Kaiping, also home to many Overseas Chinese, is also famous for over 1800 daiolou's or fortified towers funded by "Gum Sahn Barks" Chinese who built these structures because of marauding bandits from nearby towns. A sentry was posted at the top and a gong sounded when bandits were seen. Some towers were also used as residences. These villages and their diaolou's achieved World Heritage site status in 2007.