Presented by Royal Geographical Society Hong Kong, the talk Kaiping’s Watchtowers & The Emigrants Who Built Them brings these century-old heritage buildings and their stories to Hong Kong.
Talk: Kaiping Diaolou and the Emigrant Builders
KPMG, 8/F Prince's Building, Central
Why We Recommend it
At RGS-HK’s latest talk, Kaiping’s Watchtowers & The Emigrants Who Built Them, Dede Huang and Peter Stuckey will present the century-old diaolou and the emigrants who built them.
Description
Th multi-storey defensive village houses, known as “diaolou,” were constructed by returning Chinese emigrants from South Asia, Australasia and North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2007, the diaolou were granted World Heritage status by UNESCO.
In a richly illustrated presentation, Dede Huang and Peter Stuckey explore the architecture and the lives intertwined with it. Huang draws on her own family’s journey from Kaiping to San Diego in the 1880s, illuminating a broader story of migration and adaptation, while Stuckey shares insights from more than 15 years of research and his active involvement in a diaolou rehabilitation project in Kaiping that received a UNESCO Award of Merit for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
The two speakers will also discuss the recent restoration of several diaolou to their former glory and how guests can visit them from Hong Kong.
Complimentary drinks will be served from 18:45 and the talk will begin at 19:30.
Details
When: 25 Feb 2026 - 25 Feb 2026 Where: KPMG, 8/F Prince's Building – 10 Chater Road – Central
