Guangzhou Shore & Cruise Excursion: UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaiping Diaolou and Villages

Tour Highlights
• Visit Kaiping Diaolou and Villages, multi-storied buildings listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2007

About This Tour
• Departure: Daily departing from Guangzhou
• Tour Duration: Approximately 8 hours.
• Guide Languages: Chinese & English.
• Pickup & Drop-off Place: Guangzhou Cruise Port
• Advice on Meals: Lunch is not included. We suggest a filling breakfast and perhaps some packed snacks. For an authentic local lunch experience, simply inform your guide, who will help you find a spot.

Tour Itinerary at a Glance
• Pickup from Guangzhou Cruise Port
• Drive to Kaiping (approximately 130km, 2 hours drive)
• Visit Diaolou Towers at Zili Village
• Lunch on your own
• Visit Liyuan Garden
• Visit Chikan Old Town
• Transfer back to Guangzhou Cruise Port

Tailor This Tour to Meet Your Needs
• If you want to customize this itinerary, contact us via WhatsApp (+86 139 1083 0737) or email (info@GrandChinaTravel.com). We'll create a tailor-made tour package just for you.

Price Remarks
• Prices are not valid during Guangzhou Trade Fair (Apr 14 to May 5, Oct 14 to Nov 5).
• Prices are not valid during National Day (Oct 1-7), Chinese New Year, and Labor Day (May 1-5).

Price Inclusions
• Professional English language speaking tour guide
• Air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver
• Admission tickets to sightseeing places
• All government taxes

Price Exclusions
• Hotel accommodation.
• Your personal expenses.
• Meals are excluded allowing you flexibility on menu.
• Travel insurance is not included. Please purchase before your trip to provide for any unforeseen circumstances.
• Gratuities to guide & driver. They are customary and would be of great encouragement and reward for quality service.

Additional Info
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking.
• Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
• The itinerary is subject to change due to traffic conditions or bad weather.
• The itinerary is flexible; changes can be made upon written request from travelers.
• IMPORTANT: It is required by the government regulations that travelers must provide their name, gender, nationality, passport number and date of birth to their tour operator upon booking a tour. Failure to do so could result in being denied access or admittance to sites and attractions during sightseeing. When you book this tour, please complete all required fields at checkout. Please bring your passport with you on the tour.

Cancellation Policy
• Cancellations made 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure time will receive a 100% refund.
• Cancellations made within 24 hours of the tour's start time or after the tour begins are non-refundable.
• Cancellation request will be confirmed within 2-5 business days, with refunds issued within 14 working days.

Know Before You Go
• Please keep your passport with you at all times, as it might be needed for entrance ticket purchases.
• Pickup time, guide's name, and contact information will be confirmed via WhatsApp or email.
• Your guide will be waiting at the designated meeting place, holding a GoGrandChina welcome sign with your name.
• Meals are not included; please feel free to ask your guide for recommendations.
• If you book an Airbnb, please note that door-to-door pickup and drop-off might not be provided.
• There's a 20-minute grace period for waiting. Failure to show up will result in tour cancellation & no refund.

Guangzhou Cruise Port Pickup, Transfer to Kaiping
Your private guide will be holding GoGrandChina pick-up sign and waiting for you at Guangzhou Cruise Port at the appointed time. You will be transferred to Kaiping (approximately 130km, 2 hours drive) in a comfortable private vehicle. Kaiping Diaolou and Villages feature the Diaolou, multi-storeyed defensive village houses in Kaiping, which display a complex and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western structural and decorative forms. They reflect the significant role of émigré Kaiping people in the development of several countries in South Asia, Australasia and North America, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are four groups of Diaolou and twenty of the most symbolic ones are inscribed on the List. These buildings take three forms: communal towers built by several families and used as temporary refuge, residential towers built by individual rich families and used as fortified residences, and watch towers. Built of stone, pise , brick or concrete, these buildings represent a complex and confident fusion between Chinese and Western architectural styles. Retaining a harmonious relationship with the surrounding landscape, the Diaolou testify to the final flowering of local building traditions that started in the Ming period in response to local banditry.

Visit Zili Village
Zili Village is home to some of the most striking watchtowers combining eastern and western influences. The village houses are of blue-brick with tiled roofs, mostly of the three-sessions-two-gates single-storey plan. The most outstanding feature of Zili Village is the cluster of Diaolou built behind the village in among the fields, together with a group of western-style villas. Inspect the different styles of the towers close up, and head to the rooftops for a bird’s-eye view of the village.

Lunch at Your Own Expense
Please feel free to ask your guide for suggestions and recommendations

Visit Liyuan Garden
Built in 1936, the Liyuan Garden is one of the four most famous gardens of Guangdong Province. Named after its master, Xie Weili, an overseas compatriot, the garden is a notable example of the private gardens constructed by overseas Chinese. Liyuan Garden is a perfect combination of the modernist western architectural style of the period and the traditional landscaping of China. A special feature of the garden is the wide and deep canals which string together the architectural features of the garden. Above the canals, there are winding corridors, fine bridges and exquisite pavilions. The layout of the garden can be delimited into the Villa Zone, Grand Garden and Little Garden.

Visit Chikan Old Town
Chikan town was founded in the year 1649, historically this town was the administrative center of Kaiping, and prospered as one of the largest market towns in South China in the 1930s. Chikan old town is renowned for its arcade buildings in colonial Nanyang style and Western architecture designed by local migrants who returned here in the 1920s. Those on the Dixi Road are the best known. The beauty of Chikan old town has made it a famous base for film production. Movies like Let the Bullets Fly, The Grandmasters and The Legend of Drunken Master were filmed at Chikan Old Town.

Transfer Back to Guangzhou Cruise Port
Your guide and driver will transfer you back to Guangzhou Cruise Port.