Amazing Houses in China中国“妙妙屋”

Did you ever see these buildings in our country？ They are different in colours and shapes.They are really amazing！

These large buildings are in round（圆形） or square（长方形） shapes.

Fujian Tulou are made of clay（黏土，陶土） and rocks. 这些材料天然又环保，居住在里面很舒服。The second floor is used as（被用作） a granary（谷仓）. The third and fourth floors are used as bedrooms. 土楼的中心是公用场地，有水井和厨房。

【Culture linking文化链接】

福建土楼是在宋、元时期由客家人建造的。公元十世纪，中原战乱纷起，很多人从黄河流域迁徙到我国东南部山地丘陵地带，这些人被称作“客家人”。人口压力使这些客家人和周围的人经常产生冲突，因此他们建造了这种土楼，这样的设计既能防御敌人又适宜居住。

These stilt houses are home to the Tujia people（土家族）. The highest Tujia stilt house is in Hunan.

People put farm tools（农具） and hay（干草） on the first floor. Some Tujia families raise（饲养） Livestocks（家畜）， such as pigs and goats.

The bedrooms are on the second floor. They also put some grain（粮食） on this floor.

On the top floor， Tujia girls embroider（绣花） and study here.

*盘绣，是土家族的特色刺绣哦！

Why do they build these kind of houses？

这与当地的气候有关。大多数土家族人生活在我国南部的湖南和湖北地区。The weather there is humid（潮湿的） and is often hot in summer. 住在高一些的房子里会让人感到凉爽、舒适。除此之外，更高的房子可以保护人们躲避洪水和危险动物（比如蛇或蜘蛛）的伤害。