"earth building") is a unique architecture found only in the mountainous areas bordering Fujian and Guangdong in southern China.

These earth buildings have only one entrance, guarded by 4–5-inch-thick (100–130 mm) wooden doors re-enforced with an outer shell of iron plate.

The top level of these earth building have gun holes for defense against bandits.

In spite of the earth wall, some of them are more than 700 years old, surviving through centuries of exposure to the natural elements, including earthquakes.

[1] The five earth buildings at the Snail Pit village are: The cluster is located about four hours drive by bus or taxi from Xiamen, through winding and bumpy narrow mountain roads (Fujian Provincial Highway 309 (S309), or county roads).