Lin鈥檚 house has 208 rooms and he can鈥檛 stop talking about it
Print Edition
Lin Rigeng brims with pride every time he tells visitors about his house. 鈥淚 never get tired of it,鈥 he said.
The four-story clay building Lin, 66, shares with 77 others covers an area of 5,000 square meters, or nearly three quarters of a football field. It was built a century ago by his grandfather鈥檚 brothers.
Such buildings are known as tulou, which means 鈥渂uilding made of earth鈥 in Chinese. In July 2008, tulou were inscribed on the UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage List as the unique residential architecture of east China鈥檚 Fujian Province.
Lin鈥檚 house in Hongkeng Village was among 46 representative tulou presented to the World Heritage Committee.
鈥淢y house belongs to the world. I want everyone to learn about it,鈥 said Lin.
The buildings can take many forms, including rings, triangles, squares, rectangles, and pentagons. Lin鈥檚 home is one of the most common ring-shaped tulou.
It is believed the first tulou were built in the 11th century by people who escaped the wars in central China. This is one explanation for their extremely thick outer walls. The wall around Lin鈥檚 home is 1.3 meters thick.
They functioned as a fortress to protect residents from invaders and wild animals.
There are more than 20,000 tulou in Yongding County, about two and a half hours drive from Xiamen, which recently hosted the ninth BRICS summit.
The oldest existing tulou in the county was built 600 years ago. The largest has 384 rooms and can accommodate at least 800 people.
Lin鈥檚 house was named Zhencheng Lou by his grandfather. It has 208 rooms arranged according to the bagua, an eight-point diagram that determines the auspicious locations for various functions to balance the energy within the house.
Fifteen families live in the building, and all are involved in tourist-related businesses, from running homestays to making souvenirs.
鈥淲e are richer. Our life is better, so is our living environment,鈥 said Lin, when talking about changes that the growing number of tourists have brought for his family.
According to county records, a model of Zhencheng Lou was on display at an international architectural model expo in Los Angeles in the 1980s.
Locals say tulou, especially the ring-shaped ones, were spotted by US satellites and mistaken for missile silos or nuclear devices during the Cold War.
鈥淭hat tale originally helped attract international attention to tulou,鈥 Lin said.
Lin, the son of a farmer, was born in Zhencheng Lou, and could not be a more hospitable host. Back in the 1980s, when few people knew about the buildings, he began voluntarily guiding visitors, treating them to home-grown tea, food and wine, and telling them the history of the buildings.
鈥淭he moment they entered Zhencheng Lou, they were simultaneously shocked and excited. They could not imagine how people could build such a large house to accommodate a whole clan,鈥 Lin said, 鈥淥nly then did I realize my house was such a treasure.鈥
In 1991, Lin became the first tulou tour guide hired by the county.
He said he learned more about his home from early visitors, many of whom were architects or fans of historical buildings.
Lin has written a book on tulou and guides around 300 groups of visitors each year. He also runs a souvenir shop and a homestay with 10 beds.
Four years ago, his eldest son Lin Shangkang, 43, quit his job as a biology teacher at a local high school to help the family business.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
