Fujian Tulou

Tulou Cluster, July 3, 2014

I took a side trip in Xiamen before I continued my trip to Kinmen and Taiwan from my June business trip to China.  I visited Xiamen in 2008 with a group organized by the now defunct Sun Microsystems. Tulou area is about 3 hours driving, west of Xiamen.  It was not possible to visit with the group at that time.

It is difficult to get there and get around by means of public transportation.  Joining a small tour group is an option.  I hired a car with the travel agent, Apple Travel, which I found in some travel blogs. They specialize in Fujian travel and serve international clients. I hired a car with a driver for 2000 RMB (300 US dollars) for two days.  Gas and tolls are included. They are very helpful, professional and knowledgeable.  I like what I got.  For English-speaking visitors, their services would be invaluable.

Famous TianLuoKeng Tulou Cluster, July 2, 2014

The so-called Tulou building is a community and residential structure with defense in mind, to deal with frequent bandits and pirates in the last few hundred of years.  The building is normally round in shape, with fortified earth walls and standing about 3 stories high.  The real windows are on the second story and higher. Almost all of the buildings get some ground well water inside the compound. During the Ming dynasty, pirates were known to come onshore far inland to attack and to rob small communities.

An inside panoramic view of one Tulou building

These buildings are normally associated with the Hakka people, which literally means guest people/families in Chinese.  The Hakka built these structures to defend themselves from the unfriendly forces of their neighbors and also of the sea.  Hakka people escaped persecutions and wartime chaos from the north of China in various periods of Chinese turmoil.  These buildings are especially prominent in the Fujian province and its surrounding areas.

Basic and Simple Tulou life style, July 2, 2014

Tulou structures were thought to be missile silos during the Cold War, based on aerial photography and satellite imaging.  But they were too big, and the clusters were too close together to make sense.  Anyway, legend has it that the CIA went in for visits for a first-hand look after the Cold War, when travel to these remote hilly Fujian areas became permissible.

Many of these buildings, which can accommodate around 50 families and 200 residents in an average-sized structure, are still in use by the communities.  Many people raise chickens inside the Tulou compound.  Some buildings have good open space in the center.  Some have a community ancestral hall in the middle, and that's used in various festivities and occasions.

Ancestral Temple and the Memorial Steles, July 3, 2014

Hakka culture emphasizes reverence to ancestors and holds high value for family and clan relationships.  That is similar to mainline Chinese culture and emphasis.  I found quite a few examples of ancestral temples for various clans, that is, families with the same last name and root.  They erected memorial steles for those accomplished people from their own villages near the temples.

QingDe Lou Guest House we stayed on July 2, 2014

I stayed in one of the guest houses in a village called Ta-Xia in NanJing County.  It was arranged by the travel agent.  The accommodation was quite all right with hot shower and air-conditioning.  It is a small converted Tulou style building and operates more or less like a B&B enterprise.  The breakfast is standard Chinese steam bread, porridge, and various small dishes.  There is no set menu for dinner.  You discuss what you like to have with what's available with vegetables of the season, local fish, and free-range chickens. I had a good time in this place.

Taxia village, where my Guest House is, July 2, 2014