STORIES

KINGDOM OF THE HAKKA - THE GRAND EARTH BUILDINGS OF CHINA

Nestled in the foothills of Fujian province, extraordinary castles of China's Hakka people rise from the earth. Originating from the central plains of Henan and Shanxi, the Hakka fled southward 1800 years ago to escape war and famine, marking their journey's end by erecting colossal earth houses that accommodated entire clans of up to 600 individuals. The past century has seen these people embark upon other journeys in search of better fortunes, which has left only the very old and the youngest to pace the cobblestones of the inner courtyards and ageing floorboards above. Bereft of traditional clan life, some of these monuments to the their industriousness and creativity now seem like forlorn, neglected shells, embellished by the remnants of once bustling activity. Where once generations bumped and jostled upon staircases and thronged within ancestral halls, only silent shadows now remain.

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