On a hillside in Nanjing County, five round earthen fortresses sit around one square building like a table setting. Locals have called the arrangement “four dishes and one soup” (四菜一汤) for as long as anyone remembers. From the observation deck at dusk — when cooking smoke rises through the central courtyards and the mud walls turn amber — it is one of the most photographed rural scenes in China.
These are the Fujian Tulou (福建土楼), and they are the single biggest hole in most foreign visitors' China itineraries. Almost everyone flies into Xiamen, looks at the sea, and flies out again — missing a UNESCO World Heritage site with 46 monumental buildings, a 700-year building tradition, and some of the best-value homestay nights in the country.
This guide is written for independent foreign travellers: how the tulou differ from each other, exactly what a ticket costs in 2026, how to reach them from Xiamen by high-speed rail or bus, where to actually sleep inside a 300-year-old earth building, and how to link the whole trip to China's visa-free entry rules.
China's inbound numbers keep climbing. The National Immigration Administration reported 15.46 million inbound and outbound border crossings during the National Day holiday week (October 1–7, 2026), a daily average of 2.21 million and up 6.7% year on year. Visa simplification is doing the heavy lifting: unilateral visa-free entry now covers citizens of roughly 50 countries for 30-day stays (extended through December 31, 2026), on top of mutual exemption agreements with dozens more.
Fujian — the province facing Taiwan across the strait — has quietly become one of China's most rewarding second trips: the UNESCO tulou, the World Heritage port city of Quanzhou, the Wuyishan tea mountains, and Xiamen, an island city with direct flights from Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.
The word is 土楼 (tǔlóu) — literally “earth building”. They are rammed-earth structures, several storeys high, built on either a circular or square plan around a single open courtyard. UNESCO inscribed 46 of them in 2008 under criteria (iii), (iv) and (v), describing them as exceptional testimony to a communal, defensive building tradition and “an outstanding example of human settlement”.
The essentials, straight from the World Heritage listing:
Most were built by the Hakka (客家, Kèjiā — literally “guest families”), a Han subgroup who migrated south in waves from the Yellow River heartland and built fortress-homes for protection in unfamiliar, sometimes hostile hill country. That defensive logic is why tulou look like castles and function like apartment blocks.
The 46 listed buildings fall into two administrative heartlands, and this is the decision that shapes your trip. Roughly half of the 46 buildings are in Yongding; the rest are in Nanjing County. They are in different prefecture-level cities, roughly 60–100 km apart, and are usually visited as separate day trips or a two-day loop.
| Yongding (永定) | Nanjing County (南靖) | |
|---|---|---|
| Prefecture | Longyan City (龙岩) | Zhangzhou City (漳州) |
| Star buildings | Chengqi Lou — “Tulou King”; Zhencheng Lou — “Tulou Prince” | Tianluokeng “four dishes and one soup”; Yuchang Lou, the leaning tulou |
| Character | Larger clusters, round and square forms, more performance and night-tour add-ons | More photogenic views, ancient village streets, river-side setting |
| Signature clusters | Hongkeng, Gaobei, Chuxi, Nanxi | Tianluokeng, Yunshuiyao, Hekeng, Taxia village |
| Gateway city | Longyan (high-speed rail from Xiamen ~1 hour) | Nanjing county seat (bus/car from Xiamen) |
| Best for | First-timers, biggest buildings, staying inside a tulou | Landscape photography, old streets, slower pace |
Hongkeng Village (洪坑) in Hukeng Town is the classic entry point and home to Zhencheng Lou, nicknamed the “Tulou Prince” — an ornate inner-ring design with a Western-influenced facade. Gaobei Village holds Chengqi Lou, the “Tulou King”: four concentric rings, more than 400 rooms, and the building that inspired the 2016 animated film Big Fish & Begonia. Chuxi (初溪) is the quietest and most beautiful — 36 tulou terraced into a hillside, with almost no commercial development. Nanxi sits along a stream and works well as a cycling stop.
Tianluokeng (田螺坑) is the image everyone recognises: four round tulou and one oval surrounding a square one, viewed from a roadside observation deck. The same ticket covers Yuchang Lou (裕昌楼) — the “leaning building”, whose 300-year-old timber frame tilts so dramatically that a visitor would swear it is falling — and Taxia Village (塔下村), a stone-lane settlement with a stream running down its middle. The Yunshuiyao (云水谣) ticket covers a flagstone ancient trail, giant banyan trees, and the square Hegui Lou and Huaiyuan Lou.
Yongding (Hongkeng + Gaobei) if you want the largest buildings, the most hand-crafted detail, and the chance to stay overnight inside a tulou. Nanjing County (Tianluokeng + Yunshuiyao) if you are chasing photographs and prefer village streets to monumental architecture. With two days, do both — the road between them is scenic and takes about 1.5–2 hours by car.
Tulou ticketing is per cluster, not per building, and combined tickets are where the value is. Published 2025–2026 prices are below — treat them as a planning baseline, since scenic areas adjust fares and packages seasonally.
| Scenic area | Ticket (per person) | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Yongding — Hongkeng cluster | about ¥90 | Zhencheng Lou and the Hongkeng tulou village |
| Yongding — Gaobei cluster | about ¥50 | Chengqi Lou, “Tulou King” |
| Yongding — Hongkeng + Gaobei combo | about ¥98 (valid 3 days) | Both flagship clusters — the best-value Yongding ticket |
| Yongding — Chuxi cluster | about ¥70 | The hillside village cluster |
| Nanjing — Line A: Tianluokeng | about ¥90 | Tianluokeng, Yuchang Lou (leaning tulou), Taxia Village |
| Nanjing — Line B: Yunshuiyao | about ¥90 | Yunshuiyao ancient trail, Hegui Lou, Huaiyuan Lou |
| Nanjing — A + B combo | about ¥130 (valid 48 hours) | Everything in Nanjing County — ideal for a two-day stay |
Roughly ¥1 ≈ US$0.14 at 2026 rates, so a full day of tulou sightseeing costs about US$13–19 in tickets. Students, seniors and children typically pay half price on presentation of ID; foreign passports are accepted at all of the main ticket offices, though bring the physical passport rather than a photo of it.
Typical opening hours, by season:
| Cluster | June–September | October–May |
|---|---|---|
| Hongkeng | 06:30–21:00 | 06:30–20:30 |
| Gaobei | 06:30–20:30 | 06:30–20:00 |
| Nanxi | 06:30–20:00 | 06:30–20:00 |
| Chuxi | 08:30–19:30 | 08:30–19:00 |
| Tianluokeng (incl. observation deck) | 08:00–17:30 | 08:00–17:30 |
Shuttle buses inside the larger scenic areas cost extra (usually ¥10–20 each way) and are worth it in Chuxi and Tianluokeng, where the distances between buildings are real.
Xiamen is the gateway for almost every foreign visitor, and the good news is that the high-speed rail network has made the journey genuinely easy. The Xiamen North to Longyan corridor runs roughly 49 trains a day, with a journey time of about 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes over approximately 169 km.
| From | To | Mode | Time | Approx. cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xiamen North Station | Longyan Station | High-speed rail | ~1 hour | ¥60–90 |
| Longyan Station | Hukeng (Hongkeng tulou) | Local bus / taxi | ~1.5 hours | ¥20–40 bus |
| Xiamen (city) | Hukeng village | Direct tourist coach | ~3.5 hours | ¥60–75 |
| Xiamen | Yongding tulou | Private car / Didi | 2.5–3 hours (160–200 km) | ¥500–700 per car |
| Xiamen | Nanjing County tulou | Coach or private car | 2–2.5 hours | ¥45–70 coach |
| Fuzhou | Longyan / Nanjing County | High-speed rail + road | 2.5–3.5 hours | ¥120–180 |
Note that the Yunshuiyao and Tianluokeng areas are reached from Nanjing county town — not the city of Nanjing, 900 km away in Jiangsu. Always search Nanjing Tulou, Yongding Tulou or Longyan, never simply “Nanjing”.
Fujian is unusually well served by China's visa-free arrangements, which is why the tulou now work as an add-on to a beach stop in Xiamen rather than a separate trip home.
240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit: citizens of 50-plus countries transiting China to a third country can stay up to 10 days without a visa, and Fujian's eligible entry and exit ports include Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, Xiamen's passenger seaport, Fuzhou Changle, Quanzhou Jinjiang and Wuyishan airports. That is enough time to fly into Xiamen, spend three days at the tulou, return via Quanzhou, and fly out to a third destination. The scheme operates across 24 provinces with 65 ports, and the permitted area allows travel across provincial borders within it.
Unilateral visa-free entry: if your passport is on the 30-day visa-free list (roughly 50 countries, currently valid through December 31, 2026), you simply land — no transit itinerary to prove. Check your nationality against the current list before booking.
Since November 20, 2025, the arrival card can also be filed online in advance through the National Immigration Administration's website, the government service platform, the “NIA 12367” app, or WeChat and Alipay mini-programs. Doing this at home saves a queue on arrival.
Full details and country lists are in our visa-free entry guide and the 240-hour transit guide.
The tulou sit in subtropical hill country at roughly 400–800 m elevation, which takes the edge off the Fujian summer heat but does not eliminate it. Practical seasonality:
| Season | Weather | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| October–December | Dry, 15–25 °C, clear light | Best. Persimmons dry on racks in the villages, and the mud walls photograph beautifully in low sun |
| March–May | Mild, misty mornings, occasional rain | Excellent — tea harvest nearby, fewer visitors |
| June–September | Hot and humid, 30–35 °C; typhoon season | Possible but sticky; clusters open later (until 21:00) and evening visits are pleasant |
| January–February | Cool, 8–18 °C, Spring Festival crowds | Quiet and photogenic, but book homestays early and expect festival closures |
Autumn is the standout. From late October into November, villages in Nanjing County and Yongding hang trays of peeled persimmons to dry under the eaves — the orange discs against grey walls are the shot that defines the season. It is also pomelo harvest in Fujian (Pinghe honey pomelo lands from September through November) and the start of the best tea-processing window in neighbouring Anxi.
You can sleep inside a UNESCO World Heritage building for the price of a mid-range city hotel — and 2026 has been a good year for it, with Fujian actively promoting boutique homestays in restored earthen buildings.
What to expect, honestly:
Hakka cooking is hearty, salt-forward, and built for communal eating — exactly what you want after climbing around fortresses. Order family-style and share.
| Dish | Chinese | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Salt-baked chicken | 盐焗鸡 — yánjújī | Whole chicken baked in a salt crust; the signature Hakka dish |
| Stuffed tofu | 酿豆腐 — niàng dòufu | Pork-and-fish paste stuffed into tofu blocks, braised |
| Pork belly with preserved greens | 梅菜扣肉 — méicài kòuròu | Slow-braised pork over fermented mustard greens |
| Taro dumplings | 芋子包 — yùzibāo | Chewy taro-skin parcels with pork and bamboo shoot filling |
| Pounded tea | 擂茶 — léichá | Ground tea, rice and nuts whisked with hot water — a savoury ceremony drink |
| Hakka rice wine | 客家黄酒 — Kèjiā huángjiǔ | Sweet amber rice wine, often served warm with ginger |
| Dried persimmon | 柿饼 — shìbǐng | Autumn specialty, sold at farm gates from late October |
Village restaurants are simple and cheap: expect ¥40–80 per person for a shared meal. Vegetarian travellers should ask for sù de (素的) and specify no meat stock or lard, since Hakka cooking uses both liberally. Our regional cuisines guide covers the wider Fujian–Minnan flavour map, including the coastal seafood traditions of Chaoshan.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning & why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 土楼 | tǔlóu | The earthen building itself — the word to say to any driver or hotel |
| 客家 | Kèjiā | Hakka, the people who built most of them |
| 承启楼 | Chéngqǐ Lóu | The “Tulou King” in Gaobei, Yongding |
| 振成楼 | Zhènchéng Lóu | The “Tulou Prince” in Hongkeng |
| 田螺坑 | Tiánluókēng | The “four dishes and one soup” cluster |
| 裕昌楼 | Yùchāng Lóu | The leaning tulou — literally “the crooked building” (歪楼) |
| 云水谣 | Yúnshuǐyáo | The ancient village and trail in Nanjing County |
| 初溪 | Chūxī | The quietest hillside cluster in Yongding |
| 门票 | ménpiào | Ticket — useful when asking where to buy one |
| 观景台 | guānjǐngtái | Viewing platform — the Tianluokeng deck in particular |
| Length | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | Xiamen → Longyan by rail (~1 h) → Hongkeng + Gaobei → Xiamen by evening | Buy the ¥98 combo ticket; start early, stops are spread out |
| 2 days | Day 1: Hongkeng, Gaobei, overnight in Hukeng. Day 2: Chuxi → drive to Nanjing County → Tianluokeng at sunset | Hire a driver for day 2; the inter-county road is slow but scenic |
| 3 days | Day 1: Xiamen → Nanjing County (Yunshuiyao, Hegui Lou). Day 2: Tianluokeng, Yuchang Lou, Taxia, drive to Yongding. Day 3: Hongkeng, Gaobei, Chuxi → Longyan → Xiamen or Quanzhou | The complete tulou loop; add a night in Quanzhou if you have visa-free transit days to spare |
If your route already includes Xiamen or Fujian, yes — it is a 1-hour train ride from the coast to Longyan. If your first trip is the classic Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai loop, save the tulou for a second visit.
Tickets for a full day run ¥90–130 per person plus shuttles; add ¥60–250 for transport and ¥150–350 for a night in an original tulou guesthouse. A two-day trip from Xiamen lands between US$90 and US$220 per person, excluding food.
Yes — Xiamen Gaoqi Airport and Xiamen's passenger seaport are both eligible transit ports, as are Fuzhou Changle, Quanzhou Jinjiang and Wuyishan. You need an onward ticket to a third country and must stay within the permitted area. See our 240-hour transit guide for the full country and port lists.
Reasonably. Main clusters have paved paths and shuttle buses, and Chengqi Lou is easy to walk into from the car park. Chuxi and Taxia involve stairs and slopes. Families should plan shorter driving days; our family travel guide has pacing advice for mixed-age groups.
Many do — especially in Nanjing County, where the World Heritage villages remain working communities. That is exactly what makes a visit worthwhile, and exactly why you should treat courtyards as homes rather than exhibits.
Yes. Rail ticketing is passport-based and self-service, and hosts increasingly use translation apps. English is limited outside Xiamen, so download offline translation first — see our translation apps guide.
Related reading: the Xiamen complete guide for the gateway city, Quanzhou's World Heritage old town, the Wuyishan tea mountains, the water towns and classical gardens guide, the China autumn travel guide, the high-speed rail guide, and the Jingdezhen porcelain capital guide for another craft-heritage stop.
Last updated: October 16, 2026. Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre listing 1113 “Fujian Tulou” (inscription 2008; criteria iii, iv, v; 46 buildings; 152.65 ha property / 934.59 ha buffer); Fujian Provincial People's Government, Culture & Travel — Fujian Tulou (Yongding) and (Nanjing) Scenic Area profiles; National Immigration Administration statement on National Day holiday 2026 border crossings (published October 8, 2026); National Immigration Administration 240-hour visa-free transit port and country lists; China Daily visa-policy summary (October 2026) on unilateral visa-free entry for around 50 countries through December 31, 2026; scenic-area ticket and opening-hour information published by the Yongding and Nanjing County scenic areas and travel operators (2025–2026). Ticket prices and hours are as published and change seasonally — confirm locally before travel.