Chuxi Tulou Cluster and Tianloukeng Tulou Cluster

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Chuxi Tulou Cluster

   In the mountains of western Fujian the villages are shaped like fortresses, and Chuxi is one of the classic examples. The tulou, or earthen buildings, here are huge rammed-earth rings and squares up to several storeys high, built by Hakka families over the centuries so that a whole clan could live, store grain and defend itself behind one thick wall. The Chuxi cluster, in the Yongding district, is part of the Fujian Tulou World Heritage group, and the buildings sit among terraced fields, bamboo and tea bushes in a valley that is green nearly all year.

   Read the complete Chuxi Tulou Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Chuxi Tulou Cluster is where the day begins. Next is Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster.

2. 2. Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster

   This is the Hakka country of southwestern Fujian, the hills of Nanjing and Pinghe counties, where villagers built vast earthen fortress-homes called tulou. The ones near Hukeng and Tianloukeng are among the finest, and they are set in valleys of terraced tea, bamboo groves and rice paddies in a green so deep it looks artificial after rain. Each tulou is a ring, square or sometimes oval of rammed earth walls up to a metre or more thick, three or four storeys tall, with one big gate and a single courtyard in the middle where families kept a well, a shrine and animals.

   Read the complete Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tianloukeng Tulou Cluster.

3. 3. Tianloukeng Tulou Cluster

   The tulou of southwestern Fujian look like something dropped from the sky, huge round or square earthen fortresses sitting among tea terraces and bamboo, with roofs that curve like turned-up eaves. Tianloukeng is a cluster of them in Nanjing County, in the hills inland from Xiamen, and the group is probably the most photographed in the region because it can be seen as a whole: a square tulou at the centre, surrounded by round ones, set on a slope so the roofs stagger like a bowl of dumplings.

   Read the complete Tianloukeng Tulou Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Tianloukeng Tulou Cluster. Next is back through Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster.

4. 4. back through Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Hokgkeng Tulou Cluster, late in the day. Next is Chuxi Tulou Cluster.

5. 5. Chuxi Tulou Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chuxi Tulou Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Chuxi Tulou Cluster. That is the ride.