Monday morning 30th January we handed over the keys to our apartment to a lovely young couple Melanie and Brian from America. They had been living in the cold university dormitories for a few months. They were very appreciative of our offer to take over our apartment having an open ended stay in China.They will be sharing with a friend of theirs they met on campus Kath who at present is holidaying back in London. Mel and Brian were thrilled with their find as we left most things in the apartment for them. There was no trouble with the landlord as she was happy not to have searched for another tenant. All in all everyone was happy and we will keep in touch to see how their adventure and studies go.
After saying our goodbyes to Melanie at the gate we caught a taxi to the train station for a 7hour trip to xiamen for a 4 day climatization holiday (it is warmer in xiamen) before heading to Guangzhou for a flight home on Friday/Saturday. Our ebike was also sold the day before we left to another American friend who's own push bike was stolen recently. Tricia you have gone up In the world of bikes. I never rode that bike but it was pretty cruisy being the passenger. Safe travels Tricia ans Ali and on our very handy ebike.
1/2/12
Today we visited a Chengqu earth building we have wanted to go to this area for a while. We took a four hour bus trip 180klm from Xiamen and had an amazing day for about $23 with lunch and entry fee included. This village has a history of three hundred years and a building style common to the Hakka people found in the south of China.These houses in this village are unique in style and sometimes referred to as Tulou buildings ( often round in shape) and were inscribed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2008. One of the buildings we saw , in it's day had over 400 rooms, housed 80families totalling over 600 people living in this building , dubbed the "the king of the round buildings".
These antique mountain villages are attracting the whole world. The tourists visiting today were an indication of the interest in Chinese traditional cultural spirit and atmosphere recognized by countless visitors.The construction and restoration to make the round houses accessible to the public is astounding. This amazing place is definatly worth the round trip from Xiamen or better still an overnight stay to take in more than one village.
Earthen dwelling of the Hakka people.
Fujian province
In Yongding one can still find the Earthen Dwellings of the Hakka people. The unadorned tu lou are either round or square, and huge (10-17 metres high and were designed as a fortress and apartment building in one. The structures typically had only one entranceway and no windows at ground level. Each floor served a different function - the first hosts a well and livestock, the second is for food storage and the third and higher floors contain living spaces for several hundred people.
Hakka people still live in the houses, you can see the everyday scenes of the residents: elderly and children alike, full of life: chicken, ducks and dogs, and people cooking, washing clothes and working in the houses. The houses are nestled in beautiful villages and landscape (rivers, rich trees and blossom and very pleasant weather).
Hakkas' unique houses - Tu lou ( earthen buildings of Hakkas )
The Hakka who settled in Fujian province developed unique architectural buildings called tu lou, literally meaning "earthen structures". Because they were latecomers to the area, Hakka set up homes in often undesirable mountainous regions and were subject to attack from bandits and marauders.
What is special for the earthen round buildings:
• Natural beauty of the colour of the earth wall and interior wood structure
• Unique and original architecture: unadorned, huge (10-17metres high ) and in different shape (square, round and oval and quinquangular) with different rings of round houses within.
• Hakka people still live in the houses, you can see the everyday scence of the residents: elderly and children alike, full of life: chicken, ducks and dogs, and people cooking, washing clothes and working in the houses
• The houses are nestled in beautiful villages and landscape (rivers, rich trees and blossom and very pleasant weather).
Www.hakkatulou.com
Hangzhou Study Tour 2011-2012
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