Kaiping Forts

From Wiki China org cn

Fortified watchtowers abound in Kaiping City. Some local villages have two or three of them. These peculiar castle-like residential constructions date from the early years of the Qing Dynasty, and were designed as refuges in this once bandit-plagued region. Many were built by local people who had gone abroad to seek their fortunes.

Kaiping Diaolou and Villages,Guangdong Province,2007,World Cultural Heritage