Wind and Moist Resistant Stone Strips House of Gin Ethnic Group

Traditional Fence House of the Gin People

The earliest traditional dwelling of the Gin people is a kind of primitive thatched cottage, locally named “Fence House” (篱笆屋). This ancient architectural form inherits the classic construction customs of the ancient Baiyue people (百越族群), retaining the simple and practical building features of early coastal ethnic groups.
The enclosure walls of the Fence House are mainly woven with wooden battens and thin bamboo strips. Some walls are coated with a layer of mud surface for better wind resistance and thermal insulation. In other cases, house walls are constructed by inserting thin bamboo strips with cogongrass, dry straw, wild leaves and other local plant materials, making full use of accessible coastal natural resources. To defend against strong coastal winds, the roof is firmly pressed and covered with bricks and stones to avoid being blown away.
Four corner foundations are erected at the four corners of the house. These supporting blocks are made of bamboo or stone, with a uniform height of 20 to 30 centimeters, which can stabilize the house structure and prevent moisture invasion. The interior space is divided into three independent small rooms by bamboo partitions. Following traditional living etiquette, elderly family members live in the central main room, while younger generations and children occupy the left and right side rooms respectively.

Modern Stone-strip Tile-roofed House

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the living conditions of the Gin people have been greatly improved. The most typical symbol of this progress is the emergence and widespread popularity of the “stone strips tile-roofed house” (石条瓦房), which has gradually replaced the traditional thatched Fence House.
The walls of this new-style residence are built with standardized rectangular ash stone strips. Each stone block is uniformly sized at 75 centimeters in length, 25 centimeters in width and 20 centimeters in height. The wall construction follows fixed specifications: 23 layers of stone strips are piled up from the ground to the eave base, and another 10 layers are stacked from the eave base to the roof ridge, forming a solid and neat wall structure.
The house retains the traditional three-room layout. A spacious open corridor is designed in front of the three rooms, where farming tools and daily utensils are neatly placed at the corners. The left and right rooms serve as private bedrooms for family members. The middle room functions as the main hall, where ancestral memorial tablets are hung on the central wall for regular family worship.
The main hall bears multiple practical functions. Apart from sacrificial rituals on traditional festivals, it acts as the core living space for daily life, serving as a reception room for greeting guests, as well as a dining and leisure area for family meals, tea drinking and daily chatting.

Architectural Advantages and Adaptive Features

The stone-strip tile-roofed house features a sturdy and durable structure. It possesses excellent windproof and moisture-proof performance, which perfectly adapts to the humid, windy and rainy coastal climate and the local living environment of the Gin settlements. Compared with traditional thatched houses, this architectural style greatly improves living safety, comfort and the service life of residences.

Courtyard Planting Custom of the Gin People

The Gin people have maintained a long-standing custom of planting flowers and trees around their residences. Various plants are widely cultivated around houses, including ornamental plants such as Chinese ilex, sisal hemp, tree peony and cactus, as well as economic fruit trees and crops such as pineapple, papaya and jute. Diversified plants grow in clusters and interweave with one another, forming a lush and vibrant courtyard landscape. Every household is surrounded by green vegetation, making the entire village look like a delicate and natural seaside park.