Chikan Ancient Town Movie & Television Town — Attraction in Jiangmen

Chikan (赤坎) is a town in Kaiping (開平), Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, China. It is officially designated as a National Historic and Cultural Town of China (中国历史文化名镇). Upon arrival, Rongan Lou greeted visitors with a banner saying “Chikan is a town for movies”. This is one of the few diaolou’s in the ancient town. Rongan Lou has 6 stories, and it is one of the taller diaolou’s in the neighborhood. Chikan, meaning “red ground,” acquired its Chinese name due to the abundance of red earth in the area. The two main clans that settled in this area of Kaiping in Chikan were the Guan ( 關族）and the Situ (司徒族）. The history of settlement began about 350 years ago. In the earlier times, the Guans and the Situs did not get along. They each set up their own marketplaces, which were the economic lifelines in Chinese societies. Where their economic and territorial interests clashed, the two clans had resorted to violent confrontations. The Tan River (Tanjiang) (潭江）runs through now Chikan Ancient Town. Traditionally, the Situs marked their territory north of the river. The Guans took the south. As with the general area of Kaiping, Chikan is also known for the heavy influence that the overseas Chinese have had in all aspects of its history and landscape. Because of the beautiful city-scape of Chikan, and abundance of its fusion architecture, Chikan has been a very popular choice for movie sets. Amongst the best-known ones are Qiu Xi (秋喜） (2009) and The Grandmaster ( －代宗師） (2013). Another movie that has earned wide acclaim was Let the Bullets Fly （讓子彈飛） (2010). It was...

Nothing to see except some pretty landscaping and restored ancient buildings, which you can only see the exterior.

There are small craft shops along with pricey restaurants with poor quality food, scattered about.

The majority of the complex consists of vacant retail shops, so one feels like you're walking through a ghost town.

It is really quiet, and there is no atmosphere. The most interesting items there are the few buildings along the front entrance, the rest of the complex consists of closed down shops. Very few visitors also.

Not worth the time or money. Tourist trap.

-- Tourist...

Very funny place to visit. We came closer to the evening so that we can watch the fireworks. Didn't understand what they were saying but the lots of sound effects and beautiful light show with fireworks. You can also pay to take the team around. Most building are empty and some are shops for retail and food. We tried the famous pan fried Tofu pork. It was very good. And we also rented outfits from 1920s Era and hired a photographer to take pictures. About $488rmb for a family of 4. Includes dress upbfor 4 people. Makeup and hairdo for 2 people and a photographer for 1 hour and 4 photos. Highly...