Tulou (Tǔlóu 土楼) is a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka (Kèjiā 客家) and Minnan(Mǐnnán 闽南)people in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries. The buildings were divided vertically between families with each disposing of two or three rooms on each floor. In contrast with their plain exterior, the inside of the Tulou were built for comfort and were often highly decorated.Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces border are the main distribution areas of Tulou.
Yongding (Yǒngdìng 永定) is a rural area of rolling farmlands and hills in southwestern Fujian. Heartland of the Hakka people, it’s renowned for its remarkable Tulou , large, circular edifices resembling fortresses that are scattered throughout the surrounding countryside. Today there are 20, 000 of these buildings still in existence, many still inhabited and open to visitors.
Tulou configuration
Smaller interior buildings are often enclosed by these huge peripheral walls which can contain halls, storehouses, wells and living areas, the whole structure resembling a small fortified city. The fortified outer structures are formed by compacting earth, mixed with stone, bamboo, wood and other readily available materials, to form walls up to 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. Branches, strips of wood and bamboo chips are often laid in the wall as additional reinforcement. The result is a well-lit, well-ventilated, windproof and earthquake-proof building that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Tulou usually have only one main gate, guarded by 4–5-inch-thick (100–130 mm) wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth buildings has gun holes for defensive purposes.A total of 46 Fujian Tulou sites, including Chuxi tulou cluster, Tianluokeng tulou cluster, Hekeng tulou cluster, Gaobei tulou cluster, Dadi tulou cluster, Hongkeng tulou cluster, Yangxian lou, Huiyuan lou, Zhengfu lou and Hegui lou, have been inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, as "exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization harmonious relationship with their environment". These tulou clusters are very magnificent and must-sees for your educational China tours in Fujian.
Tulou History
Archaeological research has revealed that there have been communal houses built of rammed earth in China, Central Asia, and East Asia since the Neolithic period (6,000 years ago). Tulou is a property of 46 buildings constructed between the 15th and 20th centuries over 120 km in south-west of Fujian province, inland from the Taiwan Strait. Set amongst rice, tea and tobacco fields the Tulou are earthen houses. The Fujian tulou seem first to have appeared in the Song and Yuan Dynasties (11th-13th centuries) and developed from the 14th and 16th centuries (Early and Middle Ming Dynasty), reaching their peak between the 17th century and the first half of the 20th century (the Late Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China period). The building which is full of historic charm certainly be called this earth's treasures.
Tulou is usually looks a very large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most always rectangular or circular in configuration, with very thick load-bearing rammed earth walls between three and five stories high and housing up to more than 100 families. Including Zhangzhou City, Southern Min, Minnan and Hakka, half of Longyan City have the typical Tulou. Fujian earth is unique in the world large-scale residential form, known as the gem of Chinese traditional houses.
Tulou Functions
Several storeys high, they are built along an inward-looking, circular or square floor plan as housing for up to 900 people each. They were built for defence purposes around a central open courtyard with only one entrance and windows to the outside only above the first floor. Housing a whole clan, the houses functioned as village units and were known as “a little kingdom for the family” or “bustling small city.”They feature tall fortified mud walls capped by tiled roofs with wide over-hanging eaves. The most elaborate structures date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. They are inscribed as exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization, and, in terms of their harmonious relationship with their environment, an outstanding example of human settlement.
Travel Tips
Location:Yongding Country,Fujian Province,China.
Bus Fee:CNY50.
Adimission Fee:CNY100-200.
Tulou will help you learn more about local ancient history and customs. But it is not a place for China business tours.
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