Earth Tower of Hakka Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information
The Earth Tower of Hakka has a long history. As early as one thousand years ago, some of the original Hakka migrated and settled at the sparse Yongding area. In order to protect themselves against bandits and wild beasts, they used local materials to build tall, multi-storey circular earthen buildings where a whole family or clan could live in. These are the earth towers that we see today. They are regarded as a wonder by thousands of experts, scholars and visitors who have been enchanted by their beauty.
A great creativity
The Earth Towers are a well-protected fortress in storey shape for the self-defense of Hakka people against enemies. In addition to the queer tricks of defense against the enemies, it has the functions of quakeproof, fire prevention, guarding against wild animals and good ventilation and lighting. The fantastic and spectacular Earth Tower of Hakka demonstrates the great creativity of the working people of ancient China, and it has attracted more and more overseas visitors.
There are round and square types of Fujian Hakka Tulou. The round ones (also known as "Round Stockade") are the example of Hakka village houses and they are mostly composed of two to three circles linking to one another from within.
Have a look
The Earth Towers of the Hakka in Fujian represent architecture unique to Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong that developed following the flow of the Hakka from central to south China. The older examples of earth towers consist of interior buildings enclosed by huge peripheral ones that hold hundreds of rooms. With all the halls, storehouses, wells and bedrooms inside, the huge tower-like building functions almost like a small fortified city. These buildings were constructed using fire-resistive material and therefore practically impregnable. They are spacious and they are made up of different shapes like square, rectangular, semi-circular and round.
The round ones
The ones that are round in shape are the most famous. They are divided into three classes of sizes namely, small, medium and big. The small ones are usually 2 to 3 stories tall with a single ring and have 21 to 28 rooms. The medium dwellings are usually 3 to 4 stories tall with a large inner open space, which come in single ring or double rings and could contain 30 to 40 rooms. The larger round buildings are usually 4 to 5 stories tall consisting of as many as three rings and could house about 42 to 58 rooms. Finally, the very small round buildings have about 12 to 18 rooms.
Three stories
Most of the round buildings are three stories high with a diameter of 70-80 meters. It is a "group-oriented" residence, usually with one main entrance. Its wall is usually around 1-meter thick. The main entrance door is padded with iron sheet and is locked by 2 horizontal wood bars. The wooden bars retract into the walls in order to open the door.
Inside the entrance is a huge central courtyard where all the doors of the rooms and inner windows open facing it. Normally, the rooms at the ground level, except the hall and the staircases, are used as kitchens and dining rooms.
The rooms on the second floor are used for storage and those on the third level are used as bedrooms. The rooms at each level are identical. In front of each room, there is an open round hallway and usually there are 4 staircases to move from one level to another.
An inner ring
While the round building is fairly large, it has an inner ring, which is like a round building within a round building. The round buildings that were built earlier than the 15th century also had another function, that of counter siege. It is said that during the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates who intruded the coastal areas, always leave the Hakka's Earth Buildings area alone.
Typical ones of Earth Towers of Hakka
The construction of the Earth buildings exemplifies the wisdom and creativeness of the ancestors of the Hakkas settlers in Yongding County. It closes the gaps between Chinese architecture history and the world architecture history and is regarded as a miraculous wonder by thousands of experts, scholars and tourists who have been enchanted by its beauty. The buildings of Zhengcheng, Chengqi, Yijing and Eryi are the typical representatives of the earth buildings.
Chengqi Building--"the king of earth buildings"
Chengqi Building is situated at Gaobei Village, Gaotou Town, Yongding County, Longyan City. It is large in scale, unique in form, antique in style, and has a strong flavor of rural life. A vivid description of the Building goes like this, "Four-storey tall, in four circles, with four hundred rooms from cellar to rafter; round in round, circle in circle, with a long and fateful history of three hundred years."
Zhengcheng Building--"the prince of earth buildings"
Built in 1912, Zhengcheng Building is situated at Hongkeng Village, Hukeng Town, Yongding County, Longyan City and covers an area of 5000 square meters. With post and lintel construction, it consists of two circles (the inside one and the outside one). There are 48 rooms on each floor of the 4-storey outside circle, which is designed according to the Eight Diagrams. There are six rooms and one staircase attached to each combination. And there is a firewall between every two combinations which are connected with each other through an arched door.
Yijing Building--the largest square earth building
Built in 1851, Yijing Building is a square earth building situated at Shangyang Village, Gaopo Town, Yongding County, Longyan City. The outside wall is 136 meters wide from east to west, and 76 meters long from north to south, with an area of 10,336 square meters. The 5-storey main tower at the back of the Building is 17 meters high, and is the highest among the existing earth buildings in Yongding. With altogether 280 rooms, Yijing Building is the largest square earth buildings ever known.
Eryi Building--"the treasure of round earth buildings"
Built in 1770 and lying in Dadi Village, Xiandu Town, Hua'an County, Zhanzhou City, Eryi Building covers an area of over 6,000 square meters.
When to visit
Opening Hours: 9:10a.m. - 5:00p.m.
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