The qilou culture themed park opens to the public on May 18 in Anpu town, Lianjiang, a county-level city in Zhanjiang. [Photo by Mao Lei/Zhanjiang Daily]

A qilou culture themed park opened to the public on May 18 in Anpu town, Lianjiang, a county-level city in Zhanjiang.

Qilou, or arcade houses, is a streetside architectural form prevalent in the region, with its ground floor opening for public access and upper floors reserved for residence.

The park had a total investment of 3.5 million yuan ($492,508) from Luo Yayan, president of the Zhanjiang-headquartered Xinhai Group, whose hometown is Anpu town.

Construction of the park started in November 2019 and was completed in January this year.

"The characteristic park will become a cultural and leisure place for residents of the town, as well as an attractive scenic spot for tourists beyond the town," said Chen Rongsheng, chief of Anpu town.

Anpu town is a cultural ancient town with a history of more than 500 years, which boasts a great number of qilou buildings. It has been making efforts to build itself into a characteristic town in recent years.