden, it impresses visitors with a kind of atmosphere that is calm, artsy and pleasing. Italian décor lines the exterior of this tower.

Yunmei

Finally, before entering into the proper boundary of Liyuan Garden, you will see a row of interconnected commoners’ residence called Yunmei. This group of houses is representative of the traditional homes in the Kaiping area. Built in 1928, the five houses in this row are identical and interconnected via a corridor on the second floor. This expresses the father’s fair treatment for all his sons, and the wish that they take brotherhood to heart.

Dusk shall befall in about two hour’s time. I had to hurry to the final sightseeing of the day at Majianglong Village, before finally checking in to the hotel at Chikan Ancient Town.

Sources

Descriptions on site at Liyuan Garden.