Pingshan New Area Dawan Shiju

This guide to Dawan Shiju in Shenzhen's Pingshan district tells the story of Zeng Chuanzhou, a young duck-herder who gambled away his savings, then cut off his own thumb in a vow to quit for good. It follows what he did with that resolve, trading, saving, organizing his clan, and the 1791 start of construction on the walled compound around you, its four hundred rooms, corner watchtowers and moat built to withstand floods and feuds. See the walls that resulted, climbing more than six meters on every side.