Miaoao Stone Houses Introduction
The stone houses in Miao'ao are a model of "local materials," with stones sourced from coastal sandstone, the framework made from bamboo from the back mountains, and roofs traditionally thatched with wild grasses. The stone houses in Miao'ao can be generally divided into three different styles and construction methods. The first type is a dragon-shaped, random stone construction, which is the most common and economical method. The walls are made of naturally shaped river stones or roughly hewn stones of similar sizes, showcasing a rugged beauty. The second type is a single-handed, horizontally stacked method, where stones are chiseled into uniform strips and then layered horizontally, resulting in a neat and orderly wall surface. The third type is a siheyuan-style (courtyard house) construction, characterized by a distinctive herringbone pattern. This method requires higher skill, strength, and cost, with walls made of processed and equally sized stones stacked at about a 45-degree angle, creating a unique interwoven pattern resembling the Chinese character for "person."
