Ask someone on the street in Kaiping, Guangdong province, what the population of the town is and they may well say, '680,000, plus 750,000'. The fact that many members of this overseas 'population' may never have set foot in Kaiping does not matter; this town is a symbol of 19th century emigration.
Unesco named Kaiping a World Heritage site in 2007, because of the tower-like structures, known as diaolou, that dot the surrounding countryside. At one time they numbered as many as 3,000 but at the last count there were 1,833 of what today appear to be follies. Twenty buildings in the villages of Sanmenli, Zili, Majianlong and Jinjiangli have been added to the Unesco list.
A cacophony of ducks greets visitors to Zili, its nine diaolou and six Western-style villas rising out of the rice fields. These buildings were once the ultimate symbol of success but their expense and fortification belie the blood, sweat and suffering that went into their conception. The village museum takes up the story.
Times were hard in the mid-19th century; civic unrest and overpopulation resulted in three major waves of emigration. The Kaiping diaspora is spread through 69 countries, although more than half of them live in North America and nearly a third in Hong Kong.
Many of the early emigrants found themselves working in slavery-like conditions but some succeeded and amassed fortunes. Lack of acceptance overseas - exemplified by the United States' anti-immigration Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 - led those who did succeed to channel their money into their hometowns. As wealth flowed into the area around Kaiping, so did bandits. The diaolou were built to guard against these intruders and to provide refuge in times of flooding.
The origins of the tower-type buildings date back to the 16th century. Sanmenli is home to one of the original diaolou, which is about 450 years old. Although also a defensive building, it is different in style to the newer towers, being low rise and occupying a larger area.