Yongding Earth Building
Yongding Earth Building
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LG_Kay
Singapore, Singapore7,512 contributions
Dec 2017 • Solo
I didn’t want to join a 1 day Chinese group tour from Xiamen. Such tours are typically rushed, with wasted time on shopping, lunch and end up seeing minimal places hurriedly. Being solo, it is not cost effective to hire a private car and guide. As such, I ventured on my own with some prior research and handling on the ground surprises.
To benefit like minded travelers, let me share with you my 2D1N trip to Yongding Tulou starting from Xiamen:
Transportation
First of all, the bus station leaving Xiamen to Yongding Tulou is NOT at Hubin Bus Station, as mentioned by many English websites. When I took a cab to go Hubin station, fortunately the driver informed me Hubin was not operational more than 2 years already. Long distance bus station is now at Fanghu Passenger Transport Centre (枋湖客运中心). I went there to reserve the 8:30am bus departing 3 days later. When purchasing ticket, inform counter staff you want to go to Yongding Tulou Bus Station (永定土楼汽车站).
It is always recommended to reserve a bus (especially train) seat for assurance as well as confirming departure times, which I couldn’t find from the web. This was one lesson I learnt touring in China. Fare is 58 rmb, journey is 3.5 hours, with 1 toilet break stop.
To purchase the return trip back to Xiamen, look out for the shop with the display Tulou Bus Station (土楼汽车站)). There are three direct buses from departing daily at 7:45 am, 12:50 pm, and 14:50 pm. Fare is 45 rmb. My return journey took about 4 hours due to peak period traffic at Xiamen.
Accomodation
Through baidu map and then correlating to google map, I manage to find the Yongding Tulou bus stop. Hence, I chose a hotel within walking distance from bus stop, Yongding Mengtian Inn, which is inside HongKeng Cultural Village (洪坑村). Please see separate review of inn.
Purchasing Entrance Tickets
This is my first surprise. At Yongding Tulou bus stop, I could not walk directly to my inn as it was the exit gate. I needed the Tulou ticket to enter, which I had not purchase yet. I was told by the officer to walk 800m to the ticketing office at entrance gate. Dragging my luggage, I walked for a few minutes and asked an elderly man along the way. He told me distance is more than 1 km away. Without asking, he was kind to send me to the entrance gate using his motorbike. I was thankful and tipped him 10 rmb.
On hindsight, there are 2 options. First option is when taking bus from Xiamen, inform driver to alight at the entrance gate instead of Yongding Tulou bus stop. Second option is alight at Yongding Tulou bus stop, where the happenings are - hotels, eateries, exit gate, etc. Then arrange hotel owner or tout to send you to entrance gate.
At the ticketing office, I decided to purchase a combo ticket for Yongding and Chengqilou (承启楼) at 100 rmb. Fyi, individual ticket will be 90 rmb and 50 rmb respectively. Ticket is valid for 2 days.
Transportation to tulou clusters in other villages
Unfortunately, there is no public transportation to visit tulous in other villages (such as ChengQiLou & ChuXiLou). One has to hire a motorbike or a car, depending on number of travelers. As expected, agree on the places to visit and bargain on the cost.
Exploring Yongding tulous
At the entrance gate, I met a female guide and decided to hire her for the afternoon. After some bargaining, we agreed on 100 rmb to cover Yongding tulous as well as ChengQiLou.
For the remaining afternoon, the guide brought me to explore the Yongding tulous, which is inside the HongKeng Cultural Village (洪坑村). The main attraction is ZhenChengLou (振成楼), as well as other smaller tulous. The village is rather small, can be covered within 2 hours. After covering Yongding tulous, guide drove me with her motorbike to ChengQiLou, which is about 10 mins ride.
On hindsight, hire a guide if you are willing to pay to understand the history and details of the tulous’ architectures, carvings etc. Else it is possible to explore yourself.
For day 2 morning, I decided to visit ChuXiLou (初溪土楼). After breakfast, I headed to the exit and sure enough there were touts around. I got a motorbike driver to bring me to ChuXiLou and back, including waiting for me. We agreed on 100 rmb, after some bargaining. The ride was about 50 mins one way. Need to purchase separate entrance ticket 50 rmb. I spent about 2 hours at ChuXiLou exploring myself. Back in Yongding, I had my lunch before catching the 14:50 pm bus back to Xiamen.
Overall, it was a fulfilling adventure and I am glad I finally manage to visit the Hakka tulous. If you find this post helpful in planning your trip, kindly click "Helpful". Thanks so much.
To benefit like minded travelers, let me share with you my 2D1N trip to Yongding Tulou starting from Xiamen:
Transportation
First of all, the bus station leaving Xiamen to Yongding Tulou is NOT at Hubin Bus Station, as mentioned by many English websites. When I took a cab to go Hubin station, fortunately the driver informed me Hubin was not operational more than 2 years already. Long distance bus station is now at Fanghu Passenger Transport Centre (枋湖客运中心). I went there to reserve the 8:30am bus departing 3 days later. When purchasing ticket, inform counter staff you want to go to Yongding Tulou Bus Station (永定土楼汽车站).
It is always recommended to reserve a bus (especially train) seat for assurance as well as confirming departure times, which I couldn’t find from the web. This was one lesson I learnt touring in China. Fare is 58 rmb, journey is 3.5 hours, with 1 toilet break stop.
To purchase the return trip back to Xiamen, look out for the shop with the display Tulou Bus Station (土楼汽车站)). There are three direct buses from departing daily at 7:45 am, 12:50 pm, and 14:50 pm. Fare is 45 rmb. My return journey took about 4 hours due to peak period traffic at Xiamen.
Accomodation
Through baidu map and then correlating to google map, I manage to find the Yongding Tulou bus stop. Hence, I chose a hotel within walking distance from bus stop, Yongding Mengtian Inn, which is inside HongKeng Cultural Village (洪坑村). Please see separate review of inn.
Purchasing Entrance Tickets
This is my first surprise. At Yongding Tulou bus stop, I could not walk directly to my inn as it was the exit gate. I needed the Tulou ticket to enter, which I had not purchase yet. I was told by the officer to walk 800m to the ticketing office at entrance gate. Dragging my luggage, I walked for a few minutes and asked an elderly man along the way. He told me distance is more than 1 km away. Without asking, he was kind to send me to the entrance gate using his motorbike. I was thankful and tipped him 10 rmb.
On hindsight, there are 2 options. First option is when taking bus from Xiamen, inform driver to alight at the entrance gate instead of Yongding Tulou bus stop. Second option is alight at Yongding Tulou bus stop, where the happenings are - hotels, eateries, exit gate, etc. Then arrange hotel owner or tout to send you to entrance gate.
At the ticketing office, I decided to purchase a combo ticket for Yongding and Chengqilou (承启楼) at 100 rmb. Fyi, individual ticket will be 90 rmb and 50 rmb respectively. Ticket is valid for 2 days.
Transportation to tulou clusters in other villages
Unfortunately, there is no public transportation to visit tulous in other villages (such as ChengQiLou & ChuXiLou). One has to hire a motorbike or a car, depending on number of travelers. As expected, agree on the places to visit and bargain on the cost.
Exploring Yongding tulous
At the entrance gate, I met a female guide and decided to hire her for the afternoon. After some bargaining, we agreed on 100 rmb to cover Yongding tulous as well as ChengQiLou.
For the remaining afternoon, the guide brought me to explore the Yongding tulous, which is inside the HongKeng Cultural Village (洪坑村). The main attraction is ZhenChengLou (振成楼), as well as other smaller tulous. The village is rather small, can be covered within 2 hours. After covering Yongding tulous, guide drove me with her motorbike to ChengQiLou, which is about 10 mins ride.
On hindsight, hire a guide if you are willing to pay to understand the history and details of the tulous’ architectures, carvings etc. Else it is possible to explore yourself.
For day 2 morning, I decided to visit ChuXiLou (初溪土楼). After breakfast, I headed to the exit and sure enough there were touts around. I got a motorbike driver to bring me to ChuXiLou and back, including waiting for me. We agreed on 100 rmb, after some bargaining. The ride was about 50 mins one way. Need to purchase separate entrance ticket 50 rmb. I spent about 2 hours at ChuXiLou exploring myself. Back in Yongding, I had my lunch before catching the 14:50 pm bus back to Xiamen.
Overall, it was a fulfilling adventure and I am glad I finally manage to visit the Hakka tulous. If you find this post helpful in planning your trip, kindly click "Helpful". Thanks so much.
Written 28 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JiaqiG
London, UK33 contributions
Jan 2013 • Couples
Although there are some impressive Tulou in Yongding the surrounding area has not been well preserved. There are ugly modern buildings next to the Tulou. There are also busy roads with lots of badly driven cars and motorcycles. The area is also very commercialised, so there are lots of people trying to sell you things and hassling you wherever you go. The local people don't seem particularly friendly or helpful. I would recommend that either people don't come here at all or if they do make sure they also go to the Tianluokeng village. That village is much better preserved and is set in beautiful unspoiled countryside. The local people also seem much more friendly largely because lots of them don't work in the tourism industry and those that do seem to own their own stalls or guesthouses instead of working for a large tourism company which seemed to the case for most people working in Yongding. Therefore, in summary, probably worth stopping off in Yongding to see the Tulou themselves but definitely also go to Tianluokeng for a more pleasurable experience. Tianluokeng is approx 30 mins by car from Yongding.
Written 24 January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SooYinn
Kuala Lumpur223 contributions
June 2014 • Family
We traveled from Xiamen to Yongding county by bus on the 6th June, visited the Hakka Tulou (earth building). Actually many travel agencies in Xiamen can offer you 1 day trip to this scenic spot by paying RMB118 or less. It took 3-hour drive to reach this cultural village. There was light rain by the time we arrived. Anyway, nothing could stop us from taking a close look at the beauty of this miraculous wonder. We spent more than an hour walking around, went up the staircases to 2nd and 3rd level to see the rooms. 2nd floor are used for storage and rooms on the 3rd floor are used as bedrooms. According to the tour guide, the unique of these buildings has been inscribed by UNESCO as one of the World Cultural Heritage Sites in 2008!
We were brought to a 5 stars hotel nearby. We never expected such a modern building in this mountainous area. Online booking, price for a standard room is RMB320.
We were brought to a 5 stars hotel nearby. We never expected such a modern building in this mountainous area. Online booking, price for a standard room is RMB320.
Written 13 June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
May Wong
Hong Kong, China209 contributions
Dec 2017 • Family
The Fujian Tulou （in Chinese: 土樓） are Chinese Hakka rural “castles” built in the mountain areas in Fujian Province of China. The Hakka Tulou in Fujian are usually a fortified buildings in circular shape.
One of my Hong Kong friends is fluent in Fujian dialect, and he organized a trip for a group of 9 adults and 5 children in the last week of December 2017. It was a pleasant, joyful tour that I enjoyed it a lot. We left Xiamen at the early morning by taking a private tour bus. And it took us 4.5 hours to arrive the rural mountains. So my tips are:
A. Book a private tour bus if budget allows
B. Get up early so you would have plenty of time to take photographs under the natural light with sunshine.
We were given the opportunity to walk up to one of the Tulou by paying RMB5 per person (same price for children). I strongly recommend you to spend a few bucks to take a look at the local community. Overall, it was a great experience for a city person like me to explore the unique local Hakka culture.
One of my Hong Kong friends is fluent in Fujian dialect, and he organized a trip for a group of 9 adults and 5 children in the last week of December 2017. It was a pleasant, joyful tour that I enjoyed it a lot. We left Xiamen at the early morning by taking a private tour bus. And it took us 4.5 hours to arrive the rural mountains. So my tips are:
A. Book a private tour bus if budget allows
B. Get up early so you would have plenty of time to take photographs under the natural light with sunshine.
We were given the opportunity to walk up to one of the Tulou by paying RMB5 per person (same price for children). I strongly recommend you to spend a few bucks to take a look at the local community. Overall, it was a great experience for a city person like me to explore the unique local Hakka culture.
Written 15 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
YKPng
Singapore, Singapore425 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
Worth a visit if you have not seen any tulou before. A worth heritage site. Guided tour is recommended. Weather in December is good. 10+C.
Written 1 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
petersjsim
Tawau, Malaysia2,185 contributions
Dec 2019 • Family
Visit this World Heritage site is a must for visitors who come to Fujian. Unlike the other Earth buildings, there are no commercial displays inside the building. The structure is well preserved and it is a eye opener to learn the living style of the Hakka people.
Written 20 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Al H
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia115 contributions
May 2016 • Friends
If you are not familiar or non Chinese speaking it is best to get a local guide so you can have a better understanding of the Hakka culture. Had not seen young locals around and majority of those we met were above 60s. They were quite shy so for non Chinese it is better you bring a local friend or guide.
It's a different lifestyle where families stay within the building. So good experience how these people live.
It's a different lifestyle where families stay within the building. So good experience how these people live.
Written 17 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy K
Wantirna, Australia127 contributions
Nov 2015
These buildings are a work or man made ability that i find hard to understand. How with out cranes or modern technology did they build these structures. Some are square and some are perfectly round.
Families still live in many of them and some sadly have falling into disrepair. The government has at least decided that the ones that are left are maintained and supported.
The families living there now sell wares so be prepared to find the place buzzing with hundreds of people.
It was an interesting few hours walking through buildings that had been built in the 1600's older ones are still to be seen but where further away from us. We had a guide who told us in good English is a worth while investment.
Families still live in many of them and some sadly have falling into disrepair. The government has at least decided that the ones that are left are maintained and supported.
The families living there now sell wares so be prepared to find the place buzzing with hundreds of people.
It was an interesting few hours walking through buildings that had been built in the 1600's older ones are still to be seen but where further away from us. We had a guide who told us in good English is a worth while investment.
Written 3 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
worldnomad_01
Los Angeles, CA1,597 contributions
Sept 2015 • Couples
As far as I know, the Hakka Tulous are unique and as such, worth seeing. The ones in Yongding are located in a fenced park and the largest are Zhencheng, Kuiju, Rusheng and Fuyu.They are mostly round, but also square and built to accommodate up to 300-350 people, usually related to each other. The Hakkas are a minority that came to Yongding area from the north of the country and the purpose for such buildings was mostly protection. There's also a very nice cluster of such buildings in a nearby small village of Chuxi. Four a very nice and modern place to stay, try Hakka Earth Building Prince (4 star) in Hukeng, Yonding - surprisingly not reviewed on this site.
Written 17 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
est0121
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia256 contributions
May 2014 • Couples
I have just visited one of the tulou site ( earth building) located in the yongding county of Fujian province. It is about 3.5 hours journey from Xiamen by bus, the first half journey is on the highway and the final part is going through the country side village on some winding road.The site has 3 tulous ,2 nos are circular shape. and the other is square.These tulous were constructed by the Chinese Hakka about 380 years ago, the external is soil wall, the inner structure are all timbers.The name Ghengji Lou is the largest circular tulou, the base of this tulou external wall is constructed with stones of thickness 1.8 meter,as told by the tulou resident, on top is a mixture of timber fibre and soil, the shape of the wall is casted by using formwork,as it goes higher it is reduced to1.2 meter.The layout of tulou 1st floor is kitchen,2nd floor is food storage,3rd floor and above is bedroom and living room. In the centre that surrounded by the wall is a sharing community hall,the tulou is typically built 3 level or 5 level height, for external wall no window on 1st and 2nd level,only 3rd level and above is provided due to security purpose and also a precaution from their enemy attack in olden days.It was worthwhile a day trip visit to these tulous,I would recommend go with travel agency will save you lots of transportation problems and price is reasonable but please be reminded price is different on weekday and weekend
Written 1 June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RMB 90. Some of the hostel operator will tell you they have methods to skip the entrance fees, DO NOT trust them. Buy proper tickets are more secure. [Sometimes those operators are link with some "officials", they will check and you will be fined double or even triple} Be careful!
Good luck!
Have you already planned your stay?
Written 9 February 2015
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