On 1 October, unique residential buildings Tulou in China under the protection of UNESCO were opened to the visitors. Architectural Group Shangping Tulou is located near the city of Xiamen, or Amoy, Fujian province in the South-East of China. It is the oldest of all known structures of this type in China.
The structure of Shangping Tulou includes Qiyun , Shengping and Rixin buildings. Qiyun was built in 1371; it is the oldest of all the round buildings of Tulou in China. Shengping is the only building in Tulou, built of stone; it looks as impressive as the Roman Coliseum with its total impression of the ancient times. Rixin is a castle-like building of Tulou in China as already understood the first one.
Tulou are a large multi-storey fortress-houses of square or round shape, which were constructed from the XI to XX century in the mountainous areas of Fujian province, and intended for whole clans living there. These complexes were made of earth and wood, and in 2008 were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as unique architectural monuments of defensive value, in harmony with the environment. The company that manages the restoration of Shangping Tulou, hopes that in 2010 the ensemble will be visited by about 160 thousand tourists both from China and from abroad. Admission fee is about $9.
