Backpacking in China: Hakka Tulou | Yongding | Fujian Province
Visiting the traditional houses 'Hakka Tulou' in Yongding, Fujian Province, China over the New Year period, 2014/2015
The Fuyu Lou, where I had a room.
The Hakka people are believed to be a subgroup of Han Chinese that originated in Northern China and migrated south, as early as the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) who speak the Hakka language.
Tulou means Earth Dwelling. There are more than 20,000 Tulou scattered over South-East China, mostly in Fujian Province (the one next to Taiwan).
Overlooking the Nanxi Tulou cluster, old and new:
Overlooking the Nanxi Tulou cluster, old and new:
Ground-level courtyard inside one Tulou.
Zencheng Lou built, in 1912, the first year of the Republic of China. 2 concentric circles of internal buildings, more than 5000sq.m. The outer circle, 4 stories high with 2 halls and 44 rooms on each floor, is made of rammed raw earth, divided into 8 units partitioned by brick walls. Each unit has its own stairway and yard below. There are 222 rooms in total.
Looking down at the courtyard of Zencheng Lou:
Looking down at the courtyard of Zencheng Lou:
I spent 4 or 5 very mellow and chilled out days at the Fuyu Lou. Western New Years Eve was celebrated a bit early at 7 pm with a few fireworks being let off. With a small bottle of baijiu, I welcomed 2015 alone under heated blankets.
Travel Advisory:
As always, travel in China tends to be a complete nightmare but here's how I did it. And I don't speak Chinese.
I travelled by night train from Guangzhou to Yongding arriving at the ungodly hour of 04:40. I had planned to find a noodle shop and stay put until dawn but a guy was waiting for the train (just as well cos there was no noodle shop).
His family owned one of the few guest houses in Liulian, which is where I wanted to go to. So I got a ride to the village, around an hour away, was shown their cheapest room, 60RMB a night and got in under the covers and went to sleep.
This is the regular way to reach the Hakka Village:
In Yongding take a bus from the bus station (GPS- 24.724795, 116.740245) to Tulou bus station in Liuliancun (GPS*-24.6587140, 116.9746803) marked "entrance" on the left side of the map below then walk to the Hakka Village and Fuyu Lou (GPS*24.6679860, 116.9739700 on right side of the map.
If you get picked up at the station by the guys from the guest house, as I did, you will drive thru the ticket control as it will still be very early, so at your convenience, take a walk to the scenic area ticket office and pay. (GPS*246548190, 116.9698500).
The GPS coordinates marked GPS* refer to the location using the satellite option on google maps as opposed to the map option. (The map version is not synced to the satellite version).
As always, travel in China tends to be a complete nightmare but here's how I did it. And I don't speak Chinese.
I travelled by night train from Guangzhou to Yongding arriving at the ungodly hour of 04:40. I had planned to find a noodle shop and stay put until dawn but a guy was waiting for the train (just as well cos there was no noodle shop).
His family owned one of the few guest houses in Liulian, which is where I wanted to go to. So I got a ride to the village, around an hour away, was shown their cheapest room, 60RMB a night and got in under the covers and went to sleep.
This is the regular way to reach the Hakka Village:
In Yongding take a bus from the bus station (GPS- 24.724795, 116.740245) to Tulou bus station in Liuliancun (GPS*-24.6587140, 116.9746803) marked "entrance" on the left side of the map below then walk to the Hakka Village and Fuyu Lou (GPS*24.6679860, 116.9739700 on right side of the map.
If you get picked up at the station by the guys from the guest house, as I did, you will drive thru the ticket control as it will still be very early, so at your convenience, take a walk to the scenic area ticket office and pay. (GPS*246548190, 116.9698500).
The GPS coordinates marked GPS* refer to the location using the satellite option on google maps as opposed to the map option. (The map version is not synced to the satellite version).
Related Posts:
If you are curious about how to get a Chinese Visa in 2024, check out this post, by Kevin and Kate at Happy Irish Wanderers on Nomadic backpacker
- Backpacking in China: Yuanyang Rice Terraces in Yunnan Province
- Kaiping Diaolou (Pillbox-Like Houses) Guangdong
- Jiangtouzhou Ancient Village
- Backpacking the Longsheng | Dragon's Backbone | Longji rice terraces
- Danxia Landforms in Gansu Province
If you are curious about how to get a Chinese Visa in 2024, check out this post, by Kevin and Kate at Happy Irish Wanderers on Nomadic backpacker
This post has been rewritten for Nomadic Backpacker and is based on my travels in China in 2014