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The different types of structures built by the Chinese vary according to region. Each section of this vast country defines itself with a different architectural style. In Beijing, houses are set in a square compound. The main house is built on the north side and faces due south. This area is where the most important family lives. On the east and west sides of the compound, the houses are generally used for storage, toilet, kitchen, and lesser members of the family.

Anhui (Hui) Style Architecture
Hui architecture developed into a significant school in the Song Dynasty. During the middle period of the Ming Dynasty, gardens and houses constructed with Hui styles developed very quickly along with the Prosperity of Hui commerce and the development of its social economy. Hui style soon stepped out from Huizhou Prefecture and was introduced to big towns along the Yangtze River. The technical features and style of Hui architecture are mostly put into use in the construction of houses, ancestral temples, joss houses, archways, and gardens.

Hui style houses are typically ones with skylights. With a quadrate skylight surrounded by houses from four sides or from left, right and backside, these Hui style houses can reduce the beat of sunshine and enjoy ventilation. All the houses drain off water to the skylight which means fortune will not run off outside, which is called “water collecting and depositing from four sides to patio of the house compound” by local natives.

Hui style houses mainly reflect the mountainous features, geomantic omen, and the beautiful terrain there. The whole show of Hui style houses, built with black tiles and white walls, surrounded by high walls shaped like horse heads (for fireproofing), and harmonized with refined and elegant colors, brings us a strong sense of beauty. These houses are often decorated with artworks made of brick, wood, and stone. As a traditional architecture school, Hui style embodies elegance, conciseness, and magnificence, and still keeps its special artistic favor to this day.

Fujian (Min) Style Architecture
Tulou is the most distinctive representative of Fujian Style Architecture. The history of Fujian Tulou dates back to one thousand years. Tulou, aka Earth Towers of the Hakkas, are the special fort-like buildings built by the Hakkas. Tulou in Fujian Province is the most famous and best preserved site, and was widely spread in the area and was listed as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO as early as 2008.

The formation of the Fujian Tulou exemplifies the wisdom and creativeness of the ancestoral Hakkas settlers. It closes the gap between Chinese architectural history and world architectural history and is regarded as a miraculous wonder by thousands of experts, scholars and tourists who have been enchanted by its beauty. Over 3,000 Tulou buildings can be found in Fujian, mainly in Yongding, Nanjing and Hua’an Counties. When you are in Fujian, don't forget to take a Tulou tour, especially to Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster, one of the most famous ones.

Beijing (Jing) Style Architecture
Beijing Style Architecture is the most typical representative of the northern China architecture. The two characteristics of Beijing style architecture are that the house emphasizes symmetrical layout and good feng shui. Beijing Style Architecture is famous for the Siheyuan ( Courtyard House) which is a traditional residence in Beijing and North China. Beijing Siheyuan is also the outstanding representative of traditional residences of China's Han people. It is at the highest level and most typical specimen of its kind with a long history of more than 2000 years.
Siheyuan is  built in accord with the weather and the living customs of the northern Chinese. The reason that it attracts more and more attention lies in its culture implication. Through it, you could imagine the lives of the old Beijing citizens, famous or ordinary. Their unique living customs in the courtyard are of great interest for the modern people. The courtyard house is much more cherished, especially at present days when rows and rows of skyscrapers rise from the ground.

Su Style Architecture refers to the architectural styles of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in southeast China. It is the integration of the architectural styles of the north and south China. The garden layout is one of the most distinctive features of the Su Styie Architecture.
 

The Su Style Houses is mainly built as south-facing so that it can be warm in winter and cool in summer, which is full of the charm of the ancient culture about the water villages in southern area of the Yangtze River. The Su style houses are built like the coliseum one can see in Rome, Italy, a large round structure with many stories. These homes typically house approximately three hundred families. While all of these styles of homes are examples of traditional Chinese architecture, they are becoming less common. Most houses built today are apartment buildings.

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Jin Style Architecture
Jin Style Architecture refers to the architectures in the areas of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia,Henan and Qinghai. It is divided into two categories. The first  is the urban architecture in Shanxi, and the other is cave architecture in northern Shaanxi and its surrounding areas, which is also the most widely distributed architectural style in northwestern China.

 

In Chinese history,  merchants in Shanxi had their own style in architecture after accumulating countless wealth. With courtyards, white walls and black tiles,  Jin-style houses are similar in style to the Hui-style houses.  The overall style of Jin-style architecture is relatively rough, which is also similar to that of Beijing-style architecture. Travel in Shanxi Province, you can see the Jin Style Architecture in Pingyao Ancient Town.

The cave dwelling is the most common residential architecture in North Shannxi Province and even the entire Loess Plateau, and divided into three types, hillside cave dwelling, underground cave dwelling and hoop cave dwelling (not a real cave, but the cave-shape house built by bricks or sun-dried mud brick on the ground). The climate is arid, and the loose soil is easy to dig on Loess Plateau, so the local people especially created the cave dwelling. Cave dwelling houses have many advantages, such as economizing materials, making the indoor warm in winter and cool in summer.

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Chuan Style Architecture
Chuan Style Architecture refers to an architectural style which is popular in the ethic minority areas of Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi in southwest China. It is famous for the Stilted House( Diaojiaolou Building), Wind-Rain Bridge, Drum Tower, and Bamboo Building.

The drum-tower dwelling of Dong people
A symbol of Dong people and the highest achievement of Dong architecture, the drum tower is a ‘a must’ for a Dong village. In the past, when where were something important happening or to announce, Dong people beat the drum, then people from the nearby Dong villagers would answer, come and meet here. The Dong drum tower looks like an over-20-m-high pagoda, supported by 16 wooden pillars. Today, people still gather in drum tower to gossip, hold meetings and have parties. 

Stilted dwelling (Diaojiaolou dwelling) 
A common traditional dwelling for Miao, Zhuang, Bouyi, Dong, Shui and Tujia minority people,  stilted dwelling or Diaojiaolou dwelling can be found in Southeast Chongqing, West Hunan, West Hubei and the southeast of Guizhou Province. Diaojiaolou dwellings are usually built against the mountain and alongside the river, facing the east or west. It belongs to the semi-stilt style architecture. 

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Guangdong (Yue) Style Architecture
Wok ear hous(Huò ěr wū ) is the representative of the traditional residential houses in the  south area of the Five Ranges Mountain.  They are mainly distributed in the Pearl River Delta and western Guangdong Province. The house is mostly made of blue bricks, stone pillars, and slabs. The outer wall of the house is decorated with flowers and birds. Because the main wall of the house looks like the wok ear, hence its name.

Guangdong Lingnan Gardens Architecture, one of the three major types of traditional Chinese garden, refers to the garden in the south area of Five Range Mountain. And it is famous for the Guangfu Garden.

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Shanghai Style Architecture
Shanghai Style Architecture is famous for Shikumen Dwelling. The traditional dwelling in Shanghai, Shikumen houses can still be found in the old longtang alleys. Originated in the period of the Taiping Revolution (1851 - 1864), Shikumen dwelling was the major residential style in Shanghai until 1920s, when it began to absorb the Western architectural features. Shikumen dwelling has much in common with the Jiangnan dwelling, but with stone gate frame and black thick solid wood gate, hence the name Shikumen (Stone Gate).

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Mongol Style Architecture
The inhabitants of Inner Mongolia are nomadic. Therefore, they need houses that are easily transported. This style of home is called a yurt. Yurts take only an hour or so to set up, and they are practically weatherproof. The door is set low to the ground in an effort to conserve heat.