Tulou, Fujian, China (12th – 20th Century)

Artist/Designer:

Project Location: China

Figure 1: Tianluokeng tulou cluster
( Source | Photographer: Gisling )

Figure 2: layout of tulou cluster ( Source | Photographer: IC )

Figure 3: The environment near Tulou ( Source | Photographer: 文子言木 )

Figure 4: The inner layers of Tulou ( Source | Photographer: Ko Hon Chiu Vincent )

Figure 5: The corridors are facing to the courtyard ( Source | Photographer: Song Xiang Lin )

Figure 6: The courtyard of Tulou ( Source | Photographer: Lennartbj )

Figure 7: The outlook of Tulou ( Source | Photographer: Ko Hon Chiu Vincent )

Figure 8: the section of tulou ( Source )

Figure 9: The wedding in Tulou ( Source )

Figure 10: Ancestral hall of Zhengchenglou ( Source | Photographer: Gisling )

Figure 11: Buyun building main gate ( Source | Photographer: Gisling )

Figure 12: Lambda Insertion technique of roof tile ( Source )

Style/Period(s):
Traditional

Primary Material(s):
Stone, Wood, Clay, Tile

Function(s):
Residential Structure, Community

Related Website(s):

Wikipedia introduction

UNESCO introduction

Significant Date(s):
12th Century

Additional Information:
The Fujian tulou (simplified Chinese: 福建土楼) are Chinese rural dwellings unique to the Hakka in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries. 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.

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.[3] 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.

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