Hakka Earthen Buildings in Hekeng

　　The Hakka Earthen Buildings in Hekeng are located in Hekeng Natural Village, Dianjiang Village, Shuyang Town, about 12 kilometers west of the Shuyang Town government. There are three clusters of earthen buildings totaling 27 structures, among which the oldest, Chaoshui Building, was built in 1549. The famous "Big Dipper" cluster of earthen buildings is located here.

　　Standing atop Shizhidi Dong Mountain, you can view three clusters of differently shaped earthen buildings totaling 27 from three directions. To the right front, where an open area meets the hillside, there are seven earthen buildings: Dongsheng Building, Xiaochun Building, Yongqing Building, Chun Gui Building, Shengqing Building,

　　Nandong Building, and Yongrong Building — known as the "Big Dipper."

　　Looking to the left front, two small rivers converge at the foot of the mountain, forming the village’s feng shui symbol, the “T-shaped water.” Along both banks of this T-shaped stream are six square earthen buildings and three round ones.

　　Further to the left rear, in Qujiang Natural Village, there are 11 earthen buildings including Qingnan Building and Qingyu Building.

　　Walking through the tall, earthy, and distinctly lived-in Hakka earthen buildings of Hekeng Village brings a sense of tranquil seclusion. Each building is constructed with a cobblestone foundation and thick rammed-earth walls, standing three or four stories high with sheer, knife-edge walls.

　　These buildings are enclosed, with only one main gate on the ground floor. The gate towers feature semicircular stone arches, and the door bolts — all made of sturdy hardwood measuring about six inches square and over three meters long — are driven straight into the walls. They require two people to open or close. The second and third floors have evenly spaced windows along the outer walls, arranged in a well-balanced layout.

　　In the center of each earthen building is a courtyard, surrounded by uniformly divided sections, each about four meters wide and over three meters deep — these are the living quarters. Larger buildings such as Dongsheng Building, Chun Gui Building, and Yuchang Building have 36 rooms per floor, accommodating over 100 people. The rooms in the circular buildings are axe-shaped; when viewed from the courtyard, they resemble a giant wooden barrel, giving one the sensation of looking up from the bottom of a well.