Chikan Ancient Town

Chikan stands on the Tanjiang River in Kaiping County and grew on money sent home by locals who left to work in America and Southeast Asia. Kilometres of qilou arcade houses stretch along the waterfront, with a covered gallery for shops on the ground floor and living quarters above, finished with European cornices and balustrades. For several centuries the town was divided between two clans, the Guan and the Situ, each of which built its own library in the Western style. In 2023 the quarter reopened after a long reconstruction that added canals, boat landings and a retro tram running on rails under a glass canopy. Its distinctive architecture has made it the set for dozens of Chinese films about the prewar south.

On the map