The 'small kingdoms' in the land castle in China

Each castle by land can be viewed as a small village or "small kingdom" of the great family.

If you travel to Fujian, China, you should not ignore fortified castles like these impregnable fortresses.

These massive castle castles are also known by other names as Fujian Long Earth . This is a clay house of the Guest Gia and other ethnic groups in the southeastern mountains of Fujian Province, China.

Earth long Thua Khai.

Earth architecture is also called Hakka architecture , built by Hakka people. With the main purpose of the 'fortress' to protect, the long land has only one door and no windows on the ground floor. The earth gate is often the most important point, often reinforced with stone and iron.

The earth was long built to protect the clan and fight armed robbers in southern China from the 12th century to the nineteenth century.

The earth walls are made by compressing the soil with a mixture of rocks, bamboos, etc., which can be up to 2m thick, the windows are made of wood about 5 - 6cm thick with the outer layer reinforced with iron plates.

These long earths are as solid as the impregnable fortresses. Evidence is that in 1934, a group of rebel farmers took a long time to resist military attacks. There were 19 guns fired at the earth for a long time, but only created a small dent.

Earth long Fill Speaker Khanh.This building is called the "King of the Earth Floor" with 384 rooms completed in 1708.

A long earth is often large, with 3-5 floors with the top floor roofing. The interior of the earth is divided into many rooms, food storage rooms, weapon compartments, living rooms, worship rooms . In addition, the upper floor is also long with a small guard to observe and design the apricot holes to have Can shoot from inside.

Earth long looked from inside.

For a long time, it can hold up to 800 people or a home for 80 families. In the middle of the long earth is usually a terrace with a water well - this is the place to worship ancestors and organize community activities such as filial piety.

Venerable Long Khanh.

Families who stay in the same earth for a long time often have little distinction in terms of social status or wealth, all apartments in the long land are built the same. Common property such as water wells and fruit trees in the earth are also often considered common property, not belonging to a certain family.

Long-term Earth Bones.

Inside the long Earth Horse Bone.

Each earth can be seen as a small village or a "small kingdom" of a large family. In contrast to the simple exterior structure, the interior of each earth is built quite elaborate, so warm in winter, cool in summer. The rooms are well-lit, well ventilated and the entire building is built to resist earthquakes.

The place to worship the ancestors inside the Chan Thanh Long Earth.

So Khe Long Earth populations.

Currently there are more than 20,000 long earth scattered in the southeast mountainous region of Fujian Province. 10 of them are more than 600 years old. This is considered the "living fossil" of ancient building architecture in China.

Fujian's 46 long earth complex has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2008 and adopted the common name for this type of architecture, Long Earth Fujian.