Living in a Tulou

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Hi All,

Another Chinese minority crossed of the list. The people who live around Liulian are Hakka Chinese. These people migrated from north western China during the Jin dynasty escaping famine and persecution. The buildings which they constructed here are called tulou, means earth house. They are built from rammed earth and wood and are on a circular or square design. They were built to protect the people from bandits and wild animals. They would house entire clans and some still do. The kitchen and wells are on the ground floor with storage on the 1st floor with living accommodation above that. All of the tulou have an ancestral hall which in some was just a small shrine while in others were elaborate buildings. The inner rings in some tulou were guest rooms and schools. Thy are a marvel of communal living.

Liulian was easy enough to get to . At the bus station buy a ticket for the Yongding tulou but tell the bus driver you want to get off at Liulian. Once off the bus I was approached straight away by a guy who offered me a room in this huge tulou directly in front of us. The room was basic, 70 rmb a night,only a fan and a toilet over the road in the backpacker centre, but it was just what I wanted. The guy was also a guide and had a motorcycle, 150rmb half a day, so we went off in the afternoon. It was hot but great on the back of the bike. He took me to a small town first with a pretty temple. We then went to the Yuchang tulou. This tulou is 300 years old and the wooden pillars are set at different angles on the different floors. We sat and had tea with a man who showed me his well and was very proud of the fact that UNESCO had visited his home. He kept showing me this photo and saying "UNESCO". A lovely place to sit and drink some really delicious tea. From there we went to the TianLuoKeng Tulou Cluster. Really beautiful with 5 tulou grouped together. One oval, one square and three circular. These buildings are built with fengshui in mind so their postioning is apparently very important. From here we went to the GaoBei Tulou Cluster. I was so looking forward to the Chengqi Lou and was really disappointed. The toulou cost 60 rmb to enter and as soon as I entered I was being hassled by people for money. People who know me will know I don't like being ripped off, I don't mind paying an entrance fee but then they wanted more money to go upstairs. I refused, I know cut off my nose etc., but it just annoys me.

It's almost impossible to take a bad photo here

Enjoy the photos

Jah Bless

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