Yongding Hakka Roundhouses

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Yongding Hakka Roundhouse Photo Album
Click Thumbnails for larger images
Click Here for Hakka Round House Main Page
Hakka Missile Silos? Click Here to find out!
Click Here for Suggested Itinerary (how to get to the round houses).

Journey to the West with Len McClure Many of the photos on this page were taken during a trip with Len McClure, an award-winning American cinematographer who has lived in Asia over 20 years and worked with Na tional Geographic, The Discover Channel, The Smithsonian Institution, The Learning Channel, PBS--you name it, he's done it. He taught film and TV production at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts for seven years, and now devotes himself to cinematography. His wife is from Longhai, across the border from Xiamen--so we claim him as one of our own! Thanks, Len, for a memorable journey.

I have visited the Hakka Round Houses at least 30 times. They are, without doubt, one of the most unique forms of architecture on the planet--assuming, of course, that China is part of the planet. Chinese are always using the slogan "Go into the World!" 走向世界!. They would not have to go into the world if they weren't already someplace else in the first place. I've always thought Chinese were out of this world," and one Chinese writer's description of roundhouses as "UFOs descended from sky" proves it.

But jesting aside, Hakka's ancient earthen architecture is not only a window upon the past but a possibility for the future! Earthen architecture enjoys numerous advantages.
Click Here to read about them.

Suggested Itinerary Yongding （永定）round houses (pronouncded "tulou" 土楼) are the most famous, and are well worth the visit (nicely laid out tourist area, English-speaking guides, good accomodations and dining), but the Nanjing Hakka roundhouses (南靖客家土楼 are the most picturesque.

By Private Car (click here to rent car & driver) Take freeway from Xiamen past Zhangzhou to Nanjing. Drive the picturesque country road from Nanjing to Hakka earthenhouses (Fuxing Lou, Hekeng Group, etc.). Drive another 1/2 hour to Yongding. Spend the night; return the next day via Longyan and the freeway.

By Bus If you are going by bus, busses leave Xiamen for Longyan about every half hour from the Hubin Nan Lu Long Distance Bus Station (厦门市湖滨南长途汽车站, Xiamen Shi Hubin Nan Changtu Qiche Zhan). It's a 212km ride, and as of today costs about 55 Yuan one way. In Longyan take a bus to Yongding.

Hakka Silos?!
Adapted from People's Daily Online
US satellite once mistook Hakka residence as nuke base
"The old residence of Hakkas, a minority nationality in Nanjing County of South China's Fujian Province, built completely with immature soil, has stood rock firm for several centuries and is therefore dubbed "the world's eighth wonder" by UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization). "The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" issue January disclosed that US surveillance satellite once created a ridiculous story.

"The old residence of Hakkas, a minority nationality in Nanjing County of South China's Fujian Province, built completely with immature soil, has stood rock firm for several centuries and is therefore dubbed "the world's eighth wonder" by UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization). "The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" issue January disclosed that US surveillance satellite once created a ridiculous story.

"One day in 1985, the then US President Ronald Reagan read a report from the intelligence bureau under the Department of National Defense. "We are not joking here to use 'group'. The group nuclear base is likely to be a fact. According to our report through the KH22 satellite hovering, there are over 1, 500 unidentified huge mushroom-like buildings in Fujian Province of China, which are extremely similar to nuclear equipment. New penetrative satellite can observe through high buildings, but failed in front of the 1, 500 high-rises, in which China's sophistication of nuclear research can be seen. Therefore, it is necessary to grasp the nature of the buildings."

"One day in December 1985 it was snowing in Beijing. A couple from US New York Institute of Photography paid a special visit to China to take photos.

"The film slide they made received praises from the fans, who couldn't imagine that the real objective of the couple's trip was not to enjoy China's beautiful landscape, but was aimed at the Hakka buildings suspected as nuclear bases.

"The two persons were received by the Federation of Literature and Art in Zhangzhou City of Fujian Province on December 18. They went to see Hakka residences in Nanjing County 50 kilometers from Zhangzhou, where they took photos. Back in the United States, the husband delivered a "South China Investigation Report" to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), explaining why the buildings were mistaken as ones for special purposes: their peculiar round and square exterior presented through bird's-eye view.