A tulou or "earthen building", is a traditional communal residence in the Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 province of Southern China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine. These vernacular structures were occupied by clan groups.

Although most tulou were of earthen construction, the definition "tulou" is a broadly descriptive label for a building type and does not indicate construction type. Some were constructed of cut granite or had substantial walls of fired brick. Most large-scale tulou seen today were built of a composite of earth, sand, and lime known as sanhetu rather than just earth. The tulou is often three to four stories high. Often they would store food on the higher floors.

The famous Fujian Tulou

Fujian Tulou

Fujian Tulou is a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka and others in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries....

, designated as UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008, is a small and specialized subgroup of tulou, and are known for their unique shape, large scale, and ingenious structure. There are more than 20,000 tulou in southern Fujian. Approximately 3,000 of them are Fujian Tulou

Fujian Tulou

Fujian Tulou is a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka and others in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries....

, that is 15% of tulou belongs to Fujian Tulou category.

Film

• In Secrets of the Furious Five
  Secrets of the Furious Five
  Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five is an Annie Award-winning animated short produced by DreamWorks Animation which serves as a semi-sequel to the animated feature film Kung Fu Panda and appears on a companion disc of the original film's deluxe DVD release...
  
  (Kung Fu Panda 2), the Bao Gu Orphanage is a tulou.
• Portions of Stephen Chow
  Stephen Chow
  Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
  
  's "Kung Fu Hustle
  Kung Fu Hustle
  Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 action comedy film directed and produced by, and starring Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was written by Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, and Tsang Kan-cheung...
  
  " take place at a tulou.

External links

• http://www.chinadwelling.dk/images/htm/13_01.htm
• http://www.chinadwelling.dk/hovedsider/construction-tekst.htm
• http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1689/
• From the Earth Article about the Tulou earth villages of the Fujian Hakka