Exploring the round houses

Fujian's Hakka Tulou ('Earth Buildings' 土楼 Tǔlóu /too-loh/) are unique, usually round, fort-like buildings, built with a mixture of clay and sandy soil. These rare buildings were designed by the circumspect Hakka minority as large fortresses and apartment buildings in one, and were inscribed by UNESCO as a cluster of World Cultural Heritage Sites in 2008. In the first trailer for Disney's lively action film Mulan (release date: March 27, 2020), Mulan's home is a Fujian tulou. Because of their large, round shapes in clusters, tulou satellite images produced great speculation during the Cold War. They were even believed by Western countries to be China's nuclear missile silos! m