“The tulous are found in the southern and western part of the Fujian Province as well as in the neighboring province of Guangdong. They vary in size, and can be circular or rectangular. The round form seems to be the most recent form, having diameters ranging from 17 to 91 meters. It is believed that they originated in the 13th or 14th century. There are a few thousand tulou in existence today, with as many as 600 inhabitants spanning three or four generations. Of these, perhaps a thousand are round, yuanlou (round building). Five standing yuanlou exceed 70 meters in diameter. Perhaps the largest is Zaitianlou in Zhaoan, with 2,4 m thick walls and a diameter of 91 meters (Knapp, 2000, p. 264).”
“On the outside, the village's bare pathways and buildings are of the same material, clay. One meets very few people and the tulou shows little interest in the world outside. It is dense and compact, with up to 250 small uniform rooms, constructed in two or three-story wooden structures. These are placed around the building’s periphery and ordered symmetrically around its central axis.”
“The courtyard is used for drying clothes and rice, for communal activities, and for children's play. It may be empty or filled with one or two-story buildings: stables, guest rooms, toilets or an outdoor kitchen for use in the summer. It is also in the courtyard that the ancestral altar is situated.”
From Jens Aaberg-Jørgensen’s web page http://www.chinadwelling.dk/
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