Why go
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, emigrants from the Kaiping area made fortunes in the United States and Southeast Asia, then sent money home to build. In Chikan they built qilou — multi-storey shop-houses with covered arcades on the ground floor and ornamented columns, balconies and Baroque details above, fronting the Tan River.
The result is a town that reads more like 1930s Havana or Manila than inland China. Filmmakers noticed, and 'Let the Bullets Fly' (2010) turned the main arcade into one of China's most recognisable movie backdrops.
- The arcaded streets along the Tan River — China's best-preserved qilou row
- The early-20th-century cinema and clock-tower buildings
- The 1920s Huang Family Library and watchtower-like houses
- Easy access to the Kaiping Diaolou fortified towers, a UNESCO site
Where to go
Walk the long arcaded frontage on the river side of town, then cross the old bridge and work the grid of lanes behind it. Look up, not down — the best details are the second- and third-storey ornament. The old cinema and the Huang Family Library are the two signature buildings.
Practical notes
A major redevelopment project has been renovating the town in phases since 2017 — some sections have been closed and reopened at different times, so check current access before visiting. The arcade snack to try is 'tofu corner', a fried tofu dish named for its shape, sold from the street stalls.
Getting there
- Bus or taxi from Kaiping South high-speed rail station, ~30 min
- Style
- Qilou (arcade) town
- Film fame
- 'Let the Bullets Fly' (2010)
- Nearby
- Kaiping Diaolou (UNESCO)
