Tujia stilted houses

Tujia stilted houses

Stilted houses are a traditional architectural form of the ethnic groups in western Hunan, also known as "hanging buildings." These rural-style "balcony buildings" feature cantilevered structures and upturned roofs, known as "flying eaves," which provide ventilation, sunlight, dryness, and freshness. They can be aligned in a straight line with the main house or at a 90-degree right angle. The exterior of stilted houses often includes corridors; those on two sides are called "corner towers," and those on three sides are called "horse-walking towers." The railings are often latticed, and the hanging pillars are called "hanging melons," which may be hexagonal, octagonal, or carved into spherical or golden melon shapes. The pillars and beams are also carved with dragons, phoenixes, magpies, flowers, and other designs. In folk settings, the upper floors of stilted houses are commonly used as living quarters, bedrooms, or spaces for weaving brocade and embroidery, while the ground floor serves as storage for grain or firewood. Some even have their ground floors situated above streams, with the sound of gurgling springs adding a unique charm. The stilted houses in mountain villages are nestled among green trees and bamboo, embodying the beauty of natural scenery.

The stilted houses in Wangjiaping Town, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie, are long renowned. Some riverside residences in towns across western Hunan also feature stilted houses, such as Jishou’s Jionghe Street, the banks of the Tuojiang River in Fenghuang, the ancient town of Wangcun, the border town of Chadong, and Xichehe in Longshan. These have always attracted great interest from both domestic and international tourists.

Wangjiaping Town: Basic Information

　 Wangjiaping Town is located in the southeastern part of Yongding District, Zhangjiajie City. It borders Niuchehe Township of Taoyuan County to the east, Qijiaping Town of Yuanling County to the south, Yuanguping Town of the same district to the west, and Dongxi Township of Cili County, Zhangjiajie City, to the north. It is 64 kilometers from the city center and is a typical remote mountainous township. The town administers 17 administrative villages and 2 neighborhood committees, comprising a total of 185 village (neighborhood) resident groups, with 4,272 households and a total population of 15,567. The area covers 167.2 square kilometers, with a total cultivated land area of 40,617 mu, including 23,886 mu of arable land and 1... More detailed information about Wangjiaping Town++