In the rural areas, families lived in Hakka houses. Each house bears a family name like the Huang family hakka that we visited today in Nanjing County, Fujian province in China. Each new generation and addition lives in the hakka. They have withstood centuries with very thick walls and a round structure for security and durability. They originally started with a square hakka and realized there was too much fighting over who had the corners. They then built the round hakkas around it. There is only one way in and out of the hakka, small windows, and thick walls. Until the last 20 years there was not much development in the area and no police presence so this type of building was necessary.
This picture was taken above the valley where the hakka houses are. They are built in a valley at 700 meters above sea level. It is protected by the mountains around. The bus could not get down into it so we took steps all the way down and of course all the way back up the other side to meet the bus again. All I can say is everyone moved slowly as almost everyone on the bus ran the half marathon or marathon the day before (this tour was part of the package for the race including hotel and meals) . My quads were screaming.
Inside the hakka a family unit has a section that runs all 3 floors. The bottom floor houses the kitchen and many have stove “units” on the patio. The second floor is for food storage and the top floor has the bedrooms.
The centre is a communal space. Since it is open to the air, many have trees, animals like chickens, wells, etc. The well looks as if it is spring fed.
It was fabulous to see where the fruit comes from and see the care they have for the land and the produce.
Families were working and children playing. They had nesting dolls.
To help make a living some of the villagers sell local produce. Teas, dried persimmon, bamboo shoots, etc.
When we walked in we were invited to tea. The chrysanthemum tea was so much better there than any other I have had. To date it is now my favourite tea. I did buy some from them as well as dried persimmon and ginger chews.
Around the hakkas can be seen other kind of houses. But what is worth seeing is the terraced fields. We saw rice terraces as well as tea terraces. These are used to make green tea or flower tea (chrysanthemum).
This is a picture taken from the bus and is a tea terrace.
We also saw pommelo trees in the picture above. The fruit is so heavy it is hard to believe the trees can hold the fruit up. On a personal note, I love how the local wet Market has change in produce. Now citrus is in season and pomelo is something I buy every week.
The views around the hakka house are amazing. We saw large wind turbines on the ridge.
After the bus picked us up we traveled a little bit down the road and stopped to take a picture. This is the view of the hakka houses we visited from below.
And… Another picture from the top of the mountain.
A close up of the inside from the top of the mountain.
