Private Tour
UNESCO Watchtowers World Heritage Ancient Villages Private Tour
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
This exclusive day trip will let you explore Kaiping area(around 2 hours driving from Guangzhou), which is famous for its world class architectural and cultural heritage-Watch Tower (the house buildings look like fortress built in 1900s by overseas Chinese migrant workers) and villages. We would be travelling in a private car to visit a few UNESCO sites(like Li Garden, Zili Village) in the countryside area with many farmland, livestock shed and fishpond along the way.
Kaiping/Taishan is also the hometown city for many overseas Chinese, if you are coming back to visit and looking for your ancestor's house, we can assist and arrange such a tour for you. We will follow up with you to firm up the itinerary after you book this tour on Tripadvisor.^_^.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
What‘s Included
Hotel pick up and drop off in downtown Guangzhou
Local English speaking tour guide with full escort
Private car with air-con
Professional driver
Admission fee and lunch(for you and the guide)
Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
What To Expect
Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
The Diaolou Cluster in Zili Village and the Diaolou Cluster in Majianglong Village in Guangdong’s first World Cultural Heritage Site, and Li Garden, which is known as “a masterpiece of gardens built by overseas Chinese”. It’s a comprehensive tourist attraction integrating many elements, such as overseas Chinese culture, garden art, Chinese and Western architecture, cultural relics, five-country customs. Kaiping Diaolou is a special type of native architecture in China. It is a kind of multi-story tower building integrating defense, residence, Chinese and Western architectural art. It is also the fruit of Chinese rural people’s active acceptance of Western architectural art and its integration with the local architectural art, embodying the typical open, inclusive, conflicting and integrated development between overseas Chinese culture and Western culture with unique artistic charm, becoming a masterpiece of overseas Chinese culture and a unique world architectural art landscape.
Watchtower Group of Zili Village
Founded in the 17th year of Daoguang’s reign in the Qing Dynasty(1837), it is comprised of Anheli, He’anli, and Yong’anli unincorporated villages all with the surname of Fang. In the early days after the founding of new People’s Republic of China, all three villages were combined into Zili Village, implying “self-reliance”. The entire village has 92 houses in total, including 77 “three-room-and-two-corridor” traditional dwellings, 9 watchtowers, and 6 cottage-style villas. Apart from the finest building Mingshi Building, there are another characteristic buildings named Yesheng Mansion, Lansheng Mansion and Guansheng Mansion. The traditional dwellings and watchtowers in the village are well distributed and proportioned. Dotted with the lotus ponds, its unique country lifestyle and the stories behind the watchtowers have attracted visitors from all over the world.
Options
Premium Package Private Tour
Duration: 11 hours: For 11 hours tour to visit all 3 sites for watchtowers in Kaiping area(Zili Village, Chikan Old Town Film City and Li Garden)
Pickup included
Basic Package Private Tour
Duration: 5 hours: For 5 hours tour to visit Zili Village UNESCO Diaolou/Watchtowers only
Pickup included
Medium Package Private Tour
Duration: 8 hours: For 8 hours tour to visit Zili Village UNESCO watchtowers and one more site nearby(Li Garden or Chikan Old Town Film City).
Pickup included
Reviews
16 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Visit to the Watchtowers and Ancestral Villages
Odyssey36544688960,
Aug 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The visit to the Watchtowers was really interesting. I am an ABC from California and this was a real learning experience. We also combined this with a visit to our ancestral villages which was a magical experience. Thank you Damon!
Memorable Day Tour of Toison/Taishan to see Family Villages and Watchtowers
eddye320,
Jul 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Damon provided a superb day tour to Toison/Taishan/Kaiping to visit family villages and the Watchtowers. My husband and his father who were on this trip with me really wanted to see the villages their ancestors came from before they immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, but we knew it might be kind of difficult to get to the villages. However, we contacted Damon a year ago and let him know what we were looking for and he made our goal a reality with this tour. Damon helped to get us to the villages as part of this day tour. He went above and beyond by helping us figure out the precise location of the villages and by translating once we got to the villages. We could not have asked for a better guide to help make this family/ancestral visit possible! We will cherish these memories forever. It was also very meaningful to get to see the Watchtowers that are pretty close to the family villages and an important part of the history of the Chinese diaspora, which my husband and father-in-law are a part of. The setting of these Watchtowers is very beautiful (expansive views of lovely rice fields) and only a couple of hours outside of Guangzhou. If you are looking to connect with family history in this Toison/Taishan region and/or want to see the UNESCO Watchtowers definitely reach out to Damon for this day tour!
A Day of Ancestral and Cultural Homecoming
RyanF706,
Jul 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This daytour from Guangzhou was truly amazing. Making the trip out from the big city to see the watchtowers is worth the trip along. The history and architecture of these buildings is fascinating, and the landscape that surrounds them is absolutely stunning. The buildings are well maintained, and if, like me, you have any cultural connections this region through relatives that emigrated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, you will get to see a distinctive part of your specific Chinese heritage. Damon also worked with us to help us travel to our ancestral villages in the first part of the day. He helped coordinate travel with the information we had and helped communicate with distant relatives who did not speak English. It was a powerful experience of ancestral homecoming, and we could not have had it without Damon's help and translation skills.
Excellent guided tour in Kaiping
Kajo1996,
Apr 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Intriguing places to visit, off the beaten track! Damon has all the qualities one wishes for when you hire a guide for a day. He is knowledgeable, kind, and service-minded. His English is excellent and he also organized a very good and safe driver, and a comfortable EV for the drive to Zili Village and Chikan in Kaiping.
Damon is an excellent and positive guide in Guangzhou and surrounding areas.
MatkustajaAsia,
Apr 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Damon is not only an excellent guide, who took care of the program and logistics with a very good and safe driver but very knowledgeable about the history, culture and everyday life of Guangzhou and surrounding areas. He is very kind, positive and helpful and I would recommend anyone in need of a guide in Guangzhou to contact him for a bespoke experience.
Fluent English guide for personalised tour in Guangzhou
Dottywhaleshark,
Mar 21, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Guangzhou is a convenient and accessible location to base oneself to visit surrounding cities and sights. Including Kaiping. Visiting the diaolou (fortress towers) in Zilicun (Zili village) was interesting as the history and architecture is unique in that part of China. Damon was very responsive to my initial enquiry, spoke excellent English (and Mandarin) and gave additional travel tips pre and post-trip. For a personalised, private tour experience, I would recommend booking with him.
A great day!
TPKay,
Feb 3, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Zack was very knowledgable and very patient in replying to our many questions. I highly recommend him to anyone who wishes to explore this beautiful city!
Interesting day trip to Kaiping
Sightsee18453193875,
Jan 31, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Had an enjoyable day trip with Zack visiting Kaiping which is also my ancestors home town. We visited Zilicun dialogue and the Chikan Old Town. It was an eye opener to see the actual dialou. Zack gave us very good explanation on the history of dialou and information about Guangzhou. Zack is a very friendly, pleasant and responsible guide. Thumbs up for his tour! 👍
Day trip to Kaiping Dialou UNESCO World Heritage site.
eewhc,
Jan 31, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We took a day trip to Kaiping with Zack as our guide. We had a wonderful day exploring the Dialou and Chikan Old town. Zack was a very pleasant guide, very knowledgeable, friendly & accommodating. He spoke excellent English. Will definitely engage him again in future if we visit GZ again.
Enjoyable trip to diaolou & ancient town
MLYang,
Jan 31, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Enjoyed our day trip to diaolou and chi Kan ancient town with Zack. He was very friendly and helpful. Very clear explanation in English, Chinese or Cantonese. The car was very comfortable throughout the journey. Highly recommended.
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Operated by Guangzhou Local Tours