China: Wood piled up ready to be used as fuel outside a square Hakka Tower (tulou) near Hukeng, Yongding County, Fujian Province

The Hakka (Kejia in Mandarin; literally 'guest people') are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language. Their distinctive earthen houses or tulou can be found in the borderland counties where Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces meet.

Communal entities, tulou are fortified against marauding bandits and generally made of compacted earth, bamboo, wood and stone. They contain many rooms on several storeys, so that several families can live together. The small, self-contained design is a common characteristic of Hakka dwellings (eg the Hakka walled villages at Kam Tin in Hong Kong’s New Territories).

Tulou come in a variety of styles, and can be circular, triangular, rectangular, octagonal or other shapes. The extraordinary round earth houses range in size from the small scale (around 12 rooms) to the large (up to 72 rooms). Most are three storeys high, but the largest have up to five storeys. Some tulou stand independently, while others cluster into groups. The tulou located in Hukeng include the circular Zhenchenglou and a Five Phoenix House (Wufenglou), among others. Five Phoenix buildings tended to belong to Hakka officials and are more palatial than typical tulou.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia