Ancient and Simple Architecture - Chikan Ancient Town

Ancient and Simple Architecture - Chikan Ancient Town

Another famous place in Kaiping is Chikan Ancient Town which is as well-known as Kaiping Diaolou. Located by the sea, Chikan is renowned for its arcade buildings in colonial Nanyang style and Western architecture. Those on the Dixi Road are the best known.

Why there are so many foreign-style buildings in such a small town? This has to do with overseas Chinese. Overseas Chinese will add the architecture styles of the countries they are residing in. Therefore, it is not a surprise to see many Western structures in a small town. The name of a village is “Canada Village” because the buildings in the village were built by Chinese Canadians. Two big families, namely Situ's and Guan's, are the most famous in Chikan, so many buildings are related to them. For example, the Situ Library and the Guan’s Library built by the two families. The earliest diaolou in Kaiping, the Yinglong Lou and Nan Lou, belong to the Guan and Situ families respectively too.

The beauty of Chikan has made it a famous base for films and television programmes production. There is the Chikan film and Television City to produce various shows. Movies like Let the Bullets Fly, The Grandmasters and The Legend of Drunken Master II were filmed in Chikan. You will find a sense of familiarity as long as you visit Chikan. In the Jinghui Lou next the film city, you can learn about the century-long history of Chikan too!