Behind these walls(2)

Residents are busy around a well in the Wushi Enclosed House in Longnan.[Photo/Provided to China Daily]

"This enclosed house reflects traditional Chinese culture in the form of architecture," Lai says.

In 2008, the Hakka tulou (earthen buildings) of Fujian province, was declared a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Their international fame has overshadowed enclosed houses, leading many to believe they are all the same.

"The enclosed houses and tulou are both representative dwellings of the Hakka people, but they are different," Lai says, who has been studying Hakka culture and enclosed houses for more than 20 years.

Although both were constructed from the mid-Ming Dynasty, Lai says, the enclosed houses stopped being built during the period of the Republic of China (1912-1949), while tulou continued being constructed until the 1980s. That explains why there are tens of thousands of tulou, but only about 600 enclosed houses, each with a history of more than a century.

Secondly, tulou is built by rammed earth, while enclosed houses are built from masonry.

Thirdly, tulou is usually co-constructed and shared by several families, but every enclosed house is one man's work. Hence, many enclosed houses were named after the builders' surname.

The Xie Family's Enclosed House in Lintang township is the only circular house among all the enclosed houses in Longnan county.

Xie Liangnan, 47, is a third-generation descendant of the man who originally built the house. He has been living in the building since he was born.

"There has never been outsiders living here, only my family members," Xie says.

"Tulou are for commoners and enclosed houses are for the rich," Lai says.

The enclosed houses also have more distinguished military defense capability, Lai says.

They have fewer doors than tulou, and each one has three-layers of wooden doors wrapped in iron sheets.

Most importantly, there are four high fire turrets at each corner of the rectangular wall. Hence "there is no military dead angle".

"No matter if used as a home, a place of ancestor worship or a fortress, the enclosed houses function much better than tulou," Lai says.

Cultural preservation

In November 2012, the Hakka Enclosed Houses of Southern Jiangxi province were listed in China's World Cultural Heritage Tentative List, and prepared themselves to embrace the same sort of worldwide fame as enjoyed by tulou.

Before that, Lai the senior enclosed house expert had a number of concerns: Only two enclosed houses are state-level protected historic sites, five are provincial-level, and less than 10 are county-level. The rest are exposed to threats of being modified or even demolished.

Lai hopes the nomination process of World Cultural Heritage will bring legal protection to every enclosed house.

"The enclosed houses carry the spirit and culture of Hakka people, which I believe will shine on the world stage in the near future," Lai says.