Crane Lake Fortified Hakka Village

---

Hi All,

After vising the Tulou last summer I was really looking forward to see another type of Hakka dwelling here in Shenzhen. At one time most of the population here was Hakka Chinese but with the creation of the SEZ the majority of people here now are Han Chinese.

Real easy to get here. Take line 3 to NanLian. head down BiXin Road, Turn right at the crossroads of LongYuan Road and it's on your right. It is signposted from Longyuan Road.

Very different from the tulou, as most of them are circular. The village was trapezoid or Wei in Chinese. This type of fortified village was very common in southern China and this is the largest one that remains.

It must have been a great place to live. They would hold a clan or family, so everyone would know everyone else. They were built to protect the Hakka from the Cantonese with whom they had been fighting with over land rights.

It was also used in the Second Word War when the local population locked themselves inside to protect themselves from the Japanese, much like the Diaolou in Kaiping. The Japanese blew up the large rear watchtower which has not been rebuilt since.

I loved this building. Really pretty and in a wonderful setting too with the half moon lake at the front. Lovely.

Enjoy the photos

Jah Bless

---