CHINA - Earth building of Hakka

Thanks to Chen for the card.

“A Hakka walled village is a large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible. This building style is unique to the Hakka people found in southern China. Walled villages are typically designed for defensive purposes and consist of one entrance and no windows at the ground level.

These houses, sometimes called tulou 土楼, were often round in shape and internally divided into many compartments for food storage, living quarters, ancestral temple, armoury etc.”

RUSSIA - Russian Architecture of the 19th Century

I loves architecture, especially wooden architecture and this Russian beauty is simply delightful to see.  Thanks to Olga for the card.

RUSSIA - Country House. Motives of Russian architecture 1877

Thanks to Anna for the wonderful Russian architecture house and Audrey Hepburn card. She also enclosed russian coins and magnet.  Thank you so much!

CHINA - Chinese Traditional Architecture

The second card is from postcrosser Sine showing Chinese Traditional Architecture.  Thank you for the card and nice stamps.

CHINA - Chinese Dwellings - Wang's Yard

A nice card of traditional Chinese houses/dwellings postcard, my swap with Huying Chen. Thank you Huying for a nice card.

"Traditional Chinese dwellings are usually designed around the common values of shared communal and family space. Dating back to ancient times, courtyard houses, also known as Beijing siheyuan buildings, are enclosed and inward-facing structures with a courtyard in the center surrounded by four, one-story housing structures. This design helps maximize sunlight, but minimize contact with the busy outside world. They are also family-oriented and meant to house four generations. Traditionally aligned along a north/south axis (which will provide good fortune, according to the principles of feng shui), the main entrance is on the south end -- usually off center and opening to an outer courtyard or transition space. A visitor would enter through another passageway before entering the main courtyard. The south side contains rooms that traditionally serve as the kitchen and servants' quarters. The main house on the north end, while the east and west sides made up smaller structures, usually for married children and their families."

KOREA - Hanok

Hanok refers to Korean traditional architecture.  Hanok can be categorized depending on the building materials; a tile-roofed house, a thatched cottage, a shingle-roofed house, a log cabin, etc.  Regardless its type of the materials, Hanok is nature-friendly architecture.

The  best feature of Hanok is Ondol.  Ondol is a uniquely Korean heating system that can be traced back to the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (37 B.C. - A.D. 668).  Invented by ancient Koreans, the original system is worked by heating a large stone under a living space; Smoke from a fire just outside the dwelling is forced under the stone and exited on the other side.  This Ondol system has high thermal efficiency and is an economical way to heat the room or establish the facilities, so it has been adjusted to modern housing by spreading pipes under floors and circulating heated water through the pipes.

CHINA - Chinese Traditional Architecture

"Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details."