Lonely Planet China

by Lonely Planet

  Forex and 24-hour ATM.

  China PostPOST

  (中国邮政, Zhōngguó Yóuzhèng GOOGLE MAP ; 102 Longtou Lu, 龙头路102号 h8.30am-5.30pm)

  Sells stamps and postcards.

  Gǔlàng Yǔ HospitalHOSPITAL

  (鼓浪屿医院, Gǔlàng Yǔ Yīyuàn GOOGLE MAP ; 60 Fujian Lu, 福建路60号 )

  A significant upgrade includes 24-hour service. Has its own miniature ambulance for the small roads.

  Xiàmén Gǔlàng Yǔ Visitor CenterTOURIST INFORMATION

  (厦门鼓浪屿游客中心, Xiàmén Gǔlàng Yǔ Yóukè Zhōngxīn GOOGLE MAP ; Longtou Lu, 龙头路 )

  Left luggage costs ¥3 to ¥5.

  8Getting There & Away

  Ferries for the 10-minute trip to Gǔlàng Yǔ now leave the Dōngdù Ferry Terminal (东渡码头, Dōngdù Mǎtóu, 厦门国际邮轮中心, Xiàmén Guójì Yóulún Zhōngxīn, Xiàmén International Cruise Terminal GOOGLE MAP ) just north of the city, but return to the old terminal at the main Huangu ferry terminal off Lujiang Lu. The round-trip fare is ¥35. Boats run from 5.45am to midnight.

  8Getting Around

  Circuits of the island can be done by boat (¥20), with half-hourly departures from the passenger ferry terminal off Lujiang Lu between 7.40am and 5pm.

  Fújiàn Tǔlóu 福建土楼

  %0597 / Pop 43,000

  The Hakka and the Mǐnnán (Fujianese) people have lived in the fabled earthen structures known as tǔlóu (土楼) for centuries. Spread across a southwestern section of the province, many are still inhabited and welcome visitors for the day or night. The circular edifices are remarkable for their ingenuity, but the idyllic rural setting lends an ethereal quality hard to find in modern China. Sleeping here and sharing a meal with local families can be life-affirming.

  Take note: since Unesco rubber-stamped the region in 2008, tour buses have rumbled in on freshly paved highways. But it’s hardly reason to stay away. With more than 30,000 tǔlóu still intact, you can find one to take your fancy.

  1Sights

  The most notable of the tǔlóu are lumped into various clusters, in the vicinity of Nánjìng (南靖) and Yǒngdìng (永定). Only the three most developed clusters: Hóngkēng, Tiánluókēng and Yúnshuǐyáo are accessible by public transport. However, bus services are neither frequent nor punctual. Booking a tour or hiring a vehicle is recommended if you want to venture off the beaten path and see more.

  Hóngkēng

  This cluster is 50km east of Yǒngdìng. From Xiàmén, three buses (¥63, 3½ hours, 6.50am, 9.10am and 1pm) go directly to the cluster, which is also known as Tǔlóu Mínsú Wénhuàcūn (土楼民俗文化村). Admission is ¥90.

  Zhènchéng LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (振成楼 )

  This most visited tǔlóu is a grandiose structure built in 1912, with two concentric circles and 222 rooms. The ancestral hall in the centre of the tǔlóu is complete with Western-style pillars. The locals dub this tǔlóu wángzǐ (土楼王子), the prince tǔlóu.

  Fúyù LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (福裕楼 )

  Along the river, this five-storey square tǔlóu boasts some wonderfully carved wooden beams and pillars. Rooms (from ¥100) are available here.

  Kuíjù LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (奎聚楼 )

  Near Zhènchéng Lóu, this much older, square tǔlóu dates back to 1834.

  Tiánluókēng

  A pilgrimage to the earthen castles is not complete if you miss Tiánluókēng (田螺坑), which is 37km northeast of Nánjìng and home to arguably the most picturesque cluster of tǔlóu in the region. The locals affectionately call the five noble buildings ‘four dishes with one soup’ because of their shapes: circular, square and oval.

  There’s one direct bus (¥47, 3½ hours) to the cluster from Xiàmén, leaving at 8.30am.

  Make sure your driver, if you’ve hired one, takes you up the hill for a postcard-perfect view of Tiánluókēng.

  Cluster admission, which includes entry to Yùchāng Lóu and Tǎxià village, is ¥100. A shuttle bus (¥15) from the cluster’s ticket office goes to the above two places, but the vehicle won’t leave until it gets 10 passengers.

  Yùchāng LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (裕昌楼 )

  The tallest roundhouse in Fújiàn, this vast five-floor structure has 270 rooms and an observation tower to check for marauding bandits. Interestingly, this 300-year-old property’s pillars bend at an angle on the 3rd floor and at the opposite angle on the 5th floor. Each room and kitchen on the ground floor has its own well.

  TǎxiàVILLAGE

  (塔下村 )

  This delightful river settlement boasts several tǔlóu-converted guesthouses and it is a great base from which to explore the tǔlóu areas. The highlight of the village is the Zhang Ancestral Hall (张氏家庙; Zhāngshì Jiāmiào Tǎxià Village; 塔下村 h9am-5pm). It is surrounded by 23 elaborately carved spear-like stones, which celebrate the achievements of prominent villagers.

  The bus station in Nánjìng runs six buses (¥17, 1½ hours) to the village between 8am and 5.30pm.

  Wénchāng LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (文昌楼 )

  The Tiánluókēng cluster’s oval-shaped building.

  Bùyún LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (步云楼 )

  At the heart of the Tiánluókēng Tǔlóu cluster is this square building. First built in the 17th century, it burnt down in 1936 and was rebuilt in the 1950s.

  JUST WHAT IS A TǔLóU?

  Tǔlóu (literally mud houses) are outlandish, multistorey, fortified mud structures built by the inhabitants of southwest Fújiàn to protect themselves from bandits and wild animals.

  Tǔlóu were built along either a circular or square floor plan. The walls are made of rammed earth and glutinous rice, reinforced with strips of bamboo and wood chips. These structures are large enough to house entire clans, and they did, and still do! They are a grand exercise in communal living. The interior sections are enclosed by enormous peripheral structures that could accommodate hundreds of people. Nestled in the mud walls were bedrooms, wells, cooking areas and storehouses, circling a central courtyard. The later tǔlóu had stone firewalls and metal-covered doors to protect against blazes.

  The compartmentalised nature of the building meant that these structures were the ancient equivalent of modern apartments. A typical layout would be the kitchens on the ground floor, storage on the next level and accommodation on the floors above this. Some tǔlóu have multiple buildings built in concentric rings within the main enclosure. These could be guest rooms and home schools. The centre is often an ancestral hall or a meeting hall used for events such as birthdays and weddings. For defence purposes, usually there is only one entrance for the entire tǔlóu and there are no windows on the first three storeys.

  It was once believed that these earthen citadels were inhabited solely by the Hakka. They are the people who migrated from northwest China during the Jin dynasty (AD 265–314) to the south to escape persecution and famine, and they eventually settled in Jiāngxī, Fújiàn and Guǎngdōng. While most tǔlóu in the vicinity of Yǒngdìng County are inhabited by the Hakka, there are far more tǔlóu in other counties like Nánjìng and Huá’ān populated by the indigenous Mǐnnān (Fujianese) people. A key distinguishing feature between the Hakka and Mǐnnān tǔlóu is that the former has communal corridors and staircases as well as a central courtyard, while the latter tǔlóu puts more emphasis on privacy, for example each unit has its own staircases and patio.

  No matter what type or shape of tǔlóu you’re looking at, many of them are still inhabited by a single clan, and residents depend on a combination of tourism and farming for a living. The tǔlóu are surprisingly comfortable to live in, being ‘dōng nuǎn, xià liáng’ (冬暖夏凉), or ‘warm in winter and cool in summer'. These structures were built to last.

  Gāoběi

  Home to the ‘King of Tǔlóu,’ Chéngqǐ Lóu (承启楼), this cluster is on the road from Xiàmén, rough
ly 45km east of Yǒngdìng. Admission is ¥50.

  Chéngqǐ LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (承启楼 )

  In the village of Gāoběi (高北), this 300-year-old tǔlóu has 400 rooms and once housed 1000 inhabitants. It’s built with elaborate concentric rings, with circular passageways between them and a central shrine. It’s one of the most iconic and photographed tǔlóu and it’s no surprise that it has been dubbed the king tǔlóu.

  Yíjīng LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (遗经楼 )

  The largest rectangular tǔlóu in Fújiàn. The crumbling structure, built in 1851, has 281 rooms, two schools and 51 halls.

  Wǔyún LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (五云楼 )

  Deserted and rickety, this square building took on a slant after an earthquake in 1918.

  Yúnshuǐyáo

  This cluster, 48km northeast of Nánjìng, is set in idyllic surrounds with rolling hills, verdant farms and babbling streams. Six buses run from Nánjìng bus station (¥20, one hour) to Yúnshuǐyáo (云水谣) and seven go from Nánjìng train station (¥25, one hour) between 8.30am and 5.25pm. Cluster admission is ¥90.

  Yúnshuǐyáo VillageVILLAGE

  (长教村 )

  Between the Héguì and Huáiyuǎn tǔlóu in the Yúnshuǐyáo Tǔlóu Cluster is this beautiful village (formerly known as ancient Chángjiào) where you can sip tea under the big banyan trees and watch water buffalo in the river. The village has a few guesthouses that offer rooms (from ¥100).

  Héguì LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (和贵楼 )

  This tallest rectangular tǔlóu in Fújiàn has five storeys and was built on a swamp. It boasts 120 rooms, a school, two wells, and a fortified courtyard in front of the entrance. The mammoth structure was built in 1732.

  Huáiyuǎn LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (怀远楼 )

  This relatively young tǔlóu (built in 1909) has 136 equally sized rooms and a concentric ring that houses an ancestral hall and a school.

  Chūxī

  This lesser-visited yet picturesque cluster is located 48km southeast of Yǒngdìng. Admission is ¥70.

  Jíqìng LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (集庆楼 )

  This 600-year-old tǔlóu was built without using a single nail and is still pretty intact. It now houses an exhibition hall.

  Zhōngchuān VillageVILLAGE

  (中川村; Zhōngchuān Cūn )

  This village, 17km northwest of the Chūxī Tǔlóu Cluster, is the ancestral home of the Burmese-Chinese businessman Aw Boon Haw, the inventor of the medicinal salve Tiger Balm and owner of the (in)famously quirky Haw Par Villa theme park in Singapore. Here you’ll find another villa (虎豹别墅; Hǔbào Biéshù admission ¥30; h8am-5pm), but its scale and decor can’t compete with its Singaporean (big) sister. More interesting is his family’s ancestral hall (胡氏家庙; Húshì Jiāmiào), 100m behind the villa. The shrine, the spear-like pillars that celebrate the achievements of their family members, and the setting itself are spectacular.

  Nánxī

  The Nánxī Tǔlóu Cluster, 35km east of Yǒngdìng, is a densely packed cluster known for its large rectangular structures. Admission is ¥70.

  Yǎnxiāng LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (衍香楼 )

  This four-storey tǔlóu rises up beautifully next to a river, and is in the same direction as Huánjí Lóu tǔlóu.

  Huánjí LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (环极楼 )

  Sitting midway between Yǒngdìng and Nánjìng, this four-storey building is a huge roundhouse with inner concentric passages, tiled interior passages and a courtyard. It also sports a huíyīnbì (回音壁) – a wall that echoes and resonates to sharp sounds.

  Qìngyáng LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (庆洋楼 )

  Not far from Yǎnxiāng Lóu tǔlóu, this huge, rectangular, semidecrepit structure was built between 1796 and 1820.

  Lìběn LóuNOTABLE BUILDING

  (立本楼 )

  To the rear of Yǎnxiāng Lóu is this derelict tǔlóu with crumbling walls. It was burnt down during the civil war and stands without its roof.

  TTours

  Amazing Fujian Tulou and Discover Fujian can organise English-speaking guided tours.

  4Sleeping & Eating

  In short, unless you came on a day trip, we strongly recommend spending a night (or two) in a tǔlóu, which must rank among the most novel sleeping experiences in the world.

  It’s not quite roughing it, but it isn’t hotel quality either. Some tǔlóu have modern facilities, but most are still very basic – a bed, a thermos of hot water and a fan. You might also find that the toilets are outside. Bring a flashlight and bug repellent.

  Most tǔlóu owners can also organise a pick-up from Yǒngdìng or Nánjìng and transport for touring the area. There are many hotels in Yǒngdìng and Nánjìng, but neither town is attractive. Still, it can be convenient to stay if you arrive late, and to find a local taxi driver to scoot you around the following day.

  Yúnshuǐyáo (ancient Chángjiào) and Tǎxià villages are other convenient options, with some basic tǔlóu guesthouses available.

  If you stay in a tǔlóu, most families can cook up meals for you (¥150 to ¥200 for two people; confirm before ordering). Tasty food stalls will do the trick near the Yǒngdìng and Nánjìng bus stations if you are travelling by public transport. Hakka dishes are often braised. Expect a set menu, but look out for the níuròuwán tāng (牛肉丸汤; beef soup with meatballs) or niàng dòufǔ (酿豆腐; braised tofu with pork).

  Tǔlóu Sunshine International Youth HostelHOSTEL$

  (土楼沐浴阳光国际青年旅舍, Tǔlóu Mùyù Yángguāng Guójì Qīngnián Lǚshě %777 1348; Tǎxià village; dm/d ¥45/140; iW)

  Part converted tǔlóu, part newly built premises, this HI-affiliated hostel is very friendly and far simpler to negotiate than Tǎxià family life. Dorms are clean and very presentable. Carpooling and bike rental can be arranged. Follow the HI signs after you get off the bus at Xueying bridge (雪英桥; Xuěyīng Qiáo) in Tǎxià.

  Qìngdé LóuINN$

  (庆德楼 %1890 6951 868, ext 777; Tǎxià Village; d ¥138-168; aW)

  Beautiful lantern-lit nights await in this modern rectangular compound. The 30 modern rooms have air-con and wi-fi. Upstairs rooms are cheaper, but you share a bathroom.

  Fúyù Lóu Chángdì InnINN$

  (福裕楼常棣客栈, Fúyù Lóu Chángdì Kèzhàn %0597-553 2800, 1379 9097 962; www.fuyulou.com; Hóngkēng Tǔlóu Cluster; d incl breakfast ¥100-150; W)

  The English-speaking owners are very welcoming at the Chángdì Inn. Fans and TVs in the basic rooms don’t hurt either. Other bonuses include cold beer, a lending library and bike rental.

  Yúqìng LóuINN$

  (余庆楼 Chūxī, 永定县下洋镇初溪村余 d ¥110-150, f ¥220)

  Built in 1729, this tǔlóu with two concentric wings is now a guesthouse. The family room is handy for some.

  Qiáofú LóuINN$

  (侨福楼 Gāoběi Tǔlóu Cluster; r from ¥100)

  This modern tǔlóu in the Gāoběi Tǔlóu Cluster was constructed in 1962 and houses 90 rooms across three levels. Decent sleeping arrangements are available.

  Dōngfǔ HotelBUSINESS HOTEL$

  (东福 酒店, Dōngfǔ Jiŭdiàn %0597 583 0668; 1-2 Wenquan Lu, Yǒngdìng; d ¥150)

  On a roundabout close to the Yǒngdìng bus station, this helpful business hotel offers a pleasant alternative to the earthy roundhouses. Rooms are neat and tidy and very comfortable.

  Défēng LóuINN$$

  (德风楼 %0597 775 6669; d ¥130-162; aW)

  The tǔlóu with the big red star above the entrance is a reliable place to stay. As the villagers move out, the tourists move in, partly for the en suite bathrooms. It’s conveniently located near the bridge to the Yúnshuǐyáo Tǔlóu Cluster and all buses stop in front of it.

  8Information

  Amazing Fujian TulouTRAVEL AGENCY

  (www.amazingfujiantu
lou.com)

  A Běijīng-based company that organises English-speaking tours to the tǔlóu areas in Fújiàn. Bookings can be made online. Group tours start at US$140 per person per day.

  8Getting There & Away

  From Xiàmén’s Húbīn long-distance bus station, take a bus headed to Nánjìng (¥32, two hours, 12 daily from 7am to 5.30pm). Upon arrival, you can either take the respective buses to some of the clusters, or hire a private vehicle to take you there.

  Xiàmén has buses to Yǒngdìng (永定县; ¥75, four hours, seven daily) between 7.10am and 4pm, from where there are infrequent buses to Gāoběi Tǔlóu Cluster. Yǒngdìng can also be accessed by bus from Guǎngdōng and Lóngyán (¥20, one hour, regular).

  Ten high-speed D trains link Xiàmén and Lóngyán via Nánjìng (¥27, 35 minutes) daily. Local buses 1 and 2 link the train and bus stations in Nánjìng.

  8Getting Around

  The easiest way to see the tǔlóu is to book a tour, or hire a vehicle either from Xiàmén, Nánjìng or Yǒngdìng. You’ll find taxi drivers in Yǒngdìng and Nánjìng offering their services for around ¥500 a day (¥800 if you hire for two days), setting off early morning and returning late afternoon. Expect to see two clusters per day.