China's ancient houses: Where you can begin to see the tulou

Southern China's Fujian province is not going to get just as much attention since it's urban neighbors towards the north and west, regions which are the place to find worldwide known metropolitan areas like Shanghai and Guangzhou.

 

However the seaside province provides a fascinating peek at traditional Chinese heritage, an increasing rarity within this quickly developing country.

 

One of the more intriguing bits of history in Fujian would be the tulou -- large, round, rammed-earth structures dating back to centuries.

 

You will find no tulou in Xiamen, among the biggest metropolitan areas in Fujian, but you can visit a few of these structures on the excursion. Charter bus and tours from Xiamen take site visitors through several tulou in Fujian’s Yongding and Nanjing areas.

 

The 3-hour bus ride from Xiamen to Yongding, where a lot of the tulou groupings are situated, takes site visitors flying past eco-friendly fields full of blueberry trees, through tunnels and around mountain tops.

 

China's tulou were built through the china travel guide Hakka people, a Han subgroup that came into southern China a couple of,000 years back.

 

It had been a time when bandits roamed the countryside, and defensive stuctures were needed.

 

Built between your twelfth and 20th centuries, the communal earthen structures located large families and often multiple groups, supplying defense against marauders.

 

Today you will find 1000's of tulou across southern China, only 46 are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites and therefore are formally known as "Fujian tulou."

 

The odd-searching structures can stand as little as one story, and function houses to 1 relatives.

 

The greater famous tulou are veritable forts, with 1.8-meter-thick walls, gun holes as well as an iron-covered central door.

 

Fundamental essentials tulou that dominate the landscape, many standing five tales high and 70 meters (230 ft) across about 60 rooms on each floor.

 

In additional recent occasions, the tulou achieved a little of prestige for something apart from historic significance.

 

Chinese media reported that within the eighties, U.S. satellites once misidentified the tulou as missile silos due to their donut-formed tops.

 

Honest mistake, right?

 

Xiamen-based tour company Apple Travel organizes one- or two-day tulou tours. Prices begin with RMB 425 ($68).