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A tulou (), or "earthen building", is a traditional communal
National Geographic
China's Remote Fortresses Lose Residents, Gain Tourists * http://www.chinadwelling.dk/images/htm/13_01.htm * http://www.chinadwelling.dk/hovedsider/construction-tekst.htm
UNESCO World Heritage Site 1113: Fujian Tulou
From the Earth
Article about the Tulou earth villages of the Fujian Hakka {{Fujian topics Buildings and structures in Fujian Architecture in China Castles by type Hakka architecture
A tulou (), or "earthen building", is a traditional communal Hakka people
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
residence found in Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...
, in South China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine, and part of Hakka architecture
A Hakka walled village ( zh, 围龙屋) is a large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible. This building style is unique to the Hakka people found in southern China. Walled villages are typically designed ...
. These vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
structures were occupied by clan groups.
Although most tulou were of earthen construction, the definition "tulou" is a broadly descriptive label for a building type and does not indicate construction type. Some were constructed out of cut granite or had substantial walls of fired brick. Most large-scale tulou seen today were built of a composite of earth, sand, and lime known as sanhetu rather than just earth. The tulou is often three to four stories high. Often they would store food on the higher floors.
Due to their unorthodox and strange appearance from the outside they were once mistaken for missile silos by American analysts during the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
. Others even compare it to ancient 'spaceships'.
The noted Fujian Tulou, designated as UNESCO World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
site in 2008, is a small and specialized subgroup of tulou, known for their unique shape, large scale, and ingenious structure. There are more than 20,000 tulou in southern Fujian. Approximately 3,000 of them are Fujian Tulou, that is 15% of tulou belong to the Fujian Tulou category.
Contemporary references
Film
* In ''Secrets of the Furious Five
''Secrets of the Furious Five'' (also known as ''Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five'') is a 2008 American animated short film produced by DreamWorks Animation, which serves as a semi-sequel/spin-off to the animated feature film ''Kung Fu Pa ...
'', the Bao Gu Orphanage is a tulou.
* Portions of Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-chi (, born 22 June 1962), known professionally as Stephen Chow, is a Hong Kong filmmaker, former actor and comedian, known for '' Shaolin Soccer'' and '' Kung Fu Hustle''.
Early life and education
Stephen Chow was born in Hong K ...
's "Kung Fu Hustle
''Kung Fu Hustle'' ( zh, c=功夫, l=Kung Fu) is a 2004 Cantonese-language action comedy film directed, produced, co-written by, and starring Stephen Chow. The film tells the story of a murderous neighbourhood gang, a poor village with unlik ...
" take place at a tulou.
* In the 2020 '' Mulan'' film, Mulan and her family live in a tulou. This has raised controversies as the first tulou was not built when the actual poem was written.
* In Big Fish and Begonia, most of the events take place in or near a tulou in the spirit realm.
Video games
* In Front Mission 3 the main cast briefly goes to Yongding, where tulous can be seen in the background. The NPCs at the Yongding bar talk about tulous when you speak to them.See also
* Earth structure * Fujian Tulou * Hakka walled village *Siheyuan
A ''siheyuan'' (; IPA: ɹ̩̂.xɤ̌.ɥɛ̂n is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used ...
* Hutong
''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing.
In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...
References
External links
National Geographic
China's Remote Fortresses Lose Residents, Gain Tourists * http://www.chinadwelling.dk/images/htm/13_01.htm * http://www.chinadwelling.dk/hovedsider/construction-tekst.htm
UNESCO World Heritage Site 1113: Fujian Tulou
From the Earth
Article about the Tulou earth villages of the Fujian Hakka {{Fujian topics Buildings and structures in Fujian Architecture in China Castles by type Hakka architecture