In Hekeng, a place with several hundred residents, I ticked off 13 tulou. (Tu lou means "earthen structure" in Mandarin, a very modest definition, like describing a coliseum as a stone circle.) The buildings look medieval, with high mud-brown walls, tiny windows in the top stories, and usually just a single iron-plated wooden door allowing entrance. Soon I wasn't satisfied with merely standing outside and gawking at tulou, which come in various shapes but are mostly square or circular. I had to go inside each one I counted. The front doors were usually open. So I entered and kept entering. And this is what I found.