Oyster Shell Houses

Oyster Shell Houses

Oyster Shell Houses are a traditional and distinctive type of architecture in the Quanzhou region of southern Fujian. These are houses constructed using oyster shells (in the Hokkien dialect, "厝" means house, and "蚵" means oysters). They are found in Xunpu Village, Fashi Village, and along the coastal areas of Quanzhou. The locals gather oyster shells and mix them with sea mud to build their homes, resulting in these iconic oyster shell houses. These structures are unique shell-decorated ancient residences along China’s southeast coast. Their ingenious and exquisite construction is an unparalleled architectural style found not only along the southeast coast but also rare even inland, forming a distinctive natural landscape among the ancient residences of southern Fujian’s coastal areas.

Location

Xunpu Village, Fashi Village, and coastal areas of Quanzhou, Fujian Province