The Fujian Tulou

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The Fujian Tulou, which literally means earthen buildings are the humble abode of the Hakka, endogenous mountain dwellers, in Fujian province.  After a few hours from highly urbanized Xiamen by car, we were led by our Chinese guides to rural China, whose ancestors were originally from Fujian.  They  were excited as us, since they have never been there before. In hour half day tour, we were able to savor an authentic Tulou meal and drink their tea, interact with the natives and buy handcrafted works of art and some delicacies.

A tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building (there were a total of 46 in varying sizes) most commonly rectangular or circular, with very thick earth walls between three and five stories high.  We only visited the largest and 2 other unique houses. Traditionally, it houses an entire clan which can number up to 800 people. Smaller interior buildings are often enclosed by these huge peripheral walls which can contain halls, storehouses, wells and living areas.  There are no windows in these buildings. 

The  whole structure which resembles a small fortified city were inscribed in the Unesco World Heritage list in 2008.

Location: Fujian, China

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