Traditional Chinese house refers to a variety of residential architectures created during the imperial era of China. In different regions, different kinds of civilian houses were made to better adapt to the local environment. It’s hard to give a full introduction to all the folk houses in China; here are the ten most characteristic traditional Chinese houses still in use.

1.Mongolian Yurt

Mongolian yurt is a kind of house inhabited by Mongolian nomadic people in old times. It's made of special wood poles and covered with two or three layers of wool felts, and bonded together with ropes made of horse mane or camel. On the top of the yurt is the square-shaped wool felt that could provide ventilation and lightning. The yurt's biggest advantage is that such a house is easy to build, disassemble, and move, making it perfect for nomadic people who migrate a lot along the grassland. The yurt is spacious, comfortable, and very practical. Nowadays, most Mongolian people abandoned such housing styles; instead, they live in apartments and high buildings, just like other people. If you want to experience the yurt, you can book a hotel that resembles such a form or contact us.

2.Siheyuan

Siheyuan is a traditional courtyard-style architecture in China. It is usually composed of a big courtyard in the center with houses built on three sides. There are three kinds of Siheyuan buildings. The first kind is a one-yard house, which means there is only one yard. The second kind is a two-yard house, while the last type is a three-yard house. Generally speaking, the more yard a house has, the wealthier the owner is and the higher the proprietor’s social position is. In a big house with three yards, the first yard is the gatehouse where the servants and doormen live; the second yard is the hall where guests are received, while the last yard is the private rooms for the hosts to live. Siheyuan has a history of over 3000 years, and the most typical Siheyuan is the Beijing Siheyuan.

Visit Siheyuan at a private Beijing Cooking Class

3.Jinzhong Compound

Jinzhong Compound, also known as Shanxi Compound, is a model of Chinese folk architecture. It represented the highest level of the civil building in north China. About 1,300 existing compounds from Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, and the most famous compounds were the rich people's private compounds in the middle Shanxi areas. Such compounds are mostly grand, ingenious and exquisite with delicate carvings like wood carvings, brick carvings, stone carvings, masterpieces of calligraphy, painting, poems, etc.

Visit the unique Jinzhong Compound by admiring the ancient town Pingyao

4.Cave Dwelling

Cave Dwelling is an ancient residential form on Loess Plateau in northwest China. It has a history of over 4000 years and a small fraction of people are still living in such a house. On Loess Plateau, the loess layer is very thick; sometimes, it can be tens of kilos in depth. Ancient people took advantage of the landform and dig caves to live. Generally, the cave is fixed with stones or bricks and covered with a thick layer of loess.

See the original cave house at Day Trip to Hanyangling Museum Cave Dwelling and Terracotta Army

8-day Shaanxi Adventure Tour

5.Hui-style Architecture

As one of the most important traditional Chinese architectures, the Hui-style architecture originated from the Dongyang building. It uses bricks, stones, and timbers as the materials and features a big beam frame and various decorations like brick, wooden, and stone carvings. Most of the Hui-style buildings are clustered together, and all are facing the north. Therefore, the whole building is well lighted. Meanwhile, the wooden beams are often used as a load-bearing frame, and the bricks and stones are used to retain the walls. The entire building is usually centered on the hall. The Hui-style house, ancestor hall, and memorial archway are the three most representative Hui-style architectures.

Pay a visit to Hongcun and Xidi Villages in Anhui for the picturesque architecture

6.Zhejiang Folk Architecture

Zhejiang Folk Architectures is an essential school of traditional Chinese architecture. Such houses are built to adapt to the unique hydrological geography in Zhejiang areas, save land for cultivation, and create a better living environment. The Zhejiang folk buildings often have courtyards, open halls, and corridors so that the inside and outside spaces are both connected and separated.

7.Diaolou in Tibet

Diaolou House is a kind of ordinary building built on the mountain top or nearby a river. The walls are often made of rubble, and to keep the intruders outside, Diaolou is often tall and very solid like a pillbox. It has three floors; the first floor is to store tools and keep livestock. The second and third floors are living rooms. As Tibetans are mostly Tibetan Buddhists, the sutra hall is a must in Diaolou house, and it’s often set up on the roof.

8.Diaojiaolou

Diaojiaolou House in Hunan province is a building on stilts, which means that such a building is usually big, and only the upper part is used for living. Such houses are mainly distributed in south China, especially along with the Yangtze River areas where there is a lot of water and rain, and the air and the earth are incredibly humid. This house is particularly great in moisture protection and ventilation. The Diaojiaolou in Hunan is built on the mountain, and the rich local Chinese fir is the primary material to make the frame. The ground floor is often open in the air and used as a barn for livestock or store tools. While people occupy the upper floor. Besides the living room and bedroom, there is often an overhanging corridor on the second floor where people can rest. The overhanging corridor column is not made to reach the ground, and the horizontal beams are stretching out from the floor slab serve as its support.
Meanwhile, the corridor column can also help to keep the overhanging corridor steady in the air. The advantages of Diaojiaolou architecture are pretty obvious. People living on the upper floor can stay away from wild animals and snakes, and the open lower floor is suitable for ventilation and moisture prevention.

Not sure where to see the amazing house? Join our 7 Days Fenghuang - Zhangjiajie - Avatar Trip.

9.Tulou

Fujian Tulou refers to the unique large-scale building that functions as a house and defense fortress in southwest Fujian. There are about 3,000 Tulou buildings in Fujian nowadays. The most distinctive feature of such architecture lies in its function. It serves not only as a house but as a fortress that can defend against intruders.

There are many types of Tulou structures, Wufenglou, Fanglou, and Yuanlou are the most typical ones. The most common one is the three-layered Round House that made of raw soils. One of the most important characteristics of this house is that the main gate, central hall, and the ancestor hall are all sitting on the central axis, while the buildings on both sides are symmetrically arranged. The gate and exit are often placed at the forefront; the central hall is located in the middle layer where family meetings are held, and guests are received. The ancestral hall is set in the innermost layer where the memorial tablets are placed. Besides the unique structure, the windows, porches, eaves, and decorations of the Tulou are also extraordinarily gorgeous and exquisite.

10.Bamboo House

Bamboo house is an indigenous building in the Dai minority. There are usually two floors, the lower floor is open in the air for the cultivation of cattle and horses, while the upper floor is the main house for people to live. The indoor layout of the upper floor is very simple. There are usually two parts, the living room and the bedroom, respectively. The living room is often set nearby the entrance to the wooden stairs. Beside the living room are the balcony and the corridor where Dai people love to do chores. Inside the living room, there is a big bamboo carpet in the center and a fireplace on one side where Dai people make food. Further inside the living room is the bedroom, where the bamboo carpet is also set as a bed.

All the beams, columns, walls, and accessories of the entire bamboo house are made of bamboos. The house's main pillar is the most sacred one, and Dai people believed that this pillar could prevent disaster and bring luck. Other parts of the house are also personalized. For instance, the thick column in the middle of the house represents men, while the short column on the side represents women. The ridge represents the phoenix tail, while the corner of the roof symbolizes the egret wings.

There are so many kinds of characteristic residential houses in China, each represents a unique custom and culture. By admiring the house local people are living, you can get a better sense of the local people and their culture.