in mountainous south western Fujian province in China developed unique architectural buildings called tulou, literally meaning earthen structures. The Hakkas set up these unique homes to prevent attack from bandits and marauders. The tulou are either round or square, and were designed as a large fortress and apartment building in one. Structures typically had only one entranceway and no windows at ground level. Each floor served a different function - the first hosts a well and livestock, the second is for food storage and the third and higher floors contain living spaces. Tulou can be found mostly in south western Fujian and southern Jiangxi provinces. Tulou buildings have been inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Guangdong The largest communities of Hakkas live mostly in eastern Guangdong, particularly in Xing-Mei (Xingning-Meixian), whereas most of the other Hakkas come from Huizhou. Unlike their kin in Fujian, the Hakkas in Xingning (兴宁, Hin Nin) and Meixian (梅县, Moi Yen) developed non-fortress-like architectural styles, typified most notably by the weilongwu () and sijiaolou (). Jiangxi There are about 500 Hakka walled villages in the southern part of Jiangxi province; some 370 of them are in Longnan County. They are known locally as weiwu () or wei (). See also Cantonese architecture Chinese architecture Sam Tung Uk Museum Walled villages of Hong Kong Notes References (Revised edition) External links Tulou Travel Guide at Chinabackpacker https://web.archive.org/web/20140512092251/http://www.icm.gov.mo/exhibition/tc/fjintroE.asp Chuxi village, Fujian province http://taiwan.8m.net/fujian/west.html Architecture in China Architecture