Zhenchenglou (Prince of Tulou)

Zhenchenglou stands in Hongkeng Village, Hukeng Town, Yongding District, Longyan, in western Fujian. It is a double-ring round earthen building, with an outer ring of four storeys and an inner ring of two storeys, and it is often called the Prince of Tulou because of its scale and the complexity of its design. The Lin clan built it in 1912 and the building is about 57 metres in diameter, with a layout based on the eight trigrams, divided into eight sections by internal walls so that a fire or dispute in one section could be contained. The outer ring has 184 rooms, the lower floors serving as kitchens and storage, the second floor as granaries and the upper floors as bedrooms. The inner ring contains an ancestral hall at the centre, facing the main gate. Walls are made of rammed earth up to about 1.5 metres thick at the base, strengthened with bamboo strips and timber, and the roof overhangs to protect them from rain. Timber galleries and staircases wrap around the central courtyard, which holds wells and an ancestral hall with carved beams and couplets. The Lin family still lives in parts of the building, and the ground floor includes small shops selling tea and souvenirs. Preservation is by local authorities and the family, with repairs to roofing and wall cladding. It is a focal point of the Hongkeng ticket route, and visitors circle the courtyard and climb to the upper galleries for views.