Where to see the tulou which also known as "earthen buildings" in China? Tulou is a traditional Hakka communal residence which located in the Yongding County, Fujian province of Southern China. Listed as one of the World Heritage Sites, Tulou is one of the most extraordinary types of house which built mostly between the 12th and the 20th centuries. Come and see the unique style of Chinese traditional houses structure in Fujian.

Description about Hakka Tulou Buildings
A Number of Residences are Built inside a Single Fortified Compound

Hakka Tulou Building is roundhouses with a Hakka structure where a number of residences are built inside a single fortified compound. There are more than 20,000 Tulou buildings with various sizes where scattered in the mountainous southeastern region in Yongding County, in the south of Fujian Province. Today, most of these tulou are still in use, it even can housing for up to 800 people each.

History of Hakka Tulou Buildings
Constructed around A Central Open Courtyard with Only One Entrance and Windows

Hakka Tulou Buildings built by Hakka people about 2,000 years ago. It was an age when bandits roamed the countryside, and defensive structures were needed. Built for defenses purposes, it constructed around a central open courtyard with only one entrance and windows to the outside only above the first floor. Today there still remains thousands of tulou across southern China, but only 46 are regarded as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and have known as the good example of Fujian Tulou.

Interiors of Hakka Tulou Buildings
Style of Tulou Buildings Construction Keeps the Interior Cool in Summer and Warm in Winter

Tulou interiors are primarily constructed of wood. A single door serves as the only entrance. Windows are narrow, a reminder of its original purpose as a fortress to keep out bandits. At the roof level, there were dotted with gun holes to ward off attacking intruders. The miraculous round ancient building in total consists of three to five floors and there have wooden stairs connecting the floors. Each of part of them has comprehensive functions, like kitchens, dining rooms, warehouses, bedrooms, guest rooms, ancestral halls, wedding and funeral venues. A small building at the center with open front served as an ancestral hall for ancestry worshipping, festivals, meetings, weddings, funerals and other ceremonial functions.
The style of tulou buildings construction keeps the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. The walls of the buildings, a few meters thick, are made of "rammed earth" –which is include compacted dirt, bamboo and glutinous rice. Among the thousands of Tulou buildings, the Zhengcheng Tulou is one of the most famous. Popularly, it is also known as "The Prince of the Tulous".

Inside some tulou, residents have set up a marketplace where they sell crafts, paintings and photographs of local scenery. Not only see these remarkable buildings, there you will also enjoy the culture and habits of Chinese Hakka people as well as discover the detail of unique tulou buildings significant structures. Come to Yongding County and experience the communal way of life of the Hakka people!