We all know that the oldest houses in the world are the Egyptian pyramids, which were built for the dead. They have a long history of five thousand years.
They have been kept until now, and why didn't those houses that people lived 5000 years ago disappear? The reason is that it was not so hard.
Becasue most of the houses were made of wood and adobe. When people died, wood began to rot, houses would collapsed after they were exposed.
Today I'd like to share with you guys a group of strong buildings called Diaolou, located in a natural ancient village, Zili Village. The village was Located in Kaiping, Guangdong province, which is mostly known for the world cultural heritage sites.
These buildings have a history of one hundred years. They look very special, and different with the houses we live in.
我们都知道，世界上最古老的房子是埃及金字塔，是为死者而建的，距今有5000年的历史了。为死者而建的房子居然一直保留到现在，而5000年前人们居住的房子为什么没有保留下来呢？原因很简单，是的，因为不结实。那些房子大部分是由木头和土砖而建的，人们死后，木头开始腐烂，土砖房经过风吹雨打也倒塌了。
今天给大家分享的是一座座非常结实的房子叫碉楼，在一个自然古老的村落，自立村。位于广东开平市塘口镇，是世界文化遗产地之一。这里的房屋建筑具有百年的历史。这些稀稀落落、高高的碉楼看起来都很特别，和普通住的房子很不一样。
They were built for the villagers by the countrymen residing abroad from the 1920's to the 1930's in order to keep their safety of life and property. Most of them have characteristics of foreign architecture. At that time, the village used to be invaded by brigands and destroyed by flood. As they are very sturdy, villagers would run into these buildings to look for a shelter. So they had contributed a lot for villagers.
它们大部分建于20世纪二三十年代，是当地侨胞为保护家乡亲人的生命财产安全而兴建的。很多带有外国的建筑特点。那时候经常有土匪强盗以及洪水灾害侵袭。由于这些碉楼非常坚固，一旦发生情况，村庄里的村民就会跑到这里来躲避灾难。因此，碉楼也为村民们立下了汗马功劳。
The windows of these buildings are made of iron and have iron bars. look extremely rugged. And there are many loopholes in Diaolou. It is obvious that their struggles were violent.
碉楼上的窗户全部是铁窗，里面还有一层铁栅栏围着。看起来非常坚固。碉楼上还遍布枪眼，可见当年他们激烈斗争的场面。
Mounting the starirs up into the platform, I saw these green paddy fields and lotus ponds, what a natural beautiful picture! As we went there in winter, we didn't see blooming cole flowers. If we saw them, it would be more beautiful!
登上碉楼放眼望去，绿意浓浓。碉楼被周围的稻田，荷塘环绕着，构成了一幅自然的乡村画面。我们去的时候是冬天，听当地人说，如果4-5月份去，还会有盛开的油菜花，那会是更美的画面。
Although most of the households were countrymen residing abroad at that time, they began to stay abroad one after another, there are still some people living here.
虽然这里当年大部分都是侨胞，而后他们开始陆续旅居海外。但现在仍然有一些居民喜欢住在这里繁衍生息。
