Diaolou Building Complex of Zili Village

►Historical course:
♦Originally, there were only two families resided, and the entire village is surrounded by farmlands. Subsequently, more and more newcomers bought farmland here, so gradually it became a large village lived by a lot of residents. 

♦After the Opium War, local people led a hard life. A mass of local habitants had to move overseas for living due to the large-scale need of laborers in western capitalistic countries. Some of them also returned to build houses and buy farmlands when they earned a lot of money via their hard work. And then these returners went abroad again and again. 

♦In 1920's, many returning Chinese and compatriots lived in Hong Kong and Macao collected treasure to build Diaolou Buildings（碉楼） and Julu Buildings（居庐） because there were a lot of gangsters and robbers appeared. Hence these Diaolou buildings and julu buildings originally were used for safeguarding the local residences.
 

►Architectural style:
These Diaolou Buildings and Julu Buildings initially were named after the builders or sponsorers. The body of Diaolou building is large and tall with five or six storeys. But most of them are two storeys or three storeys. The structure of the wall is made of concrete or blue bricks mixed with steels. The gates and windows are all made of the thick iron boards. The construction materials except the blue brick made in local area were all bought from western countries. 

►Feature&Function:
For defending the robbery, there are some gun-ports in Diaolou buildings as well as some special original weapons such as cobble-stone, alkali water and squirt gun. And subsequently, some Chinese overseas brought back the guns. Installing spruit guns is used for holding alkali waters to shoot the eyes of robbers. For strengthening the self-defense, many a woman learnt well how to shoot. Some Diaolou Buildings were built on the basis of the blueprint of western countries, and some buildings were designed by themselves. 

►Current Situation:
Currently, there are 15 Diaolou buildings in village, and they can be classified according to the time: Longshen building（龙胜楼） made in 1917, Yangxian Villa（养闲别墅） made in 1919, Qiuanjulu building（球安居庐） made in 1920, Yunhuan building（云幻楼） made in 1921, Juan building（居安楼） made in 1922, Yaoguang Villa（耀光别墅） made in 1923, Zhulin Building（竹林楼） made in 1924, Zhenan Building（振安楼） made in 1924, Mingshi Building（铭石楼） made in 1925, Anlu Building（安庐） made in 1926, YiNong Building（逸农楼） made in 1929, Yeshengjulu Building（叶生居庐） made in 1930, Guanshengjulu Building（官生居庐） made in 1934, Lanshengjulu Building（澜生居庐） made in 1935 and Zhanlu Building（湛庐） made in 1948. The most delicate building is Mingshi Building. This building has six storeys, and the first floor was used for living room, floors from 2 to 4 for bedrooms, the fifth floor for ancestral memorial. On the middle of the sixth floor there is a hexagon pavilion featured by the blend of Chinese style and western style. Many furniture, living equipments and daily outfits for production and living are well preserved here

Diaolou Buildings in Zili Village are surrounded by the beautiful environment. Visitors outside of building can see the large farmlands. These buildings are special for both functionality and aesthetics