Discover China

China’s long and complex history has given rise to a range of different architectural styles. They not only fuse cultures’ structural and decorative forms, but are also influenced by Chinese concepts such as feng shui and yin and yang. The Shenzhen Daily presents the ten best examples of Chinese architecture in this series of articles:

• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (I) – Kaiping diaolou and Wang Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (II) – Imperial Prime Minister’s Palace, Fujian tulou and Qiao Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (III) – Dayi Liu Manor, Hongcun Village and Xidi Village
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (IV) – Kang Baiwan Manor and Yulin Manor of Jiang Yaozu

I had the pleasure of visiting the Hongcun and Xidi ancient villages on my trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang in 2009.

A two-day tour to Kaiping watchtowers, Birds’ Paradise and Gudou hot springs departs every Saturday between 17 January and 31 March 2011 (except Chinese Lunar New Year 2-8 February 2011). Read more about the tour and see pictures of the stunning destinations it visits in the Shenzhen Daily article World Cultural Heritage tour in Guangdong.

After eight months of voting and evaluation, 10 aspects of Guangdong culture, ranging from opera styles to outstanding historical figures, have been chosen by the Guangdong Provincial Government to represent the cultural gems of Guangdong. The 10 gems are Guangdong opera, Cantonese cuisine, the Cantonese arcade building style, Cantonese music, lion dance, the Lingnan school of painting, Duan inkstone, Kaiping diaolou, and two historic figures: Sun Yat-sen, the leader of China’s republican revolution, and Huineng, the sixth Patriarch of the Zen. The Kaiping diaolous in Kaiping County, named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007, are fortified multi story towers built from reinforced concrete. They served mainly as protection against bandits. To read more about the Kaiping diaolous see the Shenzhen Daily article Kaiping diaolou.