Laminated door, Manchurian window, oyster shell wall

In the traditional houses in Lingnan, the \”three-piece\” door can be seen everywhere, that is, the triple structure of the flowered low-leg door, the hardwood lattice, and the panel door.

The gate is composed of several log beams. In Cantonese, \”tile\” means sliding. This structure can not only maintain the privacy of the room appropriately, but also facilitate ventilation, lighting and breathability. It can not only observe the situation outside the door, but also has a good anti-theft protection function. Interestingly, the pronunciation of the word \”double\” is similar to \”mourning\”, so the number of beams crossing the gate cannot be even, and must be 13.

In folk houses, there are many colorful windows, which are \”Manchurian windows\”. During the Qing Dynasty, a large number of Eight Banners soldiers were sent south to garrison Guangzhou, so they brought the traditional Manchurian windows from the Northeast, which were gradually combined with imported glass materials from the West and Lingnan living habits to form the decorative features of Lingnan style.

Oyster shell walls are also unique in Lingnan architecture. This is because the Pearl River Delta is rich in oysters, and people use local materials. When building houses, they mix the oyster shells with yellow mud, Brown sugar and steamed glutinous rice are built layer by layer, which has the effect of fireproof, insect-proof and sound insulation. During the rainy season, the rainwater on the wall will also flow away quickly. The oyster shell house built in this way is warm in winter and cool in summer.