how many people live in your house?

Quanzhou is not a place many people have heard off but several hundred years ago (back when China was responsible for more than 40% of World GDP and much of the World's trade along the land/sea silk road) it was famous as one of the biggest ports in the World. There were even 6 Mosques for the Arabic residents/traders. Today there are plenty of temples and 1 mosque left standing; though not much else.

It is now, though 1 of the many ports in China at the forefront of exporting goods to the rest of the World. In fact the area of east and south-east china is full of cities that come to specialise in certain products. 1 city makes something ridiculous like 95% of the world's plastic lighters; another makes shoes; another makes ceramics; another makes stone statues... most of them don't just sell out of China but of course to the huge market inside of China too -and every finished product requires many more people working to create the components too.

After Quanzhou I headed into the mountains to an area now inhabited by the Hakka People, who lost many battles against the Han Chinese a thousand or so years ago and were forced into the mountains. Their language is (as is typical of China) as different to Mandarin Chinese as Italian is to English though their writing is mostly the same. What makes the area attractive to tourists is that the Hakka people built their homes out of mud, straw and so on and in square and circular shapes for protection. Typically the 'Tu Lou" (Earth Buildings) are 3-4 stories with the ground level being for cooking, the next level for storage and the next couple for accommodation. The bottom 2 levels had no windows whatsoever, and there was only 1 entrance into these massive structures (with walls around 2m thick).

Of course many of them are still standing (i saw one almost 900 years old), and what makes the area so interesting is that they are all still inhabited and new buildings are still created in the same style (though with some mod-cons, like taps a long with the well). Visiting the Tu lou (and there are thosuands in the area; most villages are full of them) is a glimpse into a way of life little changed for a thousand years -and still ongoing. The only real changes are that many of the young people migrate to the cities to work, so most of the tu lou are half-empty and motorbikes are the method of transportation of choice.

The people are extremely kind with several families offering me in for tea and feeding me -making it hard to leave politely. Each Tu lou houses several families with the biggest holding 2-300 rooms: around 1,000 inhabitants! Quite a sight -and great if all the families get on well; though i am not sure if i can handle the closeness of these kinds of communities (brought up, as i was, in a house of just 5 people and a couple of pets). Actually the most annoying thing from staying in these tulou was not the lack of toilets inside, the hardness of the beds or the smell from the animals downstairs (though these might be too much if i was staying more than just a night or two!), but the damn cockrells that never shut up and could be heard through the open windows!