Friday 15 January 2016

Enclosed houses: the oldest China castles

The round enclosed houses are one of the oldest castles in China, with defense function. Their
building style and techniques are very unique: in the base there isn’t any brick or stone, the whole base is composed of the everlasting pine woods, sand, soil and limestone, all walls are connect with each other. Over 100 years went by, the walls haven’t sunk, and nearly no cracks.


Besides, there are many strange phenomena. Firstly, in the inner side of the gate, there are 7 stone slabs on the floor, when stomping on it, drumming sounds can be heard;   Secondly, there are some cracks on the stone slabs and walls, but the house is still very safe;   Thirdly, there is one old well in the back of the house, never dried up, and the well water won’t go bad even if being placed in a bowl for long time. The local villagers who often drink the well water rarely suffer from malignant disease and have longevity, now the oldest man in this China castle is 103 years old.


Now one of the China castles was built in 1886 in China’s Hezhou City, with 18 courtyards; its sewers which have never been renovated from 1886, but have been well drained.


The pictures are from here.