Fujian Tulou Photo Gallery
IntroductionUNESCO designated 46 tulou in Fujian province as a World Heritage site in 2008. Several stories high, these residences / fortresses face inside in a circular or square fashion. Entire family clans of several hundred people can live in a single tulou.
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Upon closer inspection, the tulou doesn't have many windows facing outside for defense purposes.
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Zhenchang Lou
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The interior looks far more like a residence, albeit a bit chaotic with people cooking in the courtyard and farm chickens roaming about.
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A large well outside serves as a place to wash dishes and hair.
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Wenchang Lou
On to the next tulou ...
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Although it was a chilly 15C, the bright sunshine was perfect for vegetable-drying.
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Ruiyun Lou
Let's hope the 3rd tulou doesn't yield the same interiors as the other 2.
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I observed the cooking areas are located in the courtyard, rather than inside the tulou's rooms. Some were covered to safeguard residents from the elements.
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These tulou are still inhabited, and people's sense of security is lax despite the flood of tourists. Residents' wares are scattered around for all to see and photograph.
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Buyun Lou
The last tulou in this set is actually squarish, although there are also few windows on the exterior.
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However, this tulou has turned into a tourist trap, with plenty of shops on the ground floor facing the courtyard.
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