 Fujian
Tulou is a unique Chinese rammed earth building of the
Hakka and other people in the mountainous areas in
southwestern Fujian, China. They are mostly built
between the 12th to the 20th centuries. Tulou is usually
a large enclosed building, rectangular or circular in
configuration, with a very thick weight supporting earth
wall (up to 6 feet thick) and wooden skeletons, from
three to five storeys high, housing up to 80 families.
These earth buildings usually have only one main gate,
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 defense against
bandits.
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, and, in
terms of their harmonious relationship with their
environment". |
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