China

My friend and I went to Kaiping because she saw an ad on the MTR in Hong Kong promoting the Chikan Ancient Town. As such, it was with a whole lot of anticipation that I arrived at Chikan from Majianglong Village. And, to say the …

I had to hurry through the Majianglong Village because time with the hired car was up soon. Even a quick walk through the village brought forth quite a different experience from the previous two sites that I visited, the Zili Village and Liyuan Garden. Majianglong …

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 …

I like seeing old towns and villages. I have seen a few of the ancient old towns and communities in Shenzhen, including the Dapeng Fortress, Gankeng Ancient Hakka Townlet, Nantou Ancient City and Shui Wei 1368. I was interested in the areas in Shenzhen that …

The driver suggested that we visited the Zili Village first, as that village was officially recognized, restored and developed as the preeminent location for Diaolou tourism. He told me quite a bit about himself. He is a native of Chikan. Mr. Guan is his name, …

Kaiping is a county in Guangdong Province in China that is known for its people’s long history of migration abroad. Waves of migrants made it in foreign countries and returned to Kaiping rich and glorious. These successful returnees built big houses in their villages as …

On our last day in Dameisha, I took a walk in the Biling Hiking Trail, which is part of the Malian Mountain Country Park. I have done solo hiking in Xianggong Shan of Xingping, Guilin before. But this hiking experience is significant because I did …

As of April 2025, the Interlaken Resort in Shenzhen is permanently closed. There were those days. A few decades ago, my family took a vacation in Xiaomeisha in Shenzhen. That was when even the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant had not been built yet. In …

After the Gankeng Ancient Hakka Townlet and the Dapeng Fortress, the only ancient city left to visit in Shenzhen is the Nantou Ancient City. The History of Nantou Ancient City The artefacts excavated in Nantou suggests the existence of settlement as far back as the …

One Last Look at Xingping There was no need to get breakfast as eating breakfast is not my habit, but I was craving for one last good experience in Xingping. I would be leaving a little after lunch that day. At that hour of the …