Fujian Tulou is a unique and mysterious Hakka architecture with a thick earth wall enclosure found only in the mountainous areas in southwestern Fujian Province bordering Guangdong in southern China. Tulou is usually an enclosed buildings, mostly square or circular in shape, with a very thick earth wall (up to 6 feet thick) and wooden skeletons, from three to five storeys high, housing up to 80 families. These earth buildings have only one entrance, guarded by 4-5 inch thick wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth building have gun holes for defence against bandits.
What is amazing about these earth buildings is the fact that in spite of the earth wall, some of them are more than 700 years old, surviving through centuries of natural elements, including earth quakes, yet still standing solid. There are more than 20,000 earth buildings to be found in southern China.
The Fujian Tulou has been inscribed in 2008 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
What is amazing about these earth buildings is the fact that in spite of the earth wall, some of them are more than 700 years old, surviving through centuries of natural elements, including earth quakes, yet still standing solid. There are more than 20,000 earth buildings to be found in southern China.
The Fujian Tulou has been inscribed in 2008 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.