Dwellings of Tujia Minority—Diaojiaolou
The Tujia people, inhabiting mid dle and southwest China, are known for their distinctive dwellings with a strong sense of minority nationality. The delicate building adopted a folk style and exquisite architectural designs.
Diaojiaol ou is more a pavilion than a house. It’s two-story roof is very special and has a strong sense of Chinese traditional architecture —the first story of the roof is bigger ,which is covered with small black tile. The front and the back of the roof are of slope which is designed for the draining away of the water, adjusting to the humid climate there. The four points of the roof are turned upward in a very elegant and natural radian. Piled on the bigger one, the second story of the roof is smaller and exactly the same shape with the bigger one. There are also two normal -shaped tiny roofs beside the bigger roof. Diaojiaol ou is built upon the mountain with six pillars holding it —two in the front, four in the back und er the whole building. The first story of the pavilion is open, it is usually used for storage and animal raising. When you go upstairs along the stair cases placed at the two sides of the building, you will see the second story. The second story is also open in this picture. It possesses fine carved railing around it. The second story of it plays a role of shelter—people can stay away from the rain or the sun, have a rest after work for a long time, or just
look at the beautiful scenery in the distance. In other cases, the second story is used for living room, restaurant, and bedroom for people. The design separate the animal from the people ,which is very clean and convenient. In order to keep away from water and wild animals, people live in upstairs , which reflects the humid climate and wil d environment in this area.。