The Fujian Tulou are large, fortified earth buildings constructed between the 12th and 20th centuries in southeastern Fujian province, China. They housed extended family clans of up to 80 families. Tulou are usually circular or rectangular in shape, with thick compacted earth walls reinforced with materials like stone, bamboo, and wood. The walls are up to 6 feet thick and houses are arranged around an interior courtyard. Each family occupied vertically stacked rooms of identical size, promoting egalitarian living. The thick walls and single guarded entrance made Tulou effective fortresses against bandits. An ancestral hall in the center was used for worship, meetings, and other community functions.

1. Fujian Tulou
Fujian Tulou (simplified Chinese: 福建土楼; traditional Chinese: 福
建土樓; pinyin: literally: "Fujian earthen structures") is a type of
Chinese rural dwelling of the Hakka is in the mountainous areas
in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the
12th and the 20th centuries.
A tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth
building, most commonly rectangular or circular in
configuration, with very thick load-bearing rammed earth
walls between three and five stories high and housing up to 80
families. Smaller interior buildings are often enclosed by these
huge peripheral walls which can contain halls, storehouses,
wells and living areas, the whole structure resembling a small
fortified city.
The fortified outer structures are formed by compacting earth,
mixed with stone, bamboo, wood and other readily available
materials, to form walls up to 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. Branches, strips
of wood and bamboo chips are often laid in the wall as additional
reinforcement. The result is a well-lit, well-ventilated, windproof
and earthquake-proof building that is warm in winter and cool in
summer.[Tulous usually have only one main gate, guarded by 4–5-
inch-thick (100–130 mm) wooden doors reinforced with an outer
shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth buildings has gun
holes for defensive purposes.
Housing for a community of equals
Unlike other housing structures around the world with architecture
illustrating social hierarchy, Fujian Tulou exhibits its unique
characteristic as a model of community housing for equals. All
rooms were built the same size with the same grade of material,
same exterior decoration, same style of windows and doors, and
there was no "penthouse" for "higher echelons"; a small family owned
a vertical set from ground floor to "penthouse" floor, while a larger
family would own two or three vertical sets.
Tulous were usually occupied by one large family clan of several
generations; some larger tulou had more than one family clan.
Besides the building itself, many facilities such as water wells,
ceremonial hall, bathrooms, wash rooms, and weaponry were shared
property. Even the surrounding land and farmland, fruit trees etc.
were shared. The residents of tulou farmed communally. This
continued into the 1960s even during the people's commune period;
at that time a tulou was often occupied by one commune production
team. Each small family has its own private property, and every
family branch enjoys its privacy behind closed doors.
In the old days, the allotment of housing was based on family male
branch; each son was counted as one branch. Public duties such as
organization of festivals, cleaning of public areas, opening and
closing of the main gate, etc., was also assigned to a family branch
on a rotational basis.
All branches of a family clan shared a single roof, symbolizing unity
and protection under a clan; all the family houses face the central
ancestral hall, symbolizing worship of ancestry and solidarity of the
clan. When a clan grew, the housing expanded radially by adding
another outer concentric ring, or by building another tulou close by,
in a cluster. Thus, a clan stayed together.
Nowadays newer housing with modern facilities is popping up in
rural China. Many residents have bought more modern houses and
moved out, or live in a larger town or city for better jobs. However
they keep their ancestral tulou apartment homes under padlock,
only returning home during festival for family reunion.
A note on Hakka’s
The Hakka people were migrants from North China, who
moved southwards in the later part of the Song Dynasty (961 –
1276 AD) and were content with remoter areas. In general,
they were not welcomed, and they had to build their houses in
a protective way. They lived in families and clans together
and developed a particular concentric form of living
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2. •The layout of Fujian tulou followed the Chinese dwelling
tradition of "closed outside, open inside" concept: an enclosure
wall with living quarters around the peripheral and a
common courtyard at the centre. A small building at the
center with open front served as an ancestral hall for
ancestry worshipping, festivals, meetings, weddings, funerals
and other ceremonial functions. Ground floor plan includes
circle, semicircle, oval, square, rectangle, and irregular
pentagon.
•The foundation of tulou building was built with paved stones
on top of compacted earth ground, in two to three tiers.
There is a circular drain around the top tier foundation to
prevent rainwater from damaging the tulou wall..
•In most cases, the weight bearing outer wall of tulou consists of two sections, the lower
section is built from cut stone blocks or river cobbles held together with a lime, sand and
clay mixture to a height of about one or two metres, depending upon the regional flood
water level. The compacted earth wall stacked on top of the stone section. The construction
of earth wall from compacted earth mixed with sticky rice and reinforced with horizontal
bamboo sticks was described first in Song dynasty building standard the Yingzao Fashi.
•The walls were built inclined toward the centre, such that the natural force of gravity
pushes the wall together. This inward inclination method was also used in the construction
of Pagoda of Fogong Temple. The thickness of the Tulou wall decreases with height as
specified in Yingzao Fashi. The bottom two storeys of tulou are solid with no window nor
gun hole, windows are open only from the third to fifth storey, because rooms at the bottom
storey served as family storage rooms and the upper storey's were living quarters.
The rooftops were covered with baked clay tiles, arranged radially;λ
insertion technique was used at regular intervals to compensate for larger
circumference at the outside.( Majority of roof tiles were laid from top to
bottom, the gap caused by radial layout was compensated by small sections
of tiles laid in λ shape inserts). This technique allowed the tiles to be laid
radically without visible gaps, and without the use of small tiles at top,
larger tiles at bottom
•The eaves usually extend about two meters, protecting the earth wall from damage by
rainwater pouring from the eaves.
•The wooden frame supporting the rooftop had no dugong elements common in traditional
Chinese building.
•Circular corridors from 2nd to uppermost level were made of
wood boards laid on horizontal wooden beams with one end
inserted into the earth wall. The corridors are protected with
a circle of wooden railings.
•Stairwells are distributed evenly around the corridors,
four sets of stairwells being the usual number. Each
stairwell leads from ground floor to the highest floor.
•Public water wells in groups of two or three are usually
located at the centre court; more luxurious tulous have in-
house water well for each household in ground floor
kitchen
•From the 12th century to 19th century, armed bandits plagued southern China. The people of southern Fujian first built strongholds on top of mountains as a defence. These early strongholds later evolved into Fujian Tulou.
•The thick (two metres at bottom, tapered to one metre on top) outer walls of tulous were immune to arrows and gunfire. The lower one- to two-metre section of the outer wall was sometimes built with granite blocks or large river cobbles. This
granite or cobble section was immune to digging, since the outer layer of cobbles was purposely laid with the smaller ends pointing outwards—it would be futile for any attacker to dig out such cobbles. Digging a tunnel under the wall was not
possible either, because the cobble section wall was extended deep down more than one metre.
•The earth wall section was built with rammed earth together with lime-sand-clay mixture and reinforced with horizontal bamboo strips for lateral binding. It was solid as a castle, immune even to cannon fire. In 1934, a group of uprising
peasants of Yongding County occupied a tulou to resist the assault of the army, which fired 19 cannon shots at that tulou, but made only a small dent on the outside wall.[19]
•The weak link in a walled system was usually the gate. But the gate of Fujian tulou was specially designed for defense. The door frame was built from a large solid block of granite; the double doors were built with fire-resistant solid wood
boards up to 13 cm thick, reinforced with thick iron armour plates. The main gate door was barred with several horizontal and vertical strong wood posts inserted into holes in the granite. To guard against an enemy destroying the front
doors with fire, some doors were equipped with water tanks on top to quench fires set by the enemy.
•Fujian Tulou residents used firearms for active defense, shooting at enemies from gun ports at the top level of the building. Some Fujian tulou are constructed with a circular corridor along the inside wall to facilitate the movement of armed
men and ammunition.
Effective strongholds for defense
Architecture
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4. 12th CENTURY MICRO APARTMENT COMPLEX:
TULOU- multi unit Chinese building that wrote on compact, efficient living.
“earthen house”- a large circular,fortess like structures that were a popular form of
building from 12th-20th century
There are nearly 20,000 tulous in Fujian province
Tu-earth Lou-dwelling
The tulou is surrounded by rice. Tea and tobacco fields
Tulou-several storey high, inward looking, circular (or) square as housing for up to 800
people each
Has only one entrance, and windows to outside only above the first floor
Each family divided vertically between families with each disposing to 2 or 3 rooms on
each floor.
In contrast to the plain exterior, the interior of tulou is highly decorated. Tall
structures capped with the tiled roofs.
it is an outstanding example of human settlement, and a harmonious relationship with
the environment
The walls of the Fujian tulou were
traditionally made of packed earth and
bamboo reeds, and rose up to five stories.
The base, which often had granite boulders
packed into its construction to make it dig-
proof–was up to six feet thick. The wall
thinned out toward the top to reduce load
and allow windows for cross vent. The
massive structure made it able to withstand
earthquakes and frequent bandit attacks (a
big problem back in the day).
These forts are closed to surroundings, has overhanging eaves and windows that are
narrower at bottom and widens along the top
Thick wall separates outside and inside
Japanese architects were the first to visit and write about them
They are functioned even today, some of them as tourist place. Families not only
share public facility, but also ancestral hall. House was divided vertical, they had to
use public open-air passages ways to move from one room to another
“large unified families”
most of the tulous were along the wuyi mountains
Fujian tulou is also called the “kejia tulou”-referring their tribe name
Tulou complement the surrounding landscape, not only form & scale, but building
materials and color reinforce the complete sense in mountainous soil.
Door is the weakest point in this defense perimeter, against battering rams, their door planks were made up of thick
wood and equipped with strong latches. A water channel was even provided above each door to protect it with the
curtain of water, if attackers tried to set it flame
The Circular tulou
The circular tulou are something of a riddle, for apart from a few temples there are no other examples of
circular buildings to be found in China. Some maintain that the shape was known in Fujian in watch towers
and fortified villages, and that these have simply developed into residences. Others suggest that, they were the
last stage of a long development, starting with more complex forms and consolidating into the simpler
rectangle and finally evolving into the circular form.
The circular form has several advantages:
1. Technically a circular form is easier to build because of the identical cross-section throughout and without the need
for complex roof and wall corner construction. See also the section "Construction"
2. The circular form allows more economic use of material. Wood is more expensive to obtain, transport and work than
clay. For each jian (building module) the outer rim of clay is longer than that of wood, which faces the courtyard.
Further, a given amount of material gives a 41 % larger courtyard and approximately a 13 % larger building area in the
circular than in the rectangular tulou
3. A circular building has greater static stability. Analysis of the outer wall alone indicates that a cylindrical shell is more stable (ring
and restraining moments).The cylindrical shell is further strengthened considerably by the rigid, horizontal and circular decks of each
floor (membrane forces). If additional vertical elements are built, such as fire walls (as illustrated in the case of the Zhenchenglou) the
rigidity and strength is further improved, as the cylinder surfaces are fixed in all four directions.
4.The circular tulou has a more uniform room division - As the main source of light is from the courtyard, a corner room would be
poorly lit and without adequate ventilation
5. Local superstition holds that evil spirits are everywhere, especially along roads and in brooks, streams and mountain passes.
Every corner in a rectangular building is an opportunity for evil spirits to enter the building as the circular tulou have no
corners, spirits are more likely to pass by
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5. CIRCULAR SHAPE- sense of unity; practical form of defense coming in all directions
Outside- village’s bare pathways, and building of same material,clay,giving village and its
surrounding a very homogenous appearance.
larger the courtyard, the less influence these
buildings have on light and air”– explains why
circular tulous have many additional low
buildings, while smaller, rectangular tulou often
have empty courtyards.
COURTYARD- drying clothes, rice &
communal activities and for children's play
area--- might be empty or filled with one or
two storey building---- may consists of
stables, guest rooms, toilets, for use in
summer, outdoor kitchen
The upper two or three levels
contained houses that were made
up of uniformly-sized housing
units; they had multi-floor layouts
and private staircases that lead
from the ground floor to the top
(basically townhouses sandwiched
together). Each house contained a
multi-generational family, and
depending on the size of the tulou,
up to 80 families or 800 people
could live in one tolou. While we
can’t say the exact sq footage of
each house, we’re pretty sure they
achieved a high person per square
foot ratio.
The uniformity of design created a
non-hierarchal structure.
Wikipedia writes this:
Unlike other housing types around the world with architecture
reflecting social hierarchy, Fujian Tulou exhibits its unique
characteristic as a model of community housing for equals. All
rooms were built the same size with the same grade of material,
same exterior decoration, same style of windows and doors, and
there was no “penthouse” for “higher echelons”;
a small family owned a vertical set from ground
floor to “penthouse” floor, while a larger family
would own two or three vertical sets.
Toilets, wells and even surrounding agricultural
land was all shared as well to keep the
communitarian vibe consistent.
The ground floor contained communal spaces
for worshipping, festivals, meetings, weddings,
funerals and other ceremonial functions.
The result of all of this design is a structure that provided safe, wind-proof, cool-in-the-
summer, warm-in-the-winter living. A total of 46 Fujian tulou sites have been designated as
UNESCO World Heritage Sites; that organization calls them “exceptional examples of a
building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and
defensive organization [in a] harmonious relationship with their environment.”
The idea of compact, efficient living is far more ancient than it is modern. It’s only in the last
60 years or so that humans have been able to cheaply make housing that exceeds their needs
or make a house that could negate its surrounding environment with an HVAC system or live
without the assistance of your neighbors. Ancient architecture like tulous shows that the past
can often hold key innovation for a more efficient, sustainable and interconnected future
A book about tulou in English literature is
still absent.
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6. ANCESTRAL ALTARS:
The rectangular tulou has set into building’s peripheral range of
rooms facing the courtyard while, circular tulou has detached one
storey building in the courtyard, where the founding members and
the guest are honored. It is in this chamber that the boys of the clan
were taught reading and writing etc. On less formal occasions the old
men sit here and smoke or the old women gossip while they watch
over the youngest children and grandchildren.
Entrance to ancestral hall
Location of ancestral hall
In South China success in life is guided by supernatural forces,
and this has consequences for the building's orientation. Like
water from the mountain, the supernatural forces are to be
channeled into the the ancestral altar, which therefore lies on the
central axis opposite the entrance
Central axis
In China, as elsewhere, a family home is divided into zones, from the open and
accessible entrance and courtyard to the total privacy of the bedroom.
In the tulou guests have access to the ancestral altar and the family’s living
quarters, while access to the rooms along the gallery is restricted to the
inhabitants.
The living quarters
The rooms of a tulou are shared among its inhabitants in such a way that
a single family unit uses two or three rooms on each floor, in a vertical
segment of the building.
Stair-well
One room on the ground floor is the kitchen and another
is used for eating and daily living. The stove in the
kitchen is vented to the outside through small openings in
the outer wall. Steep stairs lead to the verandas that ring
the upper three levels. The sleeping quarters are on the
first and second floor and food, clothes and valuables are
stored on the top floor, although in other yuanlou such as
Zhenchenglou bedrooms are found on the upper floors.
The preparation of meat and vegetables is done in the
courtyard immediately in front of the kitchen where the
oven and firewood is to be found.
The tulou
have a
reputation
for a more
equal
distribution
of rooms
than other
Chinese
residences.
The size of a
household is
an
important
factor when
deciding the
number of
rooms to be
allocated
but further
research is
needed to
ascertain
how family
status affects
which rooms
are chosen.
Despite the
symmetry of
the tulou,
there is a side
which
receives
direct
sunlight and
a side that
does not .
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7. “it is a good interpretation of relationship between chinese and nature”
Community dependence weakening, private
property is strengthening
“community and privacy” should be satisfied.
Selecting a site of settlement-natural environment Is deeply considered
and respected, such as site with water in front, and hill at the back.
kind of interdependent relation between the tulou
village and the natural environment”- the
mountains provide a rich full sources for living and
production
Use of local resources rammed earth wall
building technology is efficient, saves labor and
easy to get necessary local materials. It is an
artistic, technical, and ecological values in
architecture.
in considering with the expansion of cities, people
are in the 1st line, and natural ecology is ignored
to some extent. It is more and more difficult to
keep the ability of the city deal with disaster
under extreme weather situation. We should learn
from tulou to improve the relationship between
nature and cities.
Tulou clusters follow the Chinese architectural tradition of overall balance and order go building groups.
“the exterior color of tulou matches the earth around, with the vivid color of window frame, door headspring festival,scrolls,etc..
“FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION” is well embodied in tulou building
KING OF TULOU” is “CHENGQI LOU” at gaotou village in 1709, it has a 4 concentric
rings surrounding an ancestral hall at the center, outer ring is is 62m in diameter ,
and 4 storey building, having 288 rooms and 72 rooms on each level
The oldest in 1419 in Ming dynasty- zhengcheg Lou(hongkeng village) nearly 72m in
diameter,48 rooms on each level.
It is designed entirely for “DEFENCE AND COMMUNAL LIVING”
A Hakka fort would withstand a protected siege, since its grain supply and internal
water and sewerage systems made them self-supporting.
Some specific tulou’s:
Eryi-lou was built in 1770, outer wall was about 2.5m thick, it has 3 doors, doors are
made of double layer of wooden planks coated with iron. Wells,food storage areas in case
of seige.
Defensive circulatory system- a continous hidden corridor was built between all its
fourth-floor rooms and its ourtwall, a width of 0.8m, this corridor has darkened the
adjacent rooms and blocked ventilation,but provided direct access to any point on the
wall during an attack.
Inside, every unit also included a vertically aligned opening for lifting food,bullets,or
even people from floor to floor, if needed.
For example, one night in the early 1930s, after laying
siege to a tulou for four days, a team of guerrillas attempted
to use ladders to climb into its third-floor windows.When the
residents discovered their attempt, however, they answered by
pouring boiling porridge (which was stickier and hotter than
boiling water) onto the attackers’ heads.The guerrillas later
had to approach the building under a table covered with wet
quilts. It was only three days later that the guerrillas managed
to gain entry by digging a tunnel up to its wall and detonating
a coffin filled with 150 kilograms of homemade explosives
The tulou ‘s a fortification
In past there has been a tradition for the extended families of South East China to live together and there are good grounds for this
tradition. Clan cohesion was a important factor in the controlling of all activities - political, religious and economical. This cohesion
meant greater stability for the clan and the individual
The ruling power was centered far away, in distant Peking, so that disputes had to be solved locally. Consensus was not always
reached. This resulted in far more feuding than is found elsewhere in China, and that is the reason why the tulou was also a
fortification, with outer walls of stamped clay (terre pisé, hangtu) up to 1.5 meters thick and 18 meters high, an iron-clad portal,
weapon slits under the eaves of the large overhanging roof, and a connecting gallery that enabled rapid movement of people and
weaponry.
The portal is the most vulnerable point of attack and is therefore protected by an ingenious fire-dowsing system with an internal
gutter above which is connected to a water tank situated on the second floor.
The animal pens, a water well and food stockpiles in the courtyard provided for a lengthy conflict.
The tulou is probably the largest, and defensively most advanced, village residences known.
Originally, these tulous were
made of stone, later replaced
with earth materials, since
they are cheaper and easier to
build
Tulou– effective and affordable
solution to housing a large
population on limited land
area. now “ efficient means of
collective housing”
The reason why tulou buildings
were carried down to centuries
was because of need for less
skilled labour,managed
themselves, remains the
architectural form even after
its relevance as a defense
structure faded away.
Weapon slits
Gun point from inside
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8. Courtyard
Wooden overhangs
Character of courtyard ,still works
Entrance gateway
Central axis
and
symmetry
Decoration on rooftop
of ancestral hall
Tulou with river in front
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