福建土楼

Why this place

The tulou are the communal houses the Hakka built in the mountains of Fujian: enormous circular or square structures of rammed earth, up to five storeys and housing hundreds of people, with a single entrance and all the families facing an inner courtyard. Forty-six of them are UNESCO-listed.

What to see

• Zhencheng Lou at Hongkeng — the 'prince of tulou', the largest and most decorated
• Tianluokeng's cluster — four round houses around a square one, the classic photograph
• Chuxi's tulou group, and the Hakka villages around Yongding
• The interior courtyards, and the ancestral halls at the centre of each building
• Nanjing county's Yunshuiyao, the most scenic of the tulou villages

What to eat

• Hakka cooking: salt-baked chicken, stuffed tofu and preserved mustard greens
• Yongding beef balls and the local rice wine, drunk at village tables

How to plan

Two days driving between the villages, staying in a tulou guesthouse if you can.

Best time

March–May and October–December

Practical tips

• The villages are spread out and public transport is thin — arrange a car and driver for the day