Before a Tulou was built the locals would take the
advice of a master of Feng Shui to place the building correctly
with relation to the hills, trees and the river. The walls of the Tulou consists of a lower section built from stone
blocks held together with lime or clay with rammed earth walls on top. The earth
used to build a tulou is mixed with sand, silt from the river, egg
white and the starch from
sticky rice soup. The walls are
re-enforced with horizontal bamboo sticks. The walls were built
inclined toward the centre so gravity pushes them together.
The Tulou are three to four storeys high. The bottom two storeys have
no outward facing windows as a defensive measure. The thick walls
also incorporate escape passages. These
homes typically house around 500 people. They are a
UNESCO World Heritage site. |