Chengqi Building

Chengqi Building

Chengqi Building is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Located in the northwest of Gaobei Village, Gaotou Township. According to the clan genealogy, the building was first constructed during the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1628–1644), followed by the subsequent construction of the second, third, and fourth rings, and was completed in the 48th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1709). It is a circular earthen building, facing south and covering an area of 5,376.17 square meters. During the ramming of the outer ring’s earthen wall, favorable weather prevented the wall from being eroded by rain, hence it is also known as the “Heaven-Helped Building.”

The entire building consists of four concentric rings of circular architecture, featuring double-sloped tiled roofs, a mixed wooden frame structure of through-tenon and post-and-lintel styles, and inner corridor connectivity (see Figures 39, 40, 41 in 7.a-1 and Photos 36, 37 in 7.a-2).

The outer ring is the main structure, built with earth and wood, four stories high, with a diameter of 73 meters. The first-floor walls are 1.5 meters thick, tapering to 0.9 meters on the fourth floor. No windows are found on the first and second floors; the first floor houses kitchens, the second grain storage, and the third and fourth floors bedrooms. Each floor has 72 rooms, including entrance halls and stairwells. Except for the outer walls and those of the entrance halls and stairwells, which are rammed earth, partition walls for kitchens and bedrooms are made of adobe bricks. The inner corridor on the first floor is 1.65 meters wide. On the upper floors, cantilever beams extend about one meter toward the center, forming eaves slightly lower than the railings. Under the eaves, fir wood boards divide spaces into small storage rooms according to room numbers; the eaves are covered with blue tiles, providing space for drying crops. There are two staircases each on the east and west sides. The front and south sides feature a large gate with a stone lintel. Above the front gate, besides the building’s name, couplets are inscribed on both sides: “Uphold the virtues of diligence and thrift from our ancestors; inspire descendants to pursue both scholarship and farming.” The outer ring also has smaller side doors on the east and west, each narrower than the main gate. The second ring is two stories high with a brick-and-wood structure, 40 rooms per floor. Aside from one room on the front and each of the east and west sides serving as passageways, the other rooms form small courtyards with small front yards and blue-brick partition walls. The hall of each courtyard serves as a living room or dining room on the ground floor of the second ring, and bedrooms upstairs; each courtyard has its own door connecting to the inner corridor at the rear of the third ring. Behind the courtyards are the kitchens on the first floor of the outer ring, opposite which are bathrooms, toilets, and utility rooms built with blue bricks, about 1.8 meters high. These facilities are separated from the outer ring by a small courtyard paved with cobblestones, with access via pathways laid with large, square bluestones. The third ring is a single-story, brick-and-wood structure with 32 rooms. In ancient times, the building’s owners valued education but did not allow women to study in schools outside with men, so they established a private school here, also serving as a study room for girls.

The fourth ring is the ancestral hall, a single-story structure slightly lower than the third, giving the entire building a tiered, descending appearance from the outside in, creating a staggered and harmonious layout. It covers an area of 33.83 square meters. The rear hall and the arcaded corridors on both sides of the front form a single-story circular room with a central courtyard. The ancestral hall features a hip-and-gable roof, intricately carved beams and painted rafters, facing the main gate of the building, with painted decorations and exquisite brick carvings on both sides of the facade; small doors are set on the east and west sides of the hall, connecting to the east-west corridor of the entire building and the two side gates on the east and west of the outer ring. Hanging from the upper rear and under the front eaves of the hall are plaques gifted to the building by notable figures from the Qing Dynasty to the 1980s; on the two pairs of stone pillars on both sides are inscribed couplets warning future generations: “Of one lineage, with few distinctions of closeness or distance, why divide us too strictly? Living together in one building, seeing each other daily, we must uphold human relations and family ethics.” “The three cosmic realms of heaven, earth, and humanity hold infinite mysteries; take joy in helping others and create everlasting blessings.” These elements reflect the founding generations’ philosophies of family and life, as well as their former glory (see Photos 37 and 38 in 7.a-2). During major festivals, a giant folding screen is displayed in the ancestral hall — the birthday screen for the 12th-generation ancestor Jiang Xinxuan’s 71st birthday, composed of 12 panels, 2.72 meters high, with the middle eight panels each 0.46 meters wide and the two side panels 0.47 meters wide, exquisitely carved and gilded, with vivid depictions of historical figures, most notably the widely told “Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.” The lower half of the front of the screen features the “Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars,” derived from ancient tales of filial piety, rendered in fine brushwork, lifelike imagery, illustrations paired with text, and profound moral messages, embodying the Hakka people’s traditional virtues of ancestor reverence and filial piety. The upper half of the front depicts the Tang Dynasty figure Guo Ziyi paying respects at a birthday celebration, while the back features birthday congratulatory verses from the six ministries of the Qing imperial court and relatives of the building’s owners, including praise and words of caution for descendants. Additionally, the screen is carved with many rare birds and flowers. For the building’s owners, this screen is displayed repeatedly during major celebrations, not only to share this artistic treasure with the clan but also to re-educate all members on traditional virtues. The rings of the building are separated by courtyards paved with cobblestones and connected by stone corridors or paths. Along the central axis and on the east and west sides of the second and third rings, there are four rooms each serving as breaks in the structure; the main passageway allows the three outer ring gates direct access to the ancestral hall, with multiple other routes, though only about one meter wide, that require walking along the corridor under the eaves and passing through the main passage to reach each ring or gate. Hence, many describe the building as a maze — easy to enter, hard to exit. Between the second and third rings, there is a well in the courtyard on the east and southwest sides, commonly called the Yin-Yang Wells, representing yin and yang respectively, differing in size, depth, water temperature, and water quality.

The entire building follows the Eight Trigrams of the Book of Changes in its layout, with the outer ring, second ring, and third ring each divided into eight trigrams. The boundaries between the trigrams of the outer ring are the most distinct, with the inner corridors on the first floor separated by blue-brick walls with arched gates, exquisitely crafted and classic in style.

Outside the building is a stone-paved plaza. Behind the building are two levels of stone retaining walls, five meters high, with the terrace serving as an east-west village road. The schoolhouse is located northeast of the building, about 20 meters from the outer ring, two stories high, rectangular, built with earth and wood, covering approximately 300 square meters.

The building has produced many talented individuals. Since its completion, over 40 people have passed imperial examinations as jinshi, juren, or gongsheng, and more than 80 have become doctors, university graduates, scientists, professors, or writers, including one family that produced 10 doctors.

This is the largest and most ringed Hakka circular earthen building, housing over 800 people at its peak and still home to more than 300 today.

In 1981, the building was included in the Dictionary of Scenic Spots in China. In April 1986, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the People’s Republic of China issued a set of stamps featuring Chinese residential architecture, among which the one-yuan stamp “Fujian Residence” depicts this building.

Address: Gaobei Village, Gaotou Township, Yongding County, Longyan City

Type: Folk Village / Historic Architecture

Recommended Visiting Time: About 2 hours

Phone: 0597-5573295

Opening Hours:

7:00-19:00

Transportation

Yongding – Gaobei Village: Take the “Jinfeng Line” bus from Yongding County Bus Station to Gaotou (Tulou), routes at 7:25, 8:20, 10:30, 11:40, 13:00, 14:20, 15:15, 16:30, passing through Lishi, Qiling, Daxi, and Hukeng.

Ticket

The ticket for the Gaobei Village Tulou Cluster is 50 RMB per person, including representative buildings such as Chengqi Building, Shize Building, and Wuyun Building.

Gaobei Village: Located within the town area of Gaotou Township and also the site of the township government, Gaobei Village borders Guzhu Township and Meilong Town of Nanjing County, covering an area of 350 hectares. It currently has 8 natural villages, 27 villager groups, 975 households, 3,136 residents, and 1,607 mu of arable land. It has one complete elementary school, Gaobei Central Primary School. The Gaobei Tulou Cluster located in Gaobei Village is part of the “Three Clusters and Two Buildings” of the Fujian Tulou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — Yongding Hakka Tulou. Its Chengqi Building is the renowned “King of Fujian Tulou.” Gaobei Village is a mountainous agricultural community, primarily focused on crop farming, with a strong fruit and tea industry, mainly cultivating... (Gaobei Village detailed information++)

Gaobei Tulou Cluster (Tulou King Scenic Area)

Shize Building

Qiaofu Building

Wuyun Building