Tulou

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A tulou (simplified Chinese: 土楼; traditional Chinese: 土樓; pinyin: tǔlóu), or "earthen building", is a traditional communal residence in the Fujian province of Southern China, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine. These vernacular structures were occupied by clan groups. Fujian Tulou are known for their unique shape, large scale, and ingenious structure.

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 of cut granite or had substantial walls of fired brick. Most large-scale tulou seen today were built of a composite material known as sanhetu rather than just earth.

[edit] See also

• Hakka architecture

[edit] External links

• http://www.chinadwelling.dk/images/htm/13_01.htm
• http://www.chinadwelling.dk/hovedsider/construction-tekst.htm
• http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1689/
• From the Earth Article about the Tulou earth villages of the Fujian Hakka