Fujian Tulou: China's Enclosed City

Author: Xu Yan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The "Fujian Tulou" consists of earthen buildings from three locations in Fujian: Yongding, Nanjing, and Hua'an. Tulou are residential buildings constructed using rammed earth, primarily concentrated in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi provinces. These tulou are built with unburnt sandy clay and sticky soil mixed with bamboo, wood, tree bark, thatch, mud, and stones, serving multiple functions such as defense and habitation. The world-famous Fujian round tulou are mainly distributed in southern and western Fujian. They are built with ancient rammed earth walls, forming massive four-to-five-story structures, truly a marvel of the world. Their unique circular floor plans are rare in world residential architecture. Their extraordinary appearance has attracted numerous domestic and international scholars and experts for research. UNESCO advisor Steven Andre called them "a unique, mythical mountainous architectural model in the world." Professor Minoru Chiba of Tokyo University of the Arts described them as "flying saucers that fell from the sky and mushrooms that sprouted from the ground."
The ancient and solemn Oriental If architecture is "frozen music," then these large and small tulou compose a grand and solemn melody. Tulou with histories of over a thousand years, with their long-standing history, unique styles, grand scale, exquisite structures, and rich cultural connotations, stand independently in the world of residential architecture and are hailed as "a shining pearl of Eastern civilization" and "a marvel of Chinese ancient architecture." This year, "Fujian Tulou" has been officially listed by the National Cultural Relics Administration as a key project for applying to the "World Cultural Heritage" list. Fujian Province has established the "Tulou World Cultural Heritage Application Leadership Group," and the counties of Hua'an, Nanjing, and Yongding are intensifying efforts in environmental remediation, document preparation, and other preparations, with all work proceeding in an orderly and efficient manner. Will "Fujian Tulou" become the 28th national World Cultural Heritage, following Xidi and Hongcun in Anhui Province? Luo Zhewen, head of the National Cultural Relics Administration's ancient architecture expert group, vice chairman of the ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) China Committee, and a renowned cultural heritage protection expert, said that to apply for World Cultural Heritage, a place must not only deeply understand the value of the heritage itself but also improve its protection and management standards to align with global standards—a mutually beneficial process. He believes that the application of tulou for World Cultural Heritage has two major advantages. First, the uniqueness of tulou is well-known to the world, and foreign experts have come to investigate, with a consensus on their humanistic value. Second, while many places in China are excellent, they often face environmental obstacles during application—either too many new buildings nearby or having been altered beyond recognition. The advantage of tulou lies in their mountainous location, which has helped preserve them relatively intact. Tulou are a special type of architecture, neither Han-style nor local-style, yet they perfectly align with the three principles of architectural aesthetics: practicality, beauty, and economy. They are warm in winter and cool in summer, and their origins are linked to the wars during the Western Jin Dynasty, reflecting both ethnic and cultural integration.
A Treasure of Vernacular Architecture: Eryi Tower
Tulou come in two forms: round and square, with internal structures divided into corridor-style, unit-style, and a combination of both. Corridor-style tulou are primarily found in Yongding County, unit-style tulou are distributed in the Tianluokeng tulou cluster in Nanjing County, and the corridor-style and unit-style combined Eryi Tower in Hua'an County stands out. In 1988, three editors from Taiwan's Han Sheng magazine, along with round tulou research experts Huang Hanmin and Zeng Wuyue, formed the "Fujian Tulou Tour," spending 36 days investigating over 70 tulou. Their findings unanimously concluded that Fujian tulou are a treasure of Chinese vernacular architecture. The round tulou are a marvel within the tulou world, with Eryi Tower in Shandu Village, Xindu Town, Hua'an County, considered the "pinnacle" and "overall champion" among them, a "treasure within treasures" of Chinese round tulou. In July 1992, CCTV's "Chinese Vernacular Architecture" production team conducted a comprehensive and focused shoot of Eryi Tower as an exemplary model of Fujian tulou. In November 1996, the State Council designated Eryi Tower as the fourth batch of national key cultural relic protection units. It not only drew attention from the architectural community but also sparked the keen interest of historians, geographers, anthropologists, folklorists, and other domestic and international scholars, who wrote extensively on it, inscribed calligraphy, and composed poems, adding to its brilliance.
Huang Hanmin, a tulou research expert, wrote in an article that Eryi Tower is a unique example of Fujian round tulou, with distinctive architectural plans and spatial layouts, an innovative defense system, unconventional structural treatments, exquisite and ornate decorations, and a pleasant natural environment with rich cultural landscapes. It is an invaluable gem among Fujian tulou, unmatched in its plan features, spatial features, defense features, structural features, decorative features, and cultural features.
The Cultural Connotations of the "King of Tulou"
The murals and couplets in Eryi Tower showcase its rich cultural connotations. The stone plaque inscribed with "Eryi Tower" above its main entrance, with the meaning "Suitable for mountains and waters, for homes and households, for the inner and outer," and its elegant calligraphy, is included in the "Famous Plaques of China." The main hall features the couplets: "Leaning on cup-shaped rocks as screens, four peaks surround the deep pavilion; facing tortoise-shaped mountains as tables, two waters swirl around the high tower." The couplets vividly depict the harmony between the round tower and its surroundings. Zheng Jun, a mural and painting conservation expert from the Chinese Cultural Relics Research Institute, conducted a detailed survey of Eryi Tower's murals and paintings, identifying 952 instances of mural and painting decoration, covering 593 square meters with 226 murals, 99 square meters with 214 paintings, and 349 painted wooden carvings, as well as 100 mural couplets. The tower also houses English newspapers from 1932 and some Western-style murals, indicating that its inhabitants had already begun to embrace Western culture and art. All these cultural elements reflect the refined cultural literacy of the tulou owners. This year, Yang Yuzhu, a senior engineer from the Chinese Cultural Relics Research Institute, led a team of ancient architecture maintenance personnel to Eryi Tower in Hua'an County, initiating large-scale repairs and marking the beginning of Fujian's efforts to preserve tulou cultural heritage.
"Fujian Tulou" is the second Fujian project after Wuyi Mountain to apply for World Cultural Heritage. As an outstanding representative of Fujian tulou and a treasure in the forest of ancient vernacular architecture, Eryi Tower plays its due role in the application for World Cultural Heritage.