Kamianli Watchtowers

　　Kamianli belongs to Xigan Town in Kaiping City, located 22 kilometers northeast of downtown Kaiping. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (1875–1908), this village was planned and built by the Huang family. At the time of establishment, Huang Yigui, a highly respected elder of the Huang clan, outlined the village's initial layout. The vertical lanes were set at 1.5 meters wide, and every three rows featured a horizontal connecting lane—1.5 meters wide for the first one and 60 centimeters wide for all subsequent ones. Uniformly sized residential plots were marked out for clan members to purchase, with houses required to be 6 meters high. Behind the village stand three watchtowers in a row: Ruishi Tower, Shengfeng Tower, and Kamian Tower.

　　In the seventh year of the Republic of China (1918), villagers pooled funds to build Kamian Tower in the central rear part of the village. Kamian Tower is a typical communal watchtower, standing five stories tall (17.36 meters) with a reinforced concrete structure. The top floor features a cantilevered platform, and the parapet wall is adorned with Sino-Western-style plaster reliefs. At the center is a hipped-roof tower house. The walls are densely perforated with gun loopholes, and the windows are small, fitted with iron doors and shutters. The building has a simple, unadorned form, making it a distinctly defensive structure.

　　From the twelfth to the fourteenth year of the Republic of China (1923–1925), Huang Bijiu, who had made his fortune operating money shops and medicinal herb businesses in Hong Kong, returned to his hometown to build Ruishi Tower in order to protect the lives and property of his relatives. Located east of Kamian Tower and aligned along the village’s main residential axis, Ruishi Tower is a classic residential-style watchtower. It was designed by Huang Zinan, Huang Bijiu’s nephew who worked in Hong Kong and had a passion for architecture. The construction was carried out by local or nearby craftsmen, with materials such as cement, steel bars, glass, and timber all imported via Hong Kong. The total investment was 30,000 Hong Kong dollars. The tower was named after Huang Bijiu’s business alias “Ruishi,” meaning “auspicious stone”—essentially a reference to jade, which is what “bi” (璧) implies. Ruishi Tower is built of reinforced concrete and rises nine stories (25 meters) high. Its interior layout also shows strong Western influence. The first floor is a living room, while floors two through six each feature well-equipped rooms with bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and furniture. The sixth floor has an exterior colonnade, and the seventh floor is a terrace. At each corner of the terrace stands a circular tower used for lookout and defense, while the north and south sides combine Baroque-style pediments with traditional Chinese garden lattice windows. The eighth floor contains an intricately carved ancestral shrine—considered a work of art—that serves as a spiritual space for family ancestral worship. Outdoors is a viewing platform, while the ninth floor is a fortress-like observation tower. The entire structure embodies the architectural style of medieval Italian castles. The building’s façade incorporates Western-style window moldings and colonnades, and its numerous plaster reliefs blend in traditional Chinese symbols of luck, prosperity, happiness, and longevity. Beneath its Western appearance lies a rich traditional cultural essence. The interior furnishings and decor maintain a thoroughly classic style—including rosewood tables, chairs, beds, and cabinets; teak screens; and kamani wood staircases and windows—all crafted with premium materials and refined techniques. Especially notable are the couplets inscribed in various Chinese calligraphy styles—seal, clerical, running, cursive, and regular scripts—adding to the profound traditional ambiance. Ruishi Tower is honored as the “Number One Tower of Kaiping.”

　　In the seventeenth year of the Republic of China (1928), Huang Fengxiu, who went to the United States for work and later became wealthy in business, built Shengfeng Tower in his hometown. The name “Shengfeng” (Rising Peak) reflects the owner’s wish for family happiness and thriving success. In his later years, Huang Fengxiu returned to his roots, living in the tower until his death. The seven-story tower (12.34 meters) has a reinforced concrete structure, with an exquisite and delicate design full of South Asian Indian architectural charm, making it a classic residential watchtower.