Building types
10 typesImperial ArchitecturePalace axis, altars, offices and gates: how court and government built.BTLB096Cliffside ArchitectureThe Hanging Temple of Mount Heng holds its halls on beams half-set into the rock face, with timber props against the cliff.BTLB094Crypt ArchitectureDeep stone-vaulted chambers and drainage beneath imperial tombs, embodying imperial ritual and rule.BTLB095Courtyard CompoundsEnclosed courtyard houses on a strict central axis, main and side rooms set by age and rank, inner and outer kept apart.BTLB100Walls & Gray TilesStepped gable walls rising above Huizhou roofs, serving as windbreak and firebreak and giving Hui-style buildings their look.BTLB099Earthen BuildingCave dwellings, rammed-earth houses and tulou are all homes made of earth; the caves are dug into loess cliffs, warm in winter and cool in summer, and tens of millions still live in such caves.BTLB091Jiangnan GardensShifting views, piled rock and shaped water, and borrowed scenery, making a small landscape within a limited house plot.BTLB098BridgesArch, cable, covered and pontoon bridges: their form and construction.BTLB092Timber BuildingHow the timber frame is built, from hall columns and beams to joints and brackets, with furniture woodwork.BTLB047Pagodas & TowersTimber and brick pagodas, towers and pavilions, led by Yingxian.BTLB093