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Kaiping Diaolou, Beyond Space
Perhaps the most elegant is the 6-story Mingshi Lou-- taller than others, on the
right toward the rear of Tangkou Town's Zili Village. It contains luxurious
late-Qing furnishings and a top-floor ancestral shrine, which affords superb
views across the countryside.
On the wall of the hall in the first floor, there hangs a large photo of 1.2
meter. It shows Fang Runwen and his three wives, who he got married in his
hometown, Hong Kong, and America. In the photo, the first wife is dressed in
traditional costume while the other two are dressed youthfully and fashionably.
That was the typical family structure at that time.
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The furnishing on the forth
floor is simple and exotic. The imported gramophone once played the old
songs of Guangdong. On the dresser, the French perfume and Pond's Cream
still let out a faint
fragrance. |
ˇˇWuzi Lou or Watchtower of anonymity
Year of construction: 1924
Type: Julou
Owner: Fang Fuxin
In most cases, each Diaolou of Kaiping has its own horizontal board inscribed
in the upper middle of the main building. However, there is an anonymous Diaolou
in Xihe Village, Baihe Town.
Fang Fuxin went to America in his teens, and his father Fang Xiuwen got a
wife for him. The woman, who had never seen her husband, followed the local
tradition and had a wedding ceremony in the absence of Fang Fuxin.
In 1924, Fang Fuxin sent money back home to build a Diaolou. When it was
finished, his father gave it his own name, hence Xiuwen Lou. The daughter-in-law
was enraged and claimed that her husband was naturally entitled to name it. She
had the inscription removed. The father was furious but could do nothing. The
blockhouse thereafter was without a name.
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