1. Pick One Angle and Let the Round Shape Lead
The easiest thing to recognise about a Fujian Tulou is its circular outline and the rings of grey roof tiles. Before you start, decide what this poster is really about: is it explaining why a round building could house a whole family, or showing what daily life inside a tulou looks like? The clearer the angle, the tidier the layout.
- Shape angle: how round and square tulou differ — thick walls, small windows, often only one main gate.
- Daily life angle: one building for one family, with the central courtyard shared by everyone.
- Heritage angle: the tulou is listed as a World Cultural Heritage site, so how should we protect it and behave when visiting?
2. What You Can Actually Write on the Page
What a tulou looks like
You can write that the outer wall is made of rammed earth and looks earth-yellow, that the roof is covered in grey tiles and curves around like an open umbrella, and that inside there are many small rooms arranged around the courtyard. One feature per sentence reads best.
Why it was built round
A round building has no awkward corners, so a large family could live close together and look after one another. The courtyard in the middle brings in light and fresh air, and doubles as a place to dry grain or sit and chat. Describe it plainly instead of exaggerating.
The people who lived inside
One tulou often housed a single extended family, with relatives on every floor. You could describe children running in the courtyard, grandparents chatting by the doorway, or red lanterns hung up at festival time. These everyday details feel warmer than copied facts.
Protecting and visiting
Earth walls dislike damp and knocks, so visitors should not pick at the wall or carve words into it. Put these two or three sentences in a small corner box, and your poster will feel complete.
3. Three Layouts That Are Easy to Draw
- A circle inside a circle: draw one large circle as a top-down view of the tulou, write the title in the middle, and divide the ring into four sections of text.
- Left and right columns: draw a side view of the tulou on the left and stack three text boxes on the right — good if you write a lot.
- Top and bottom layers: use the top third for the tulou and sky, then split the lower part into “shape and structure” and “life inside”.
Whichever you choose, put the title where it is seen first, in a bolder style and a colour that differs from the body text. If you want to save time, open the Smart Handwritten Newspaper mini program in WeChat, pick an architecture layout, arrange the text there, and copy the finished design onto paper.
4. Short Lines to Copy and Details to Draw
- Small headings you can use: “A Big Round Family”, “The Courtyard That Breathes”, “Secrets of the Earth Wall”, “Why Only One Gate”.
- Short lines you can use: “A ring of grey tiles, a wall of earth, one building for a whole family.” “Light falls into the courtyard, and the day feels warm.”
- Drawing details: mix pale yellow with a little light brown for the earth wall; add grey or blue-green for the roofs; put water jars, bamboo chairs and drying grain in the courtyard.
- Extra touches: red lanterns, children, a dog, swallows — enough to feel lively, but never covering the writing.
5. A Quick Check Before You Hand It In
- Does the title clearly say “Fujian Tulou”, with no spelling mistakes?
- Is each text block three to five sentences, rather than a copied paragraph?
- Is there enough white space between the border and the writing?
- Do the colours stay within earth yellow, grey and red?
- Are your class, name and date written in a corner?
If time is short, fix the layout and the text boxes first and add the pictures afterwards. You can also take the content you have written into the Smart Handwritten Newspaper mini program in WeChat, keep arranging it on a template, and then finish the paper version by hand.
