Chikan (Chinese: 赤坎) is a town in Kaiping (Chinese: 開平), Guangdong Province, China. In the early 20th century, overseas Chinese built a lot of buildings which mixed with the architectural styles of both western and Chinese in Chikan, and made the town become a popular tourist destination.
There is a bridge at the entrance of Chikan which is a good place to see the reflection of the river. Unfortunately there is a lot of garbage floating on the water, dirty and stinky, Choumeizai is quite disappointed.
Most of the buildings in Chikan are preserved well, it is full of the atmosphere of 1920s, some of the scenes of Hong Kong movie ‘The Grandmaster (Chinese:一代宗師)’ were shot here.
There is a busy shopping street at the riverside, selling local products and snacks.
Choumeizai doesn’t have much expectation on the snacks of China, but the traditional baked bread is incredibly delicious.
Jinghui Lou (Chinese: 景輝樓) is a Qilou (Chinese: 騎樓), it was the former residence of Zhang Jinghui (Chinese: 張景輝), a noted clinic in the early 20th century, you need to pay if you want to get in.
Jinghui Lou has been converted to a museum, displays the remnants from the period of Republic of China such as stocks of the 1920s, the first cash register in China and the name cards of prostitutes.
The 2nd floor is decorated as a normal residence in the period of the Republic of China, as if you are back in time.
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Chikan is not a big town, it has a main street at the riverside and a couple of alleys, one hour is more than enough if you just want to walk around and take photos.
