Wuzhou Qilou (Arcade) City

Wuzhou Qilou (Arcade) City

Wuzhou has long been known as the "Century-Old Commercial Port" and was once the political, economic, and cultural center of the Lingnan region. The qilou buildings are symbols of the area’s former commercial prosperity. Wuzhou's qilou culture has become a beautiful local landmark and was even featured on CCTV's program "Zhengda Variety Show."

Nowadays, Wuzhou has completed its flood prevention infrastructure, and the city is no longer plagued by annual flooding. However, the unique architectural style of the qilou has been preserved as a historical testament.

There are currently 22 surviving qilou streets, stretching a total of 7 kilometers, with the longest extending 2,530 meters. The area houses 560 qilou buildings. Its vast scale and large number are rare in China, making it a true “China Qilou Museum City.”

Qilou buildings are not uncommon in southern Chinese cities, but those that can be called a “city” are quite rare. The Hedong Old Town area of Wuzhou, Guangxi, is known as the “China Qilou City,” featuring 560 classic qilou structures of both Chinese and international design along 22 well-preserved qilou streets.

Located at the border of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wuzhou is an ancient city with a history of over 2,100 years. The name Cangwu originally referred to a major tribe of the Baiyue people and can be traced back to the era of Emperor Shun. In 183 BC (the fifth year of Empress Lü's reign), the Nanyue Kingdom established the Cangwu King City, marking the founding of Wuzhou. In 621 AD (the fourth year of the Wude era of the Tang Dynasty), it began to be called Wuzhou. As the city handles over 85% of Guangxi’s waterways, it is known as the “Water Gateway of Guangxi.” Blessed with a prime location, Wuzhou enjoys the reputation of being the “Century-Old Commercial Port.”

It is precisely because of Wuzhou’s long history and its status as Guangxi’s earliest port for foreign trade—once nicknamed “Little Hong Kong”—that today we have this area filled with qilou buildings, also known as the “China Qilou City.”

The so-called “China Qilou City” or “China Qilou Museum” actually refers to the 22 qilou streets in Wuzhou’s Hedong Old Town area. Most of these qilou were built in the 1920s and 1930s. The term “qilou” refers to a common architectural style from the last century, which originated in Beniapukur, India, and was first built by the British. It features a “veranda-style” structure with corridors in front of living spaces, typically three to four stories high. The upper floors are supported by pillars and beams in front of the street-facing side, leaving the ground floor entrance open as a sidewalk to shelter pedestrians from sun and rain. From a distance, the buildings appear to be “riding” over the sidewalk, hence the name “qilou.”

Due to the strong winds, heavy rainfall, and intense sunlight in tropical and subtropical regions, qilou buildings are excellent for providing shelter. As a result, they became popular in southern China as well as in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore.

Xiao Jian, a renowned contemporary Chinese scholar of traditional culture, pointed out that the Qilou City is a historical testament to Wuzhou’s century-long commercial prosperity. Located at the confluence of the Xun, Gui, and Xi rivers, Wuzhou boasts a prime geographic location and is the birthplace of Lingnan and Pearl River cultures. It served as the ancient political, economic, and cultural hub of the Pearl River basin and the Lingnan region, later becoming a “Two-Guang Merchant Port” and “Water Gateway” in modern times. In 1897, Wuzhou was designated as a trading port and gradually developed into a famous commercial hub in the Pearl River basin. The construction of qilou buildings began, and at its peak, the Qilou City was bustling with over 1,500 businesses of various sizes, creating tens of thousands of wealthy individuals.

Wuzhou’s qilou architecture mainly features storefronts in front and residences in the back, or combined residential and commercial spaces. The ground floor serves as a pedestrian passageway, while the outer side of the qilou colonnade is used for vehicle traffic. Typically constructed with reinforced concrete, the columns are spaced around 3 to 5 meters apart. The rooftop decorations, balconies, and column capitals vary in style—some solemn and dignified, others delicate and unique, or elegant and noble. Relief carvings, Roman columns, and arched windows blend traditional Chinese and European classical architectural styles. From the appearance of Wuzhou’s qilou, one can see many representative elements of traditional Chinese architecture, such as floral windows, brick carvings, and memorial archways, all exquisitely crafted, achieving a high level of both function and artistry. Walking into Qilou City is like entering a Qilou Museum. Here, the clear-water walls that reflect the charm of the water town, Western-style iron railings on observation balconies, the distinctly Western Roman columns and arched windows, as well as Wuzhou’s unique water gates and boat-tying iron rings—all prominently displayed on the facades—highlight the architectural character.

Wuzhou Qilou City is situated at the confluence of two rivers and frequently experiences flooding. To facilitate movement during rising waters and to tie up boats, residents installed water gates and iron rings on the qilou pillars. Iron rings were embedded in the brick pillars along the river or other low-lying streets to moor boats when streets were flooded. On the lower-level qilou facing the street, the windows above the second floor were designed as doors to allow entry and exit from boats during floods. This feature is unique among qilou buildings in China. In the past, when floods reached the streets, residents remained calm. When water reached their doorstep, they would stack a few bricks and continue with their business, playing cards, or mahjong. When the water rose to the second floor, they would tie their boats to the iron rings and move in and out through the windows or water gates.

Throughout Qilou Museum City, one can find gray relief carvings on walls that embody traditional Chinese culture. On the wall of Qilou City on Da’nan Road, one relief depicts “Abundance Year After Year,” showing two carp swimming beneath a lotus pond; another shows four white cranes under a pine tree, symbolizing “Longevity Like the Pine and Crane.” There are also vases symbolizing “Peace and Safety,” and at the Dragon Mother Temple Square, there are carvings of “Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate.”

The parapet wall is the most gently named architectural ornament in the Qilou City. The short wall, about half a person’s height and standing along the street at the edge of the qilou roof, is the parapet wall. The origin of the parapet wall is quite interesting. In ancient times, due to feudal ethical constraints, wealthy families built a wall on their roofs and walls to prevent their daughters from going out freely. Yet, confined indoors, the girls were still drawn to the excitement of the outside world. They would secretly climb onto the roofs or high walls and peer out through the low protective walls. Over time, these walls came to be called parapet walls. These street-facing short walls allowed young women to observe life below without revealing themselves. Occasionally, a scholarly man glancing upward might catch a glimpse—and a romantic story would begin.

Qilou streets are mainly distributed along Dadong Shanglu, Dadong Xialu, Fumin Lu, Datong Lu, Zhongshan Lu, Zhuan An Lu, Wufang Lu, Sha Jie, Jiu Fang Lu, Nan Huan Lu, Da Zhong Lu, Minzhu Lu, Jianshe Lu, Da Nan Lu, Xiao Nan Lu, Si Fang Lu, Guilin Lu, Gui Bei Lu, and Bei Huan Lu. The continuous expanse of qilou buildings is a symbol of Wuzhou’s former glory and prosperity. At its peak, the qilou streets were bustling with over 1,500 businesses of all sizes, producing tens of thousands of wealthy merchants. The most iconic buildings in Qilou City include the former site of Wuzhou Customs, the former site of St. David’s Hospital, Datong Hotel, New West Inn, Dadong Restaurant, and Yuexi Building. The streets richest in historical and cultural heritage are Ma Wang Jie and Jin Long Xiang. The heart of Qilou City lies between the Qilou City Archway and Zhongting Square, where statues of notable Wuzhou historical figures such as Zhao Guang and Mou Zi are displayed. Along the flood control wall from New West Inn to the Dragon Mother Temple, there is a 1.4-kilometer-long Wuzhou Historical and Cultural Corridor. Visitors can learn about over 2,000 years of Wuzhou’s history in just one day.