2015 China

15 March, Taxia
Unreadable name 120CNY

Built of rammed earth and glutinous rice, reinforced with wood chips and bamboo strips, the tulou (mud buildings) of Fujian Province are an astonishing sight. Over 3000 tulou dot the hilly countryside, 46 of which have been granted Unesco status. Built on circular, rectangular or oval floor plans, these multi-storey “apartment blocks” were built to house entire clans. To protect the residents from bandits and animals, there was one entrance only and no external windows on the lower floors. The living quarters inside the exterior mud wall are constructed of wood. Many tulou remain inhabited, dedicated now to earning tourist dollars. We bought a ticket to the Tianluokeng cluster, which entitled us to visit three sites, some including more than one tulou. We based ourselves in the small riverside village of Taxia, one of the three sites, and today walked most of the 8km uphill to visit the other two sites, hitching a ride back mid-afternoon. In one tulou, 300 years old, we watched two chickens being slaughtered, their throats cut with a small pair of scissors, their blood purposefully splattered onto special paper, for reasons beyond our understanding, and we tasted three different teas at a stall beautifully managed by a young woman, who turned the tasting into an aesthetically pleasing event. In another we bought a local peanut brittle and a fridge magnet for my mom whose fridge is about to topple over from the weight of her collection. Back in Taxia we visited the Zhang Ancestral Hall with its 23 carved stone pillars commemorating the achievements of prominent villagers before calling it a day. Awesome.