Fr : version française / En: english version

Babel and Babylon

Babel and Babylon

Aztec cities

Aztec cities

Heavenly Jerusalem

Heavenly Jerusalem

The Fujian Tulou

The Fujian Tulou

Utopia

Utopia

Romorantin, capital of a kingdom...

Romorantin, capital of a kingdom...

The city of brotherly love

The city of brotherly love

Saint Petersburg, Peter's great city

Saint Petersburg, Peter's great city

Industry, socialism and utopia

Industry, socialism and utopia

Taking technology to new heights

Taking technology to new heights

Home sweet home

Home sweet home

A towering challenge...

A towering challenge...

New towns

New towns

Conjuring capitals

Conjuring capitals

Auroville: "divine anarchy"

Auroville: "divine anarchy"

Private cities

Private cities

Dubai: miracle or mirage?

Dubai: miracle or mirage?

All eyes on the horizon

All eyes on the horizon

The Fujian Tulou

Major cities were quick to appear in Asia, especially in China. Canton had several hundred thousand inhabitants by the 9th century.

As these capitals appeared, so did more original and less well-known forms of urban planning, like these round villages found in the Fujian region. Built to provide defenses, their structure reflected and reinforced the communal nature of their resident clans. Home to nearly one thousand people, the communities are distant reminders of Europe's own walled towns, built at around the same time.

Fujian Tulou

© UNESCO - Xianglin Song

Tulou

Tulou are fortified earthen buildings built by the Han Chinese who migrated to the south-east of China 800 years ago. There, they were given the name "Hakka", which literally means "invited family".

Tulou can be round or square and are also known as "little family kingdoms" or "little prosperous towns": a single building may be home to an entire clan of up to 800 people. Each family was given two or three rooms per floor, with residences split vertically. Despite the simple exterior, the inside was finely decorated and extremely comfortable. Built between the 12th and 20th centuries, the Tulou have only one entrance and no windows on the bottom two floors.

There are more than 20,000 Tulou in southern Fujian, some of which were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2008.