Yongding, China, June 2002

The dominant ethnic group in Fukien Province in SE China are the Hakka, or "guest people". The Hakka immigrated from northern China starting around 1000 AD, fleeing war and famine. Many of the emigrants from China to Taiwan, SE Asia and the West are of Hakka descent.

In the mountainous areas of Yongding County the Hakka built farming villages with communal housing. The houses are round or square, typically with a 4-story "rammed earth" defensive wall on the outside, supporting a 4-story wooden structure on the inside, with an open center. The center often contains separate guest quarters and an ancestral altar. The individual residences are organized vertically like slices of layer cake, with the kitchen on the first floor, living on the second and work and storage rooms on the 3rd and 4th floors.

Terry and I spent 2 intense days in Yongding in June, 2002, to see these buildings and local life. Architecturally the buildings are fascinating. Socially, the people are polite, clean and healthy but uneducated, dirt poor, and stuck where they are. This probably describes 2/3 of China's population, and is one of China's great burdens.

11 sections- scroll down to see all

  Map                               Hukeng walls                 Tianliaokeng 

  Hakka house                 Chengyuanlou                 Hakka country                                  

  Zhenchenglou                Picture house                 Yongding views                              

 Hukeng village               Chuxitulou                            

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