"ke lau" or "qilou" (. meaning "riding building"), is a form of "tong lau" with an arcade running alongside the road for pedestrian use. the term was originally ""qilou" with feet" (有脚騎樓, "youjiao qilou"), which was first used in guangzhou's building regulations in 1912, and referred to the columns forming the colonnade that supported the projecting floors that "ride" above. the "qilou" buildings developed in guangzhou were influenced by local traditions and the shophouses with five foot ways of singapore first built under the instructions of stamford raffles in his town plan enacted soon after the founding of the colony in the early 19th century. "qilous" were built in southern china (guangdong, guangxi and fujian) starting in the early 20th century. most of the "qilous" in guangzhou were built in the 1930s until the outbreak of the sino-japanese war, and few were built after that period.