Tianluokeng tulou cluster () is one of the better known groups of Fujian tulou. It is located in the village of Tianluokeng () in the town of

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

Nanjing County Nanjing County () is a county under the administration of Zhangzhou City, in the south of Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Administrative division Nanjing County is administratively divided into several towns: * Shancheng () - the cou ...

, southern

province. The cluster consists of a square earth building at the center of a

quincunx A quincunx () is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" or "in cross" in heraldry (dep ...

, surrounded by four round earth buildings (or more exactly, 3 round earth buildings and one oval shape earth building), figuratively nicknamed "" (. A ''tulou'' (lit. "earth building") is a unique architecture found only in the mountainous areas bordering Fujian and Guangdong in southern China. The "Earth building" is an enclosed buildings, usually square or circular in shape, with a very thick earth wall (up to 6 feet thick) and wooden skeletons, from three to five stories high, housing up to 80 families. These earth buildings have only one entrance, guarded by wooden doors re-enforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth building have gun holes for defense against bandits. In spite of the earth wall, some of them are more than 700 years old, surviving through centuries of natural elements, including earthquakes, yet still standing solid. There are more than 35,000 earth buildings to be found in southern China, among them a little over 3,000 have been classified as Fujian Tulou On July 7, 2008, at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

32nd session held in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, Canada, the Tianluokeng Tulou cluster was inscribed as one of 46 Fujian Tulou

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s.https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1113 Fujian Tulou The five earth buildings at the Snail Pit village are: *The square earth building named Buyun building(Reaching the Cloud building) at the center of the quincunx. It was the first earth building at this site, built in 1796. It is three stories high, each story has 26 rooms, four sets of stairs, and a circular corridor in front of the rooms. The Buyun building was burnt down by bandits in 1936, and rebuilt in 1953 according to the original shape. *The Hechang building, a three story high round earth building. *Zhenchang building, three story, round shape, 26 rooms per story, built in 1930. *Ruiyun building, built in 1936. *The last Wenchang building of 1966, 3 stories, 32 rooms per story. The cluster is located about four hours drive by bus or taxi from

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...

, through winding and bumpy narrow mountain roads (Fujian Provincial Highway 309 (S309), or county roads). Nanjing Tianluokeng 2013.10.04 11-45-36.jpg, Earth building group at TianLuokeng Nanjing Tianluokeng 2013.10.04 10-38-06.jpg, Interior of Tianluokeng Tulou cluster Buyunlou gate.jpg, Buyun building main gate Nanjing Tianluokeng 2013.10.04 10-44-29.jpg, Interior of Wenchang earth building

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster Buildings and structures in Zhangzhou Hakka culture in China Hakka architecture