Gankeng, an ancient town hidden in a modern city

When talking about ancient towns in Shenzhen, many people can only think of Dapeng Fortress. But Shenzhen has more to it than just that. In fact in Longgang hides an ancient town with over 300 years of history, Gankeng Hakka Town.

说起深圳的古镇，很多人的印象就是大鹏所城。但其实在龙岗也有一个三百多年历史的小镇，一个你不入“坑”就绝对后悔的地方，而且还被为“小丽江”——深圳甘坑客家小镇。

Dubbed “Little Lijiang,” Gankeng Hakka Town is a small ancient village that was once home to the Yao people. It later became a gathering place for Hakka people.

甘坑客家小镇位于深圳的龙岗区的布吉，曾经是瑶民居住区。后来逐渐发展成为客家人的聚集地，已经有三百多年历史。

Many years ago, Gankeng was still a shabby Hakka town with dilapidated buildings everywhere, readily flooded after the shortest of storms. Later it was rebuilt into Gankeng Hakka Town of today, preserving the original Hakka buildings, such as Tulou and Hakka walled villages and Hakka culture.

甘坑客家小镇几年前还只是一个危房扎堆逢雨必淹的破败客家老屋村，后来甘坑人把这片闲置的老屋在保留原有客家建筑古村落和客家文化风情的基础上进行了开发改造，于是有了今天的甘坑客家小镇。

Walking among the traditional Hakka buildings with hundreds of years of history and their ancient mottled walls may give you an illusion of traveling back in time, a great retreat from the steel and cement of today’s buildings.

这里依然保留着客家的特色建筑土楼与围屋，走在其中有种穿越的感觉古香古韵随处可见、随处可觉。几百年历史的客家老屋、斑驳的墙壁、陈旧的木楼.....这些复古的元素对于看厌了钢铁森林的都市人有着极大的吸引力！

The town is not huge and not all of the buildings here are original ancient buildings. Some are archaized buildings built to perfectly fit among the original ones.

小镇不大，古村遗址混搭“高仿”古建筑，总体上给人的感觉还是“古”的，但是只有慢慢游荡，才能发现其中的“韵”。

Walk deep into Gankeng Hakka Town and you will encounter a European-style railway station, which was built along the Beijing-Kowloon Railway. From time to time, you will see trains passing behind the railway station.

走进客家小镇最里面，一个欧式风格的火车站吸引了不少人拍拍拍，这里的每一处景点，都可以用来装逼了。这座火车站是依托京九铁路而建设，更关键的是车站背后的铁路是真的会有列车经过。

Gankeng Hakka Town is also home to Liangmao Village which produces Hakka-style liangmao (a woven bamboo hat featuring a veil), a unique feature of Hakka culture. In the 1970s and the 1980s, every household in Liangmao Village made liangmao, exporting them to Southeast Asia, Britain and France.

甘坑客家小镇原来是客家人的聚居地，是一个拥有三百多年的历史的古老村庄，从古至今以凉帽闻名中外。上世纪七八十年代，凉帽村家家都是凉帽作坊，工艺精湛，是深圳的凉帽生产基地，出口东南亚、英国、法国等国家和地区。

Once you are here, don’t miss out on the art gallery where you can find old articles detailing local history. As well, there is a specialty snuff store in the neighborhood. Once popular, snuff has gradually faded into history as it was replaced with cigarettes and other forms of tobacco products.

甘坑客家小镇依然把过去的很多东西都保留在了艺术展馆里。这些看似破旧的物品，却承载着客家的文化。这里还有一家据说已经相传了6代的闻药店，主要是做鼻烟的，已经有几百年的历史了，以前这种闻药广为流传，但是随着纸烟的流行，闻药渐渐从人们的视线中淡去。

There are so many things awaiting your exploration in Gankeng Hakka Town, so but be sure to check out the following representative buildings: Qidu 116 Village, the Zhuangyuan Residence, the Wenchang Tower and a 300-year-old watch tower at the town center. The tower was moved from Wuyuan brick by brick.

客家民俗的碉楼、广府风格的骑楼、江南情调的阁楼、瑶族风情的吊脚楼……处处都是甘坑客家小镇的艺术结晶。

watch tower

Add: Gankeng Hakka Town, 18 Ganli Road, Buji Subdistrict, Longgang District (龙岗区布吉街道甘李路18号深圳甘坑客家小镇)

Buses: 980, M224, M227, M273, M324, M346, M414, M363 (Gankeng Village Committee Stop)