Each answer names its source. Where sources disagree, the answer says so instead of choosing one.
What are the Fujian Tulou?
Earthen houses in south-west Fujian, several storeys high, built on a circular or square plan around an inward-facing courtyard. UNESCO lists 46 buildings and says each could house up to 800 people, usually a whole clan, and that the houses were built for defence. The property was listed in 2008. UNESCO dates the buildings to the 15th to 20th centuries, while the Fujian Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau gives the 13th to 20th centuries.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Fujian Tulou (1113); Fujian Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau, World Heritage in Fujian, accessed 15 October 2026
Which tulou belong to the World Heritage property?
Six clusters and four single buildings. In Yongding are the Chuxi, Hongkeng and Gaobei clusters and the Yanxiang and Zhenfu buildings. In Nanjing County are the Tianluokeng and Hekeng clusters and the Huaiyuan and Hegui buildings. The Dadi cluster is in Hua'an County. All ten appear on this page.
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, report of 8 July 2008; Fujian Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau, accessed 15 October 2026
What is a diaolou?
A multi-storeyed defensive village house. UNESCO describes three forms in Kaiping: communal towers built by several families as a refuge, residential towers built by rich families, and watch towers. Kaiping has 1,833 diaolou in all, and the World Heritage property covers four heritage areas. It was listed in 2007.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Kaiping Diaolou and Villages (1112); National Cultural Heritage Administration, Kaiping Diaolou and Villages, accessed 15 October 2026
Why do the diaolou of Kaiping mix Chinese and Western design?
UNESCO says they show a fusion of Chinese and Western forms and reflect the role of emigrants from Kaiping in several countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. China News Service reported in 2007 that some towers were built from plans their owners brought home from abroad, while others followed the owner's own ideas.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Kaiping Diaolou and Villages (1112); China News Service, 28 June 2007, accessed 15 October 2026
What are Xidi and Hongcun?
Two traditional villages in southern Anhui that UNESCO listed together in 2000. UNESCO says they preserve the look of rural settlements of a type that mostly disappeared or changed in the last century, and names their street plans, their architecture and decoration, and the way the houses are joined to water systems. Both are national protected sites, listed in 2001.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui, Xidi and Hongcun (1002); National list of protected sites, batch 5, accessed 15 October 2026
Which hutong districts does Beijing protect?
Beijing's plan for the old city names 25 protected historic districts. Seven lie in the inner city outside the old imperial city, among them Shichahai, Nanluoguxiang and the Guozijian area, and four lie in the outer city, among them Dashilar and Liulichang. The other 14 are inside the old imperial city.
Source: Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, plan for the protection of the old city's historic districts, accessed 15 October 2026
How old is the lane pattern of Nanluoguxiang?
Dongcheng District's government says Nanluoguxiang is 786 metres long and 8 metres wide and was laid out with the Yuan capital Dadu. It describes the area as a chessboard-like quarter of traditional houses that keeps the Yuan lane layout.
Source: Dongcheng District People's Government, Jiaodaokou subdistrict profile, accessed 15 October 2026
What is the Shichahai area?
Three lakes in central Beijing, Qianhai, Houhai and Jishuitan. The Beijing heritage plan says that in the Yuan dynasty the area was the end of the Grand Canal and the Bell and Drum Tower district was the busiest commercial area of the capital. In the Ming and Qing it was where princes' mansions and large courtyard houses were concentrated.
Source: Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, plan for the protection of the old city's historic districts, accessed 15 October 2026
What are the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys in Fuzhou?
A quarter on either side of Nanhou Street. The three fang are Yijin, Wenru and Guanglu in the west, and the seven lanes are Yangqiao, Langguan, Ta, Huang, Anmin, Gong and Jibi in the east. The Fujian Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau gives its date as Ming to Republic, and it was listed in the sixth national batch in 2006.
Source: Fujian Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau, Sanfang Qixiang and Zhuzifang buildings, accessed 15 October 2026
What is a sunken courtyard house?
A courtyard dug into the ground: a square pit 5 to 6 metres deep with cave rooms cut into its four walls, sometimes called an underground courtyard house. Miaoshang Village in Shanzhou District, Sanmenxia, keeps a group of them that became a national protected site in 2013. The building craft was added to the third national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2011.
Source: China News Service, 24 May 2016; National list of protected sites, batch 7, accessed 15 October 2026
Is the Mongolian yurt a protected tradition?
Yes. The craft of building the Mongolian yurt is on the second national list of intangible cultural heritage, which the State Council announced in 2008, in the category of traditional techniques. Yurts are a living tradition in Inner Mongolia rather than fixed sites, so this page lists no yurt camps.
Source: China Intangible Cultural Heritage website, Mongolian yurt building techniques, accessed 15 October 2026
What are the large courtyard compounds of Shanxi?
Qiao Family Compound in Qi County has six large courtyards, 20 inner courtyards and 313 rooms. It was begun in the Qianlong period and finished in the early Republic. Wang Family Compound in Lingshi County was built between 1664 and 1811 and has 1,118 rooms. Both are national protected sites.
Source: Jinzhong Museum, Qiao Family Compound page; Jinzhong municipal government, Wang Family Compound page, accessed 15 October 2026
How are the old villages of Wuyuan usually linked?
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism's spring route runs from Yuelianwan to Li Keng, Wangkou, Jiangwan, Xiaoqi, Jiangling and Huangling. Li Keng, Wangkou, Jiangwan, Xiaoqi and Huangling each appear on this page.
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, rural tourism route for Wuyuan, 24 April 2023, accessed 15 October 2026
What is the Old Town of Lijiang?
A World Heritage property listed in 1997 with four components: Dayan Old Town, Shuhe Town, Baisha Village and Black Dragon Pool. UNESCO says the town fits the uneven ground, blends building elements from several cultures, and has an old water-supply system that still works.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Old Town of Lijiang (811), accessed 15 October 2026
What is Pingyao known for?
UNESCO calls it a well-preserved traditional Han Chinese city founded in the 14th century, whose urban fabric shows five centuries of changing architecture and planning. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was the main banking centre of China. UNESCO listed it in 1997.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ancient City of Ping Yao (812), accessed 15 October 2026
