When local officials registered their household registration for these immigrants, they established themselves as "Hakka" and called them "customers" and "Hakka", which is the origin of Hakka appellation. In order to prevent foreign enemies and wild animals from invading, most Hakkas live in groups, forming the Dragon House, Zoumalou, Wufeng House, Shiweilou, Sijiaolou, etc. Among them, the Dragon House is the most surviving and famous, which is a concentrated expression of Hakka architectural culture.
The dragon house began in the Tang and Song Dynasties and prevailed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Hakkas adopted the most advanced combination of beam-lifting and bucket-piercing techniques in the architectural techniques of the Han nationality in the Central Plains, and chose hilly areas or sloping areas to build dragon enclosure houses. The main structure is "one entrance, three halls, two compartments and one enclosure".
Most of them live in remote and remote mountainous areas. In order to prevent the harassment of thieves and the exclusion of local people, camp-style houses have been built in two forms: one is brick structure. 2. Special adobe structure: lime is mixed in the soil, glutinous rice and egg white are used as thickener, bamboo chips and wooden strips are used as bones and muscles, and rammed earth buildings with wall thickness 1 m and height 15 m or more are built.
The common enclosure house covers an area of 8 mu, 10 mu, and the large enclosure house covers an area of more than 30 mu. It often takes five years, ten years or even longer to build a complete enclosure house. A dragon enclosure is a huge fortress of Hakkas. There are many bedrooms, kitchens, large and small halls and living facilities such as wells, pigsty, henhouse, toilet, warehouse, etc. in the house, forming a self-sufficient and enjoyable social small group.
Hakka wai houses in Hezhou, Guangxi were built in the late Qing Dynasty, with a history of more than 200 years. Because it was built by the Jiangjia brothers, it is also called Jiangjia Wai House, also called "Dajiang House". The "Dajiang House" in Hezhou is the largest among the existing Hakka enclosed houses in Guangxi. The enclosed house covers an area of more than 30 mu, divided into two parts, south and north, with a distance of 300 meters, showing the trend of the corner. The south tower is three horizontal and six vertical, with eight halls, 18 patios and 94 wing rooms; The north block is four horizontal and six vertical, with nine halls, 18 patios and 132 wing rooms.
The whole enclosure building is a square symmetrical structure, surrounded by a three-meter high wall separated from the outside world. The buildings, halls, rooms and wells are rationally laid out and integrated. The halls and corridors are connected with each other, and they are circuitous and zigzag, patchwork and connected from top to bottom. The eaves, corridors, screens, beams and columns are carved with dragons and painted with phoenix, which is a typical crystallization of Hakka architecture culture and art and is known as the "Forbidden City" in the south of the Yangtze River.
Its ancient and unique Hakka architecture, finely carved animal patterns, simple and elegant furniture in Ming and Qing Dynasties, farm workshops that have gone through centuries of vicissitudes, passionate Hakka songs and dances, unique Hakka diet and touching Hakka historical legends are an encyclopedia that can never be read, and a symbol of Hakka culture, which comprehensively shows the humanistic history of Hakka people. In the face of this magical and quaint picture scroll, Hezhou Hakka Wai House will leave you with infinite reverie and beautiful memories! The strange and mysterious buildings in the enclosure, the simple and hospitable Hakkas and the picturesque rural scenery are all tourist attractions in Hezhou.