Bagua Fort

　　Bagua Fort is actually not a single earthen building, but a colloquial name for a five-ring, bagua-shaped residential complex. It is situated in Dongping Village, ShenTu Town, Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou. Dongping is a mountain village at an altitude of over 300 meters. A dirt road winds its way up the mountain, rugged and uneven, with rocks scattered all over — oddly shaped, some as small as a bucket and others as large as a house. This rocky mountain is called Zao Mountain.

　　Bagua Fort was built on a flat piece of land on Zao Mountain during the mid-Qing Dynasty, about 300 years ago. Compared to typical tulou (earthen buildings), it is not enclosed but completely open. Viewed from above, Bagua Fort consists of five concentric rings of single-story houses built around a common center. The center ring is a complete circular building with only 14 uniformly sized rooms. The fourth ring follows a broken bagua layout with 25 rooms, while the third, second, and outer rings have similar arrangements. There is a 3-meter gap between each ring, forming a circular courtyard that also serves as a passage for people to come and go. Unlike most tulou, Bagua Fort does not have an ancestral hall — a very rare feature. Over time, some of the walls in Bagua Fort have deteriorated. When repaired, people no longer used rammed earth but instead employed stones and bricks. It is said that when the Bagua Fort was originally built, the family clan was not large and finances were limited, so only one story was constructed.