Guangzhou Travel Guide

Discover Guangzhou Self Guided Book is written by Janvi Tours, formerly Guangzhou Private Tour Guide Janvi or Guangzhou Tour Guide Janvi


Written by J. C.
Published August 2018

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Home Tour Options Pearl River Delta Tours Taishan Diaolou Tour

Taishan Diaolou and Village

Taishan and Kaiping is well known as the hometown of overseas Chinese in Southern China. Diaolou structures were built from the time of the Ming Dynasty to the early 20th century, reaching a peak in the 1920s and 1930s, with the financial aid of overseas Cantonese, when there were more than three thousand of these structures. Today, approximately 1800 Diaolous remain standing in Kaiping, and approximately 500 in Taishan.

The Diaolou are fortified multi-story towers, generally made of reinforced concrete. It serves mainly as protection against forays by bandits, but also served as living quarters. Kaiping and Taishan have traditionally been a region of major emigration abroad, and a melting pot of ideas and trends brought back by overseas Chinese. As a result, many Diaolou incorporate architectural features from China and the West.

Today few of these villages and Diaolous have been recently restored, and some of them became quite famous tourist destinations as Li Yuan garden, Zilicun, Majanlong in Kaiping. But we will take you to the unexplored village and visit their original Diaolous.

Taishan is the eel farming area and yield the highest county, the shortage of water resources, good soil resources, is the natural place to artificial cultured Japanese eel, eel yield in Taishan City accounted for about 60 percent of the nationwide total output, there are more than 60 eel farms in Taishan City, farming area reached 35 square kilometers become currently the nation's largest eel breeding base and roast eel exports of raw material supply base.

ITINERARY

Begin your day with a pickup from your central Guangzhou hotel in the morning at 9.30 am. Traveling aboard a car, set out on the 2-hour journey to Taishan county, passing a scenic panorama of lush rice fields, green farmlands, and rural villages.


Local Feature Food in Taishan and Kaiping
Taishan Feature Cuisine

The first stop we pull up to a countryside style restaurant try the famous Claypot Eel Rice and Steamed Minced Pork Balls as lunch. The Eels are cooked and then added to the rice to be cooked until done in the Clay pot.

Mei's Grand Courtyard

The second stop is Mei's Grand Courtyard, jump out to explore the historic old architectures with us. This is a nice stop to absorb some culture and history of overseas Chinese building nice complex back home to families and honoring heritage & traditions.

taishan diaolou

Continue to the Fu village and explore one of the most impressive watchtowers which were built in the early 1920s. They were built by returning Chinese migrants who incorporated Western-inspired features in their design. Inspect the different styles of the towers close up, and head inside to absorb the interiors and bird’s-eye views from the rooftops.

Return to Guangzhou, where your tour ends with drop-off at your hotel around 6 pm.

The Kaiping Diaolous have been turned into a tourist location heavily since it became a UNESCO site. The Diaolous were no different than the ones you see on the side of roads in Kaiping and Taishan regions, but they were better maintained. If you would like to visit the better-maintained Diaolou in Kaiping, please let us know, we also can arrange it or have a mixture of both.

Tour Highlights:

  • Stroll around the atmospheric Old Mei's Grand Courtyard;
  • Tuck into an intense flavor local lunch at a countryside style restaurant;
  • Admire the historic Taishan Diaolou;
  • Full-day Taishan off-the-beaten-track Diaolou tour from Guangzhou;

Type of tour: Private Tour -- Just for you and your travel mates;

Tour Departure Date: Available year round on request except for Chinese festivals;

Duration: Approx. 9 hours;

Price:

USD$200 for 1 person, each additional person USD$30; Maximum participant: 3 people;

INCLUDES:
1. Air-conditioned car, fuel, toll fee, parking fee;
2. Downtown hotel pick-up and drop off;
3. Guide (Guide and driver will be a same person);


Additional Costs
To keep your tour cost low, we have not included food in the tour price, they are usually very reasonable, so that you have more option according to your needs and budget. Please cover our expenditure in the tour (meals and drink). However, these will be minimal. Based on our experience, usually the additional costs for lunch as follows:

Claypot Eel Rice costs CNY¥47 includes 500 gram eels and 250 gram rice;
Braised ribs with dry orange peel costs CNY¥43 for a plate;
Steamed Minced Pork Balls on Lotus Leaf costs CNY¥33 for a plate;
The five flavours Goose costs CNY¥43 for a plate;

Booking Process
To complete your Taishan Private Day Tour booking, a 30%~50% deposit is required via Paypal or telegraphic transfer after we set the tour date and tour duration with you. We will send you a PayPal invoice, you will have the option to use your credit cards or deposit card to complete the payment process (even if you are not a PayPal account holder). Note: A 4.7%~5.79% Paypal transaction fees will be charged on the total amount of the transaction when deposit is made by Paypal. Once payment is made, the booking of your Private Taishan Diaolou and Village Tour is confirmed. The remaining balance is payable in cash only on tour day with us, you can pay in either U.S. Dollar or Chinese Yuan, whatever is convenient for you. We prefer U.S. Dollars without any damage and stain, otherwise please provide Chinese Yuan.