The Datian Tubao Complex is located in Taoyuan Town, Junxi Town, Jianshe Town and Taihua Town, Datian County, Fujian Province. It is a kind of wonderful vernacular architecture for defense in China. It is obviously different from the Tulou, the Weilongwu in the Guangdong Province and other buildings which the walls bear the weight. The buildings within the group were constructed separately and the wall of the building group is also separated from the inner buildings. In this way, the buildings were constructed on the hills of the mountain basin, on the sides of the hills, in the paddy fields, and at key crossings. The uniqueness of its building structure and defensive function is remarkable among defensive buildings in Fujian Province and even in China.

The uniqueness of Datian Tubao lie in the following parts. All buildings are equipped with open racetracks and towers higher than the fort wall. Besides, there are bucket-shaped windows, holes for shooting made by bamboo and water injection holes for firefighting in different positions, heights, angles, and directions on the fort wall. Therefore, the equipment forms a multi-faceted, multi-range, multi-directional, multi-angle and all-round three-dimensional defense system, and there is absolutely no dead angle in defense.

Although Datian Tubao is mainly for defense, it is also for housing. It is a gathering place for different important activities, such as defensing, attacking, producing, living, schooling, entertaining, performing folk custom and religious ceremony, offering sacrifice, discussing, celebrating traditional festivals, weddings and holding funerals. This form of architecture is full of personality and is a piece of precious material for studying the defensive vernacular architectural culture of Fujian and even our country.

Datian Tubao not only depends on its own architectural characteristics, but also draws on the beneficial architectural elements of Southern Fujian, Northwest Fujian, Hakka and other buildings, such as the design of roofs and ridges in South Fujian, the establishment of hall to worship the ancestors in the Hakka buildings, and the reference for architectural paintings in Northwest Fujian. It integrates so many different advantages of diversified architectural culture that it provides precious practical materials for studies of the multi-cultural exchanges of vernacular architecture in Fujian and even our country.

Datian Tubao has a long history. It was first seen in the Song Dynasty, developed in the Yuan Dynasty, matured in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, prevailed in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, and declined in the early Republic of China. The construction of the buildings takes full use of the natural environment with an arrangement based on the mountain and terrain layout. Besides, it pays great attention to the foundations and emphasizes the defense function. Its design and implementation contain the ancient scientific principles. What’s more, it attaches importance to the decoration and decorative arts. The buildings are unique with decoration of wood carving, stone carving, gray plastic and color painting. According to the genealogy records of Jiang, You, Zhang, Lin, Tu and various extant plaques in the buildings, the historical facts of when these buildings were built, when they were repaired, and the record of fighting bandits are clear. Most of them have accurate chronological records, which provide detailed and reliable materials for the study of defensive vernacular architecture in Fujian and even our country.