Tulou come in different shapes and sizes - there are rectangular, circular, pentagonal, imperial style, oval, etc. The most common tulou standing today are of rectangular and circular shapes. Most of them are found within the county of Yongding.
This Easter we exchanged Easter eggs & bunnies against circular houses in the countryside of Fujian province!
Gaobei village, Chengqilou tulou. First night spent in the tulou in this photo that is the King of tulous (largest!) and approx. 300 years old.
Gaobei village.
Interior of our tulou :)
Gaobei village
Dinner with "mi jiu" - sweet Hakka rice wine!
Chengqilou tulou by night
Chengqilou tulou
Chengqilou tulou. Our room.
Chengqilou tulou. 6:30 am... time to go for a little morning stroll to WC as it is located outside the building.
Chengqilou tulou
Chengqilou tulou. Tulou reality in the early morning before the tourist stands are opened ;)
A tulou can be as high as six stores; the ground level is for livestock and kitchen; grains and other food stuff are stored on the second level while the higher floors are for living. The walls are constructed of local materials- mainly mud with straw, reinforced by bamboo strips. The floors are constructed from thick wood panels. Tulou are defensive design - Hakka often settled in remote hills and faced local hostilities and bandits. Once the doors are bolted and with ample stock of grains, tulou is like a fortress and can be completely self-sufficient for long period of time.
Hakka - a unique subgroup of the Han Chinese. The name literally means guest family. In the 19th century, Europeans refer to them as Chinese gypsies. Today, the major visible heritage of the Hakka is their cuisine as well as their houses of unique architecture, Tulou.
Tulous
Cool village on the way to Chuxi tulou cluster. A chance to sneak into places where no tourists are expected ;)
Tulous along the way..
Chuxi village Tulou Cluster
Chuxi village streets
Chuxi village tulou cluster. Biggest Tulou
Chuxi village - the view :)
And then we headed for our next overnight destination - Taxia village that is Hakka village located in a valley and there are more than 20 earthen building of different shapes built along the bank of a clear brook that flows through the entire village.
Magical dusk..
Taxia village by night
Taxia village. We stayed in a cozy place right by the place where this photo was taken and it was a wonderful change to hear the sound of the water falling when falling asleep instead of construction noise :)
Zhang's Clan Ancestral Hall in Taxia village
Taxia vilage. The tea view from above :)
And then we finished up in mega touristic place - Tianluokeng tulou cluster that is composed primarily of 3 round, 1 oval and one rectangular earthen house. It is told to be one of the most magnificent and well-preserved Hakka Castles in the area. (and most touristic ..as I mentioned already)
Tianluokend, Oval tulou
Cutest puppy of the trip :)
Oldest of Tulous... miracle that still stands after 700 years... Yuchanglou is a five-story tulou located at Xiabanliao village. It was built in 1308 and is one of the oldest and tallest tulou in China. Yuchanglou has been nicknamed the "zigzag building", because the vertical wooden post structure is not straight and perpendicular, but zigzags left and right. It was built that way due to an error measuring the building materials. But in spite of this apparent infirmity, this tall tulou withstood 700 hundred years of natural elements and social turmoil.
And now time for the island just off the coast of Xiamen city (same Fujian province)!
Gulangyu Island is renowned for its delicate natural beauty, its ancient relics, and its varied architecture.
Gulangyu Island has about 20,000 permanent residents, all of whom enjoy a comfortable, relaxing life. Only electric-powered vehicles are permitted on the island, so the environment is free from the noise and pollution of combustion engines. Breathing the clean air, appreciating the ever-present green trees and lovely flowers, anyone here can feel like they are in heaven. With classical and romantic European-style architecture, the island truly deserves to be called the'Architecture Museum'. It is also known as the 'Cradle of Musicians' and 'Island of Music' because of its reputation for music appreciation.
And in order to cut some walking distances there are 3 tunnels on the island - we found all of them :)
POLICING ofice :)
Little bar :)
Fantastic sculpture park we dicovered on the far end of the island.
And here`s some beach for evidence of being on an island ;)
Feels like autumn...looks like autumn :)
View from our hostel terrace!
I wanna have one just like this one day ;)
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