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A trip back in time
In addition to the 46 tulou included on the World Heritage List, some 23,000 are strewn across a wide area in the vast mountainous regions of Yongding.
Zhongchuan village in Xiayang town is one of these outposts, but it's nowhere near as famous as the Hongkeng and Chuxi clusters. The relatively low number of tourists means the village has retained many original features, which gives visitors the feeling they've traveled back to ancient times.
The narrow, winding alleys are full of surprises. The village is divided by a shallow river, and the dogs that lie on the narrow bridges crossing the watercourse and bask in the sun show no fear of humans.
Although one large tulou has been renovated to serve as a hotel, the others are still inhabited by local people, mainly the elderly.
One of the most outstanding is Fuzi Lou, one of the few tulou designed and constructed as a Chinese character. Looking down on the structure one can discern the character fu, which means "blessing".
Zhongchuan is also one of the famous points of departure for Chinese from Fujian province. The village has a population of 2,545, but some 15,000 Chinese who live overseas have their ancestral homes in the village.
- He Na
A work of art with a soul
Even though he's an expert in tulou building, Xu Songsheng, 61, hasn't constructed a new building since 2002.
Xu was born and grew up in Jiqing Lou, the oldest tulou in Fujian province. His father was an outstanding tulou designer, and Xu began following in his footsteps at age 14.
To Xu, a tulou is not just a clay building, but a work of art with a soul.
"Many visitors are extremely fond of circular tulou, but the shape is dictated by the site," Xu said. "The circular ones are generally built on large flat blocks, while the rectangular ones are built on mountain slopes."
Xu said the foundations are the most important part of the construction.
"The foundations of a tulou are laid with dry stones to avoid even the smallest cracks. For a medium-sized structure with 30 to 40 living rooms, the foundation work can take a year. The techniques can only be learned with time, patience and practice."
Xu owns a construction company, and is reasonably wealthy. His only real concern in life is that tulou building skills may be lost in the future.
He hired a number of apprentices, but demand for tulou is so small that they've all turned to modern construction work instead.
"With good maintenance, I think the tulou can survive for several hundred more years," Xu said. "To protect this heritage, each of us could be given 10,000 yuan ($1,633) a year as a subsidy. I hope the government can work out a way to help me pass on my skills."
- He Na and Sun Li
Getting in on the act
With visitor numbers rising every year, Yongding county has seen a surge in revenue from tourism. However, Mao Gaoliang, Party secretary of Yongding, is still not satisfied and he's troubled by missed opportunities.
"Because of a shortage of other facilities and nice hotels, most tour groups stay in our county for just a few hours," he said. "They only visit the tulou near the entrance of the resort and don't stay or even eat here."
He said income from ticket sales is so low that it's hard to raise local people's incomes.
So, to expand local tourism, generate jobs and allow visitors to fully experience tulou life and culture, the county plans to combine culture with tourism by encouraging companies to film movies and episodes of well-known TV shows in the area.
"We plan to stage tulou-themed outdoor performances with large casts, mainly local farmers, on May 1, next year," Mao explained. "We will speed up construction of the facilities and a number of tourist projects, such as a hot-spring holiday village, an ancient Hakka town, a Nanshan holiday district, and a movie and TV production base, are being built.
Mao is confident that once these projects are put into operation, Yongding will become a modern tourist resort that will easily cater to the demands of different consumer groups. Visitors will be encouraged to stay in the area for three or four days.
"Those who have visited Yongding before will be surprised by the changes," he said.
- He Na and Sun Li
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