re: Fun with the New Leica M
Jono, I know absolutely nothing about Toulus, but from the pictures they look fascinating, especially when shown in the daytime juxtaposed in what appears to be in a out in the farmland. Are they the equivalent of apartment type dwellings housed in the larger greater sized structure(s)? If so, the pic of what appears to be the stoned central court, apparently has a circular group of dwellings (apartments) too, that appear at first glace to possibly more costly or reserved for those who possibly have obtained a certain level of status or possibly income?
If some of my assumptions are correct, are Toulus or these structures supposed to contain tenants of the farming community, replacing scattered single house structures throughout the nearby countryside? Of course all of my assumptions may be wrong? Thanks for any insight to these.
Dave (D&A)
HI There Dave
These were first built by the Hakka people - the oldest one we visited was about 700 years old, but they've kept building them right up to the present.
Vivek pointed to a link:
Fujian Tulou, Secrets of the Fujian Tulou, CNTV English, CCTV News
The 'apartments' (mostly a single room) are around the outside, sometimes the tulous are two stories, but sometimes up to 5 - up to 800 people lived in them (it must have been hell!). The buildings in the middle are usually temples. Some of them have courtyards where people keep chickens etc.
Several of the ones we visited were still lived in, in a pretty rudimentary way,
We stayed in one which has been renovated (200 years old), it's a hostel/hotel, with nice simple rooms, and you eat in the courtyard - tough sensibilities were required, as there always seemed to be someone killing a chicken whilst you were eating :shocked:
There are apparently 30,000 of these structures (some round, some square). The story goes that when the Americans first started surveying China from spy planes they thought these were missile silos!
Here is the Wikipedia Article