Hakka Tulou

Set among rice, tea and tobacco fields these Tulous are houses built of rammed earth. They have been built by the Hakka people since the 15th century. Several storeys high, they are built commonly with a circular floor plan (somnetimes square) as housing for up to 800 people each. They were built for defending purposes around a central open courtyard with only one entrance and windows to the outside only above the first floor. Housing a whole clan, the houses functioned as village units and were known as “a little kingdom for the family” or “bustling small city.”