【国内文旅卷】世界文化遗产之开平碉楼（中英双语）
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“广东开平的碉楼意指一种用于防卫的多层塔楼式建筑，与周围村落一起展现了中西建筑艺术和复杂装饰形式的灿烂融合。它们表现了19世纪末及20世纪初开平侨民在南亚、澳大利亚及周边以及北美国家发展进程中的重要作用，以及海外开平人同故里的密切联系。此次收录的遗产包括4组碉楼与20多个具有代表性的村落群。这些建筑分为三种形式：由若干户人家共同兴建的众楼，为临时躲避土匪或洪水之用； 由富有人家独自建造的居楼，同时具有防卫和居住的功能；出现时间最晚的更楼，为联防预警之用。它们也可分为石楼、夯土楼、砖楼、混凝土楼，是融合中西建筑范式的经典之作。它们与周围的乡村景观和谐共生，见证了明代以来以防匪为目的的当地建筑传统的最后繁荣。”以上是20007年，开平碉楼与村落被列入世界文化遗产名录时，世界遗产委员会对其作出的评价。
广东开平市位于珠江三角洲西南部，毗邻港澳，是中国著名的侨乡。在数百年间，随着华侨文化的兴盛与传播，使得开平市内村村有碉楼，连绵数十里，最多时达到3000多座，现存1833座，蔚为大观。开平碉楼是西式建筑在中国农村落地生根的最佳范例。
自力村碉楼群位于开平塘口镇，该村建村于清道光年间，以方姓为主，含三条自然村组。自力村现存15座碉楼，大多建于二十世纪二三十年代，楼身高大，风格皆异，造型独特，保存完好，且大多兼具了优秀的防卫功能。
马降龙碉楼群位于开平百合镇，该村兴建于清末民初，以黄、关两姓为主，含五条自然村组。马降龙现存7座碉楼和8座西式别墅，错落有致地分布于树林竹海间，与周围民居及自然环境优雅巧妙融合。
锦江里碉楼群位于开平蚬冈镇，现存的瑞石楼、锦江楼和升峰楼为其中杰出代表。其中瑞石楼被誉为”开平第一楼”，高九层，占地九十二平方米，为钢筋混凝土结构。瑞石楼建于1923年，耗时三年完成，因其坚固异常，并配备了枪械、铜钟、探照灯，自建成后便成为了锦江里的保护神。另外，瑞石楼因在结构与装饰上均凸显了西方建筑美学，成为碉楼中西建筑风格完美结合的典型。
“Diaolou, a kind of multi-storeyed defensive village houses in Kaiping, Guangdong Province, and their surrounding villages display a complex and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western structural and decorative forms. They reflect the significant role of émigré Kaiping people in the development of several countries in South Asia, Australasia, and North America, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the close links between overseas Kaiping people and their ancestral homes. There are four groups of Diaolou and twenty of the most symbolic ones are inscribed on the List. These buildings take three forms: communal towers built by several families and used as temporary refuge from bandits or flood, residential towers built by individual rich families and used as fortified residences, and watch towers built later on for joint defense and early warning. Built of stone, pise, brick or concrete, these buildings represent a complex and confident fusion between Chinese and Western architectural styles. Retaining a harmonious relationship with the surrounding landscape, the Diaolou testify to the final flowering of local building traditions that started in the Ming period in response to local banditry. Those are the remarks made by the World Heritage Committee in 2007 when Kaiping Diaolou and villages were inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Located in the southwest of the Pearl River Delta and adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, Kaiping is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. Over the centuries, Diaolou came to be built in all the villages of Kaiping City, as the overseas Chinese culture flourished and spread. Stretching for dozens of miles, they present a splendid sight. In their heyday, there were over 3,000 in this area, and now there are 1,833 still standing. They furnish the best example of Western-style buildings taking root and getting entrenched in rural China.
The first Diaolou cluster is situated in Zili Village, Tangkou Town. First established during the reign of Daoguang (1820-1850) of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1912) and divided into three natural villages or groups, Zili Village is dominated by clans assuming the family name of Fang. Currently, the existing 15 Diaolou there were mostly built in the 1920s and 1930s. These towering structures are distinctive in style and well-preserved, and most are known to boast excellent defensive capabilities.
The second Diaolou cluster is situated in Maxianglong Village, Baihe Town. First built in late Qing Dynasty and early years of the Republic of China, Maxianglong Village was dominated by clans under the surnames of Huang and Guan. In the village of five natural villages or groups, seven Diaolou and eight Western-style villas have been kept to this day. Evenly dotting the woods and bamboo forests, they are ingeniously integrated with the surrounding dwellings and the natural environment.
The third Diaolou cluster is situated in Jinjiangli Village, Xian’gang Town, with Ruishi Diaolou, Jinjiang Diaolou and Shengfeng Diaolou as the outstanding representatives. Among them, Ruishi Diaolou has been hailed as the “Most Important Diaolou of Kaiping.” Consisting of nine stories and covering ninety-two square meters, it is a reinforced concrete structure. Its construction was started in 1923 and completed three years later. It is solidly built and equipped with guns, bronze bells and searchlights. Since its completion, it has become the guarding angel of the village. In addition, its structure and decoration are highly reflective of Western architectural aesthetics, making it the best example of combination of Western and Eastern architectural styles.