The Economic Secret Of Success The Chinese Knew For Centuries

The Chinese in the Hakka Tulou region of Fujian, China have a creative way to beat the world economic woes, and they have been doing this for centuries. It's a quite beautiful way to conserve resources. In 2008, UNESCO granted the Tulou "apartments" World Heritage Status. UNESCO cited the buildings as exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization.

The Tulou is typically a large enclosed building, rectangular or circular in configuration, with a very thick weight supporting earth wall (up to 6 feet thick) and wooden skeletons, between three and five stories high, housing up to 80 families. These earth buildings usually have only one main gate, guarded by 4 to 5 inch thick wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth buildings has gun holes for defense against bandits.

(SEE BREATHTAKING PICTURES)

There are three types of Tulou houses, the Phoenix house, the Round house, and the Piang Fong ("flat house"). It depends on their migration what house they live in. The Phoenix house is the most extravagant. As they lost support and affiliation from the Imperial Court, they no longer could afford to build the gorgeous Phoenix houses. They were forced to scrape their money and resources together and build the Round houses. The lower class of Chinese was forced to live in the Piang Fong.

Humorously, in the 1960's, America first discovered the Hakka houses and thought they were nuclear silos! They also ruminated that they carried stockpiles of missile in them.

What I was curious about was what the houses within the Tulou Houses were. Apparently they have a courtyard which is used for drying clothes and rice, for communal activities, and for children's play. It may be empty or filled with one- or two-story buildings. These buildings may be stables, guest rooms, toilets or, for use in the summer, an outdoor kitchen. It is also in the courtyard that the ancestral altar is situated.

The Chinese culture is exquisite and exotic as it is resourceful. In a day and age where we complain about not having enough material wealth, and have an esoteric belief that our country is better than any other country, we must really broaden our horizons for a bit. We have a lot to learn from other cultures and their countries.

I believe the videos and pictures are much more breathtaking than a long article. Enjoy the break from the usual, as many of you already know I typically write very long articles!