Fujian Tulou

If you plan to go to Fujian, a province of China, there are a few interesting places to visit. One of them is the Fujian Tulou, 福建土楼; a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka (a dialect speaking group) in the mountainous areas of China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries. 

Based on the literal meaning of the Chinese words tu (土; "earth") and lou (樓; "building"), one may think of the term "tulou" as a building made of earth. As the name suggest, a tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most commonly rectangular or circular in shape, with very thick and strong earth walls between three and five stories high. These Tulous can and house up to 80 families. Within these huge peripheral walls (well reinforced with earth mixed with stones) are halls, storehouses and living areas, the whole earthen building looks like a small fortified city which is well-lit, well-ventilated, windproof and earthquake-proof.The building is warm in winter and cool in summer. Tulous usually have only one main gate, guarded by thick wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth buildings has gun holes for defence purposes. From the 12th century to 19th century, armed bandits plagued southern China. The people of southern Fujian first built strongholds on top of mountains as a defence. These early strongholds later evolved into Fujian Tulou.

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 [in a] harmonious relationship with their environment".

A Tulou Cluster

A Tulou Cluster

The layout of Fujian tulou followed the Chinese dwelling tradition of "closed outside, open inside" concept: an enclosure wall with living quarters around the peripheral and a common courtyard at the centre. A small building at the centre with open front served as an ancestral hall for ancestry worshipping, festivals, meetings, weddings, funerals and other ceremonial functions. Ground floor plan includes circle, semicircle, oval, square, rectangle, and irregular pentagon.
Tulous were usually occupied by one large family clan of several generations; some larger tulou had more than one family clan. The residents share many facilities such as water wells, ceremonial hall, bathrooms, wash rooms, and weaponry. They even the surrounding land and farmland, fruit trees, etc.   Nowadays newer houses with modern facilities are popping up in rural China. Many residents have bought these modern houses and moved out, or live in a larger town or city for better jobs. However they keep their ancestral tulou apartment homes under padlock, only returning home during festival for family reunion.

Livestock

Buildings in neighbourhood

The thick outer walls of tulous were immune to arrows and gunfire. The lower one- to two-metre section of the outer wall was sometimes built with granite blocks or large river cobbles. This granite or cobble section was immune to digging, since the outer layer of cobbles was purposely laid with the smaller ends pointing outwards—it would be futile for bandits to dig out such cobbles. Digging a tunnel under the wall was not possible either, because the cobble section wall was extended deep down more than one metre. In this way, the Tulou is well fortified against attacks from any enemies.

The interior of Tulou

In front of a Tulou

We visited one such Tulou when we were in Fujian sometime ago. The building is still very sound after so many years even tough it is not made of concrete, amazing isn't it.

Another scenic attraction we visited in Fujian is the Wuyishan. The landscape of Wuyishan is characterised by winding river valleys flanked by columnar or dome-shaped cliffs as well as cave systems. Peaks in the western portion of the Wuyi Mountains typically consist of volcanic rocks, whereas peaks and hills in the eastern area are made up of red sandstone with very steep slopes but flat tops. The Nine-bend River (Jiuqu Xi), about 60 kilometres in length, meanders in a deep gorge among these hills. The highest peak in the area is Mount Huanggang at 2,158 metres (7,080 ft) on the border of Fujian and Jiangxi, making it the highest point of both provinces; the lowest altitudes are around 200 metres (660 ft).  The mountains of Wuyishan have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its cultural, scenic, and biodiversity values since 1999.


Sceniv view of Wuyishan

This region is also famous for a special tea called the Dà Hóng Páo ( 大红袍 literally means "Big Red Robe"), a prestigious Wuyi oolong tea. According to legend, the princess of a Ming emperor was cured of an illness by this tea, and that emperor sent great red robes to clothe the four bushes from which this tea originated. Three of these original bushes, growing on a rock on Mount Wuyi and reportedly dates back to the Song Dynasty, still survive today and are highly valued. Known for its highly expensive value and quality, Da Hong Pao tea is usually reserved for honoured guests in China.

Enjoying Wuyi tea in a local teashop