Fujian Tulou (earthen house) is a form of Chinese rural dwellings found in the mountains in Fujian, China. A typical
Tulou is an earth-based structure with thick walls. In the ancient time when the policemen were unable to protect the rural areas, people were secured by staying inside these fortified earthen houses. Earthen houses have different shapes, including rectangular and circular configurations. Those circular houses look like missile silos and thus once the US intelligence suspected that the location of Tulou is a missile base. In the past this architectural style was attributed to
Hakka, a group of Chinese people immigrated from the North to Fujian during the Chun period. But today many experts agree that the origin of Tulou is
indeed local. The nickname of the Tulou in the first picture of this
page is "Four dishes and a soup".
