The Tulous Of Fujian Province

Around the 12th century the people of the Fujian Province in China decided that their homes did not offer them sufficient protection in times of civil strife and from the armed bandit gangs which plagued the area for hundreds of years. Groups of families combined their incomes to provide their community with something more substantial - a tulou - that could safeguard their property and their lives in this mountainous area on the southeast coast of China.

Like any good idea, the idea of large, enclosed fortified buildings had already been around for centuries. Yet advances in technology enabled communities to create a safe space, encircled by thick load bearing walls and up to five floors high.