New lease on life for ancient buildings(2)

Residents are proud to live in the tulou.

Su Haoyu (left), 74 and 58-year-old Jiang Dailian grew up in the old building and have lived in it all their lives.

"The buildings are mainly four or five stories high. The first floor serves as the kitchen, the second is used for grain storage and the upper floors act as living areas," Xu said. "Because of their defensive function, only rooms on the third floor and higher have windows - and they are very small. With enough food, the residents could survive a long time under attack."

World Heritage List

With their unique appearance, architectural techniques and group lifestyles, the tulou have gradually attracted global attention. In 2008, UNESCO put 46 on its World Heritage List.

The sudden fame changed Yongding county and the lives of the residents.

Roads and other infrastructure were built to make the tulou more accessible, leading to an influx of visitors.

"Tourism changed our village, and most of the residents now work in tourism-related businesses, such as running home inns, restaurants, selling local products or souvenirs, or working as tour guides. There are more than 100 cars in our village," Lin said. "One in four families owns one."

In 2008, Lin Bingxiang, 32, the fourth-generation owner of Yucheng Lou, quit his job at a large logistics company in Xiamen and returned home. He poured all the money he had earned during the previous few years into opening a restaurant and turning his tulou into a small home inn.

The 153-year-old Yucheng Lou was once home to 600 people, but now two large families comprising around 20 people live there.

"If I hadn't quit, I might be a manager in the company now," said Lin Bingxiang. "But I don't regret it at all because I have a very good business here and, more important, I can live with my parents. It's my ideal life."

Jiang Jaolin, 29, a resident of Hongkeng village who once worked as an accountant in Xiamen, also returned and now works as a tour guide.

"I can make a living from home and take care of my little son during work breaks," Jiang said. "We can sell all the things we grow, even the pickles my mother makes. Life is much easier than before, and I enjoy a better environment."

Most tourists arrive in the morning and leave before 3 pm. Those seeking a little peace and quiet stay overnight, and are usually polite and thoughtful.

"To tell you the truth, our life isn't disturbed too much," Jiang said.

Former president Hu Jintao visited Zhencheng Lou during the 2010 Spring Festival and commented that the Fujian tulou are not only a World Heritage Site, but also a treasure of traditional Chinese culture.

Hu's visit triggered a tourism boom in Yongding and tourist numbers have increased sharply since.

Lucy Ullrich, an urban designer for Tauranga City Council in New Zealand, is one of them.

Ullrich saw photographs of the tulou in a magazine several years ago and never forgot the fascinating images, so when she was invited to join a conference in Shanghai, she saw a chance to visit.

Instead of staying in hotels, she chose tulou accommodation, which cost about 100 yuan ($16) a night, and spent most of the time observing the lives of the local people and chatting with the people in broken Chinese.

"Although the sun was scorching outside, I didn't need to turn on the fans to keep cool in the room," she said. "The design is perfect for saving energy and making people comfortable. I may incorporate some tulou factors in my future designs. The nights here are so quiet and the local people are very friendly. I'll bring my family next time."

More than 4 million tourists from China and overseas visited the county in 2012, a year-on-year increase of 17 percent, and the revenue from tourism soared to 2.85 billion yuan, according to Yongding County Tourism Bureau.