Xià Mén 厦门

Tu Lou

A Tu Lou is an old-fashioned style building mad out of clay and mud. These buildings are very sturdy and have not only withstood the test of time but also of disasters, both man-made and natural. These buildings are said to fortified enough to withstand earthquakes. It is also rumored that during World War 2 these buildings would be more resilient against heavy artillery.

The structure of the average Tu Lou is similar to a donut. The walls go all around the structure and the middle of the Tu Lou is usually open in a courtyard style fashion. Residents of the Tu Lou have their apartments along the edges of the courtyard. The most common shapes of the Tu Lou will either circular or square. Once you enter a Tu Lou you will feel as if you taken a step back in time to ancient China. Or like you’ve just stepped into a Kung Fu movie. There is a very traditional feel to these building.

Side note: You may recognize the buildings above from the live action production of Mulan (2020).

It is worth noting that the area containing Tu Lou that I went to is called the Yong Ding Scenic Area (永定景区). This is a very popular site and one of the sites that are a bit closer to Xia Men. However, there are other locations that you could travel to that have Tu Lou. There is always the option of going to another area to see the Tu Lou, but I personally don’t how those areas would compare to Yong Ding.

The Tu Lou are not located very close to Xia Men. However, it is this remoteness that gives the Tu Lou and the surrounding area some of its charm. You will be able to see a side of China that not everyone gets to see.

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How much time should you spend visiting the Tu Lou?

My recommendation is that you schedule a trip that will have you spend the night in a Tu Lou and come back the next day, 2 days and 1 night. The reason for this is because the Tu Lou area is about 3 hours and some change from Xia Men. A day trip to the Tu Lou is possible but the majority of your time will be spent on the bus and you will not have as much time as you would like to enjoy the Tu Lou buildings and surrounding area.

I will say though that the bus ride over there was smoother than I thought it would be. I am often prone to motion sickness but didn’t experience anything of the sort during the 6 hours (to and from) that I was on the bus.

There are two main ways to travel to the Tu Lou area. One is to go with a tour guide (tour will almost certainly be in Chinese, so heads up) on a tour bus. The other way is to charter a private mini bus, however for this method you will need to have the hostel owner or tour agency arrange it. Taking a private mini bus will also be considerably more expensive than the normal tours.

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About the Tour:

If you elect to take the tour with a tour guide and all to the Tu Lou area you will need to attend (as with other tours) everything that the tour has arranged for the day. The bus will stop at a sort of market and the tourist will be urged to walk through the area and buy some items. This has become a more common practice (not just for China) for tours. Buying something is like a courtesy, it is not required but is appreciated. Don’t think that you’re forced into buying anything though. Also, the tour may include a lunch. Don’t expect to enjoy the local cuisine and expand your taste buds with this lunch. It is obvious from the second that the food is set down that they were on a low budget with this lunch. There will be very little if any meat in this meal. It is advisable to pack your own lunch and a snack before going on this trip.