Fujian Tianluo Tulou (Nanjing Wooden building)

A Trip To Yunshuiyao

July 8, 2017: One fine day at Fujian's Yunshuiyao Tulou. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tulou means earth dwellings...The Fujian tulou (Chinese: 福建土楼; literally: Fujian earthen buildings) are Chinese rural dwellings[2] unique to the Hakka in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries.[3]

A tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most commonly rectangular or circular in configuration, with very thick load-bearing rammed earth walls between three and five stories high and housing up to 800 people. 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.[4]

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.[4] Tulous 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.

Tianluokeng in the rain

Tianluokeng Tulou cluster in the rain. It is the most picturesque collection of houses. It consists of a square earth building at the center of a quincunx, surrounded by four round earth buildings (or more exactly, 3 round earth buildings and one oval shape earth building), figuratively nickenamed Si cai yi tang (four dishes with a soup).
Fujian tulou and the Hakka villages scattered around the mountain triangle in southwestern Fujian, China. 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.

4 Dish 1 Soup Tian Luo Keng Shangban Village Fujian China March 2012