Fujian Tulou
푸젠 토루
Fujian tulou are big earthen buildings in the mountains of south-eastern Fujian, China. They are homes unique to the Hakka people. A tulou is usually a large, enclosed, fortified building, most often round or square, with thick walls made of rammed earth that rise three to five storeys.
See it on the 3D globe →At a glance
- Country
- China
- Location
- Fujian, China
- Built
- 12th–20th century
Quick answers
Where is Fujian Tulou?
Fujian Tulou is in Fujian, China.
Rammed-earth round and square communal fortresses of the Hakka, each once home to hundreds; Tianluokeng's cluster is the most famous.
Some tulou housed up to 800 people at once, so each one worked like a small fortified village. Most were built between the 12th and 20th centuries. In 2008, UNESCO named 46 Fujian tulou sites a World Heritage Site as exceptional examples of communal living and defence in harmony with their surroundings.
How are they built?
The walls are made by packing earth together with stone, bamboo, wood and other materials found nearby, and they can be up to about 1.8 metres thick. Branches and strips of wood or bamboo are laid inside the wall to make it stronger.
The result is a building that is well lit, well ventilated, windproof and earthquake-proof. It stays warm in winter and cool in summer.
Life inside a tulou
A tulou usually has just one main gate, with a thick wooden door covered in iron plate. The top floor has gun holes, which show that defence mattered. Inside the huge outer wall there are halls, storehouses, wells and living areas.
In a typical round tulou the ground floor held kitchens, the second floor living rooms and the upper floors bedrooms, so a large family could live together. The most famous groups include the Tianluokeng cluster, the Chuxi cluster and the Hongkeng cluster.
Fun facts
- Chengqi Lou, the 'king of tulou', has about 400 rooms in four rings.
- A single tulou could house up to 800 people.
- Tulou walls can be about 1.8 metres thick.
- Forty-six tulou sites were named World Heritage in 2008.
On the globe
The model shows round and square earthen fortress-homes; look for the cluster of round buildings.
Nearby on the globe
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Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14