In recent years, the Nanjing County government has made great efforts to build its economic strength by heightening its tourism prospects and optimizing local industries. Five development zones have been established in the area, including one for high-tech and one dedicated to the tulou culture. Tourism is a major player in the local economy. By converting the county seat into a recreational and holidaymaking center featuring native tulou culture, Nanjing hopes to step into the ranks of world-famous tourist destinations within three to five years, with a set annual target of receiving six million tourists.
According to Mr. Chen Zhonghou, Secretary of the CPC Nanjing County Committee, Nanjing has rich tourism resources. The county has more than 15,000 tulou buildings of various sizes and shapes – among them are the tallest, largest, smallest and oldest, as well as the most magnificent and grotesque of their kind in the world. The Nanjing tulou buildings fall into 18 designs; square and round ones are most common, but there are also fan-shaped, U-shaped, pagoda-shaped, and umbrella-shaped ones, to name just a few. The Tianluokeng tulou might be the best known of them. It is an impressive cluster of age-old earthen constructions, comprising four ring-shaped and one quadrate one; they were nicknamed “UFOs from Outer Space,” and “Mushrooms of the Earth.” The site has greatly elevated Nanjing’s status as a “Home of Fujian Tulou.”
The tulou buildings are found amid pristine, picturesque surroundings and deserve broader attention from the world. The county also boasts other sites of human interest and scenic beauty, such as Yunshuiyao Town embowered in ancient banyans and graced by gurgling streams, the mountainous village of Taxia, and the Huboliao National Nature Reserve, a paradise of wild animals, birds and flowers.
