Kaiping Diaolou is listed by the Chinese State Council as a key cultural relic protected by the state．
Its total number amounted to 3， 300 in the peak years and now the registered number is 1833，and twenty of the better ones are inscribed on the World Heritage List by United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization. These buildings take three forms：communal tower jointly built by．Several families for use as temporary refuge， residential tower built by individual rich family and used as fortified residence， and watch tower for guarding against bandits．
In the 1940s during the war of resistance against Japan，some of these towers became strongholds for people’s militia．
Kaiping Diaolou is listed by the Chinese State Council as a key cultural relic protected by the state．
Its total number amounted to 3， 300 in the peak years and now the registered number is 1833，and twenty of the better ones are inscribed on the World Heritage List by United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization. These buildings take three forms：communal tower jointly built by．Several families for use as temporary refuge， residential tower built by individual rich family and used as fortified residence， and watch tower for guarding against bandits．
In the 1940s during the war of resistance against Japan，some of these towers became strongholds for people’s militia．